Commander Blaze, a front line commander story
by Dasmara
Summary: Meet William Blaze, a veteran who royally screwed his last mission and was thrown into prison. But when The Sirens invaded, Azur Lane High Command need him once more and so he is reinstated. His new job? Command the beautiful ship girls and give The Sirens big F you in the face. Join them as William balanced his daily life between dealing with the girl's antics and killing Sirens
1. Prolouge

A large man walked toward a huge chamber with half circle table in front of him and large row of seats behind him, seated there were generals and admirals of Azur Lane Alliance. The auditorium styled room were guarded by heavily armored and armed guards who were currently stared at the man, he walked inside the room with slouched posture with his head hung down.

The man was a stark contrast to the others inside the room, he shown only indifference, despite being in the presence of important figures. He wore orange prison jacket and orange pants, his gloved hands were cuffed and he was escorted by two guard who pointed their M4A1 Carbines at the man from behind. The man finally looked up, that caused his long messy black hair to swayed due to his sudden movement, his face was dirtied with dirt, speck of coal, dried blood, untrimmed full beard, bloodshot right eye with his left one covered by ragged clothing.

He stared at everyone in the room, the tables were filled by the main military leaders of the alliance while those who sat behind him were the commanders who were present for earlier meetings but stayed to witness the event that's about to unfold. More than few of them whispered to each other about the man who stood in the center of the room, they all knew who he was and they didn't like him.

"Ah, major, you've arrived at last" One of the higher ups said to The Major.

"Mind telling us why you're late, major?" The other higher ups asked The Major.

"…You can blame the fact that my arse were so tense after being in the locked up and mining for the sake of king and country in the last two years…or you can blame the guard behind me for having to beat me up first before they could take me here" The major said while he smirked confidently.

"…Hah…Major, please take this seriously" One of the general in the farthest right said after he sighed.

"Who's great idea to call this lump of rubbish here!?" The general on second seat to the right asked out loud.

"That would be my idea. Do you have a problem about this, general?" A female admiral who seated in the farthest left asked him.

"Bloody hell I do! You're calling one of the biggest fuck up in the history of Royal Navy! An undisciplined scum, alcoholic and disrespectful scoundrel, not to mention he fucked up his last assignment so bad that he was sent to The Deep End and he wasn't supposed to come out from that black hole for another twenty years! You mean this man would be our trump card!? Your jest is hilarious!" The general said to the female admiral while he scowled.

The other higher ups in the front seat only looked at him with impassive eyes before they stared back at the major who chuckled by himself, the guards behind him cocked their eyebrows and their fingers were set on the trigger with the rifle safety set to off. The commanders who sat behind him thrown him some confused and disdained looks, he dared to be this unprofessional in front of the higher ups? How did he managed to become a major was a mystery and some even questioned why the hell he isn't executed already...

"Something funny you want to share, major?" The general asked the major with venom laced his tone.

"Hehehehe…Holy shite! You're stalking me, general? I'm quite unpopular lad back in the navy, turns up even a general I didn't know who had a stick inside his arse knew about no one like me! You got some free time eh?" The major said to the general while sneering.

"I have enough of you running around tarnishing Royal Navy's honor you twat! You shall not shame our country further! If it were up to me-" The General said to The Major.

BRAK!

Someone slammed the table and everyone looked to the male admiral who sat in the middle, his right hand was balled into a fist and still connected to the table he just slammed. The whole room immediately fell into deep silence, the man looked around calmly and after he confirmed that everyone had calmed down then he decided to speak.

"Settle down! Both of you! General, this is my decision as Azur Lane Alliance High Commander, you don't get a say in this. Major? Please don't pick a fight, the process of getting you out of The Deep End is complicated so let's not get you thrown back in there so soon" The high commander said with firm tone.

"…By your command, Admiral" The general said while grumbled as he sat down.

"If you say so, mate" The major only shrugged.

"Now major, do you know why you're here?" The high commander asked him.

"Not a bloody clue, I just got picked up from a hole and thrown here without any briefing. Is this a trick question?" The major asked back with snarky tone.

"Then we'll let you know. I'm giving you an assignment, a sort of pardon for your previous failure. Interested?" The high commander said to the major, unfazed to his attitude.

Pardon? That sounds convenient for the major who still have twenty more years on his sentence. The major couldn't help himself but to stare at the high commander for any sign that this was all a joke…After five seconds of searching, he determined that the high commander was being serious about this. What he said few minutes from now could determine his future, the major chose to tread carefully for a bit.

"Depends, but I'm all ears for now…" The major simply said while frowned.

"Excellent. You know about the ship girls, right?" The high commander asked the major.

Who doesn't? Girls who were outfitted with riggings of ship grade weaponries on their bodies, gliding on the surface of the oceans, eliminating threats as if they were ships themselves and not to mention they were considered as a valuable military asset…The concept itself was widely known but the individuals were not, most of their identities were kept secret.

"Yeah, I've heard they're gorgeous ladies, what about em?" The major asked the high commander back.

"The war with Crimson Axis Alliance might had ended, but unfortunately we discovered another kind of threat…The Sirens, is what we called them. They're the ones responsible for 'brainwashing' The Iron Blood and Sakura Empire to attack us, their reintegration into the alliance is underway" The female admiral said to the major.

The major's eyebrows were cocked when he heard this new information…So, did she just said that whole war which lasted quite a bit happened because the influence of something that's not a human? He swore he had heard this kind of plot few times across the sci-fi novels he used to read back when he still served on the frontline…But that's plausible, it made absolutely no sense when Iron Blood and Sakura Empire just suddenly went rogue and start attacking everyone…he always wondered what's the cause.

"Huh…Does this one looked like fish, seduce you with their singing then ate you up?" The major asked while he smirked.

"Not quite" The female admiral answered.

"Okay, does they look like beautiful girls?" The major asked the female admiral again.

"…That's…the answer is quite subjective, I believe" The female admiral answered uncomfortably.

"Ma'am, now you have my full attention!" The major said while he grinned.

"This isn't the right time for jokes, major! Listen up…We need someone capable to handle this threat, we tried every methods to combat these monstrosity. Land victory could be achieved with efforts, but no matter what we do we are decimated in the seas" The female admiral continued.

…How powerful were these sirens? If they could achieved land victories but completely decimated in the seas, that means their armies weren't that balanced…How powerful was their naval forces? Guess it's more than the human ever has because it sounded like they get their ass kicked in every naval battle? Hmm, the major didn't like where the direction of this talk goes.

"And you're telling me this because?" The major asked while he frowned.

"We need you to fight them" The answer that the major expected, he was on the mark.

"…You want me to swim out in the open ocean, with guns to kill these creatures whom I never heard before? Is this your definition of 'death sentence'?" The major sarcastically asked the female admiral.

Because that's what basically was! What can a normal human like him do then? He doubted that even he could get close and personal with a knife to slit one's throat open or using sniper rifle to shoot one from afar…He still required to engage in waterborne combat which was quite hard without proper equipment to begin with.

"That's not what we want you to do. Besides, if you do that, you wouldn't survive for even a minute, I guarantee that…They're…Overwhelming, in a sense" The female admiral said.

"So I got a team to command?" The major asked the female admiral.

"Not just a team…A whole base, full of ship girls" The high commander was the one who answered.

"Full of ship girls?" The major asked back with pursed lips.

"Yes. We need you to lead our frontier base that house the ship girls to fight these creatures. The entire base, its occupants, resources, privileges, will be under your direct command as soon you step in the base…Ship girls were the only one who could fight The Sirens and stood a chance in defeating them" The high commander said while he smiled.

Huh, so only ship girls who possessed enough capabilities to combat The Sirens directly? Well that means the entire humanity would have to depend on them less they lose the control of the seas around the earth…The major didn't like the thought, but reality was a cruel bitch. That would mean their fighting forces was quite limited, he couldn't afford any casualties to be taken lightly...

"That's the price for my pardon?" The major asked in unsure tone.

"Yes. Do this and you will earn full pardon from Azur Lane Military Council, I can guarantee you that" The high commander said while he smiled.

"You're setting me free, giving me an entire base, that's full of beauties alongside what possibly the biggest firepower in the arsenal of Azur Lane…What is the true price for my freedom, Admiral?" The major asked while he frowned.

"I knew you're a smart man…Major I'll be honest, you're still needed directly in the front" The high commander said in matter-of-fact tone.

The major narrowed his eyes at high commander's words, he knew this would be the case…The High Command didn't have intentions to let him go just yet huh? Basically, commanding the base would let him off the hook from frontline missions…But their orders would meant he would also have to be directly involved in a fight, sometime in the future. He messed up once and badly, why would The High Command want him to be involved on another mission?

"Really? After everything I've done?" The major asked with sarcastic tone.

"It's different matter this time. We've noticed some people doesn't like the fact that we've made peace with Crimson Axis so soon, foolish but understandable because most of these people were…misguided, in managing their hatred and contempt" The high commander said before he sighed.

"Define 'misguided'? If those guys were a cult…" The major asked in low tone.

"No, they're an organization. They're nothing but opportunist terrorist though, even when we released evidences of Siren's involvement in Crimson Axis Alliance past actions…It was called hoax, then they bombed us" The high commander answered the major.

Great, not only they got a war going on with these new invaders they also had to deal with terrorist attack behind the frontlines? The world was more fucked than the last time the major saw it, this mean 'peace' would be faraway dreams that only could be reached after intense fights…Si Vis Pacem Para Bellum, the major personally believed those words…and it seems it would be the case in near future.

"Ah, so that's what's been going on in the last two years…You want me to play cop and robber too?" The major asked while he frowned.

"Yes, you're always an easy man to cooperate with, major" The high commander smiled.

"I haven't said I will accept this task, didn't I?" The major said while his right eye narrowed.

"Oh right…" The high commander replied while he smiled a bit.

"…One more thing. Do I get paid?" The major asked with deadpan stare.

"Of course, and you'll find the salary…worth your time. You'll be fighting Siren's army alongside keeping the order by combating these terrorist, which would require handsome compensation" The high commander replied while he smiled.

This was a great chance, a really great chance for a new start for his life and career…but he couldn't help to worry about the fact that high command surely planned something and they're not being straight about it for now…What other purpose for a military organization to release a convict from a prison in order to fight for that organization for the second time? Surely not something as great as they told him to do in the near future…

"…Honestly speaking, this is all very tempting. All I had to do is return to the battlefield and shouting 'for the glory of Azur Lane' at the enemies while pointing guns at them…just like old times…Do you not worried that I might fuck it up for the second time?" The major asked the high commander while he sneered.

"Believe me when I say this…You won't. The world itself is in danger" The high commander replied grimly.

"Hmph, is that so" The major snorted as he looked to the side.

"What says you, major? We are waiting" The high commander asked him for his confirmation.

…But a chance like this might won't come again if he refused out of suspicion…guess he just had to accept this for now then deal with whatever bat shit insane plan that the high command might have in the future? Yeah, sounds like a plan, risky but it'll have to do for now…Besides, deep inside he really don't want to go back to that hell hole.

"…Fine, but anything related to my job, all of you better be straight about it and tell me clearly…You expect me to save the world from the ravages of these creatures? Then don't get in my way" The major declared with serious eye.

"You know we could manage that easily, major…No, from now on, you'll be the new commander" The high commander said while he grinned.

"Wait, I got promotion? Just like that?" The newly promoted commander pursed his lips.

"My word is law in this council, and all of us…Um, most of us are agreed with the matter" The high commander said after he looked at the outraged look of the audience.

"Fine by me…When do I leave? I had enough mining to last me a lifetime if what I mine were gold" The commander asked while he shrugged.

"Tomorrow, you'll be working right away" The high commander said as he concluded the meeting.

"That is all. You're dismissed, commander…We will contact you when there's an update. See you tomorrow, Commander William Blaze" The female admiral said while she smiled softly.

William thought that doing this would yield better result compared to growing old in a coal mine filled with criminals and died either from malnutrition, exhaustion, accidents or might got killed on his sleep…Yeah, dying on the battlefield started to sound ten times better compared to that, at least he'll die fighting…one more time. Not that he planned to die anytime soon, he still got something he want to do.

"Yeah, yeah" William said as he turned around and left the room.

.

...The next day, a dark green 4x4 army jeep speed on the asphalt road built on grassy plains, William drove the car while a video call was on going on the car's dashboard interface. There's a woman on the screen, she had shoulder length brown hair with deep purple eyes while wearing blue military jacket alongside an officer cap on top of her head. She's the admiral who was present yesterday, she stared as William looked deep in thought before he grinned at his own conclusion.

"…So, they have forces just like us…They have mass produced ships, air force and their own version of ship girls? Admiral, drugs are bad for you, you know? This will make an interesting game plot though" William said while he grinned.

"Damnit commander! You never took this kind of talk seriously…But that's the truth, we have obtained photograph and video evidences about them…Especially their ship girls who are tough bitches who could sunk an entire fleet easily, the rest of their mass produced ships and aircraft is comparable to our standards" The female admiral explained the situation.

"Really..." William asked rhetorically.

"That alone gave us headache for months already. Now, we got even better equipment and combat vehicles…But relying on only that would be a foolish move, that's why you're needed" The admiral said while she smiled.

"Hmph" William snorted as he continued driving.

"Remember, we still don't know anything other than the fact these things are exist and it strive to kill us for some reason. We still don't know their motivation, battle doctrines, strategy, tactics, home base and most importantly, leaders…Your job would also require you to find any clues and facts about The Sirens, each finding even an insignificant one would greatly help our forces…There's a lot of loophole, we need to act fast" The admiral gave him instruction on what to do.

That sounded so simple, but William had been around long enough to know that these simple objectives would be quite a pain in the ass to achieve…For example, what to do for starters? Wait, William guessed that he should get to know his base, the girls and geographies around here first before he'll be able to plan something. Knowing is half of the battle and right now William got zero fucking clue on this new area around him…The scenery looked nice though, so that's a plus for a start.

"One thing at a time Lena, I would need to organize the base first" William said while he smiled.

"Do what you have to do, Will. But remember, the council would like any initial result reported soon in the future. As your liaison, I would like to make this comfortable for both sides" Lena, The Female Admiral said.

"Does that mean I have to write report?" William asked Lena.

"Why yes" Lena said in 'obviously' tone.

"Online documents I hope?" William asked while he grinned.

"Well you have the advantages of technology so yes, you shouldn't be too hard on yourself. Just make sure it's encrypted" Lena said while she smiled.

"Nothing new there…Alright, I've spotted the base. Talk to you later Lena, thank you" William said while he smiled earnestly.

"It's nothing Will, good luck out there" Lena replied while she also smiled.

On the naval base, few ship girls were standing near the administration building as a jeep crossed the bridge to the base. Those girls were Enterprise, Hood, Belfast, Kongou and Prinz Eugen. They watched as the car approached then stopped in front of the administration building's reception lobby, the girls then walked to looked on the visitor they presumed their new commander. The news regarding their new commander that headed for the base arrived by mail this morning so the girls lacked any preparation to properly welcomed their new commanding officer, sometimes even High Command could be jerks when they want to.

"I wonder what kind of person he is" Hood said out loud as she walked.

"His files didn't say much, time will tell I guess" Enterprise said to Hood while she frowned a bit.

"Then we're in luck ladies, the maids have prepared lunch for us. We could sit while enjoying lunch and get to know each other" Belfast said to the girls while she smiled a bit.

"Ho? What impeccable timing there, Bel" Prinz said while she smiled at Belfast.

"I agreed…Look, he's here" Kongou said as she spotted someone in front of them.

The girls stopped walking few meters away from the stopping car, the driver exited the car and walked around a bit before he stopped in front of the girls…That's the first time they saw their new commander and they smiled to greet him. William looked around a bit as he inspected the front look for the administration building that will be his new office, not too shabby in his opinion. He then looked forward when he saw five ladies approached him, William steeled his nerve as he walked to approached them too.

"Welcome to our base, Commander" Enterprise said while smiled professionally.

William wore white officer jacket, with white shirt underneath and complimented with black tie plus equally black shoes, he wore black full fingered gloves on his hands, had sheathed ceremonial sword on his left hip and his rear hip had a pistol holster with a single revolver strapped on it. His full beard was shaved clean, he cut his hair in side cut style while trimming his front, top and rear part to medium length level, his skin was devoid of any kind of dirt or blood like yesterday and he had black eye patch covering his left eye.

"Hello ladies, my name is William Blaze. I'm assigned as the new commander for this base, let's get along" William said to the ship girls.

This were the first time William met with ship girls and by the god, they were gorgeous! He stared at each one of them, giving polite small smile while he kept his eye on their own respective eyes…first meeting, don't ever underestimate its charm. Getting it right from the start would be the key here, he's dealing with women here instead of hard ass male soldiers so the way he acted would have to be adjusted too.

"My name is Enterprise, Commander. From today onwards, I'm under your command" Enterprise introduced herself then saluted.

"Pleasure to meet you, Lord Blaze. My name is Hood, I look forward to work with you" Hood introduced herself while she smiled.

"Greetings, Master Blaze. My name is Belfast, I serve as the head maid" Belfast introduced herself, while she lifted the hems of her skirt.

"Good day, my name is Kongou, let's get along from now on, Commander William Blaze" Kongou said while smiled professionally.

"Prinz Eugen is my name, Commander. Let's work together" Prinz introduced herself in simple manners.

William only smiled and nod in appreciation, Belfast immediately suggested to continue the talk in the dining room and William had to agree because he hadn't ate anything since his departure this morning. As they walked to the dining room area, he carefully inspected the area around the way…The naval base was well maintained, seemed to be separated from the regular naval base around a kilometer away as the base seemed purpose was to specially house ship girls, the area were littered by them too doing their daily activites…The base seemed lively and quite happy.

He don't know whether he will succeed his missions or not, whether the girls could work with him effectively or not, whether there's a chance those terrorist strike this base as some sort of message, whether The Sirens would attack them and decimated the base first…Right now, William had not the faintest idea of what will happen in the future. But one thing for sure, he would do whatever it takes to try his best…even if he had to laid down his life for this new task.

* * *

**Updated: 03/02/2020**

**And cut! This story undergoes several modification and ideas, but eventually I selected this one. That's all for now, let me know your thoughts on this, I can't promise any regular updates but I'll try my best to keep the story going...I don't own Azur Lane, just the OC Commander. **

**Until next time! **

**\- Dasmara**


	2. Getting started

_**Well, this did took some time to be updated wasn't it? Yeah, simply put I'm quite swamped and I haven't got much time to properly write stories but I finally managed to get this one out. Enjoy, let me know your thoughts and see you next time!**_

_**\- Dasmara**_

* * *

Each girls had their own opinions for their new commander but one thing for sure the man was a giant, he stood at 188 centimeters tall with large build. The girls predicted that William was packed with muscles underneath his uniform and the man's face looked serious so they decided to act professional…but, all of that changed when they saw him capable of smile and he's even easy to approach after conversing with him for a bit.

William ate his lunch with a smile on his face, it's been a while since he managed to get a taste of real food as the food back on that prison mine were disgusting. It did had the nutrients needed for the body but the taste? God, if it wasn't for his special forces training William might puked after a spoonful of it. That's why, the dishes that were served before him did well in reviving his died taste buds due to two years tasting horrendous food.

"This is delicious, my compliments to the chef" William said while smiling a bit.

"I'll be sure to relay that to the Royal Maids, master" Belfast said to William.

"Oh yes, I assumed you ladies were the ones whose in charge of this base" William said to them.

"Somewhat. Our previous commander had decided upon multiple secretary systems" Hood said to William.

Multiple secretaries system huh? So basically each secretaries oversees some part of the base's function such as its administrative matter or the military action part, it's effective and capable to eased the burden compared to having single secretaries for everything…Granted, some disagreement could surface every now and then but William personally thought that this was a good system to implement on this base.

"Is that so…What are you in charge of, Ms. Hood?" William asked Hood.

"I'm in charge of Commander's Secretarial duties, basically I'm the one who would be your personal secretaries" Hood explained while smiling.

"Ah I see, how about you ladies?" William asked the others.

"I'm in charge of this base internal affairs" Belfast said to William.

"I'm in charge of the first fleet" Enterprise said to William.

"Second for me" Prinz said to William.

"Third one for me" Kongou said to William.

"There's others that in charge of maintenance and external relations, but both of them currently busy attending their task so they couldn't welcome you directly" Belfast further explained.

"Ah, I see…Well, I'll be in you girls care from now on" William said while smiling.

They continued by eating light snacks and drinking tea, typical Royal Navy's ship girls afternoon routine and William couldn't see the reason he shouldn't join…Been a while since he drunk black tea and this one was quite good! Well, his suspicion for high command did alleviate a little since they legitimately put him on a seemingly nice position…

"Commander, may I ask you something?" Kongou suddenly asked William.

"Sure, ask away" William said to Kongou.

"High Command did gave your name but they didn't gave your other information. For starters, only now we know how you looked like" Kongou said to William.

"Huh…I never thought they took it that far…But there's a legitimate reason for that, do you girls knew about the terrorist group that emerged lately?" William asked them.

"Terrorist group? I'm sorry but we didn't know much about what's going on outside the base" Enterprise said to William.

"It's fine…There's a possibility that they could target this base, that's why my profile was kept closely guarded by HIGHCOM…But don't worry about it too much, we got bigger problems" William said to them.

"The Sirens…" Enterprise said out loud.

Yeah, those things that William now knew exist but no actual experience in encountering them…Several documents from high command suggested that they already encountered The Sirens even before the outbreak of Azur Lane and Crimson Axis war, but the details were obscure as at that time The Sirens were just those kind of mysteries on the seas that correlates with the disappearance of ships…That until near the end of the war where The Sirens started showing their true face.

"Yes. You girls have fought them directly, they are the true threat…What's your opinion?" William asked the girls.

"They're quite interesting. Honestly, they're powerful and cunning enemy…They hit hard and they are hard to track down" Prinz said to William.

"But can they be killed?" William asked Prinz.

"With enough firepower they would still succumb to our might. Staying alive long enough to achieve that, now that would be the real challenge" Prinz said to William.

"You girls have it rough" William said while frowning a bit.

"What about you, commander? May I ask what were you doing prior transferring here?" Hood asked William.

…Now what to tell to these gorgeous ladies? He got so many things and experience that he could told them but then high command would send someone to silence him…After contemplating for few seconds, William decided to play it safe and told them the 'revised' version of his tale…

"Hmm…Five years ago I graduated from a military academy and immediately assigned to a task force, we went all around the world for quite a bit while fighting in behalf of Azur Lane. Things were good, we never lacked action and the pay was nice…One day though, we got our arse kicked hard" William said to the girls.

"Was that during the opening stage of Azur Lane and Crimson Axis war?" Kongou asked William.

"Yeah, the battle cost us quite good…But, we continued fighting despite that loss. Until two years ago, the task force was disbanded and I was moved from the frontline for a bit" William further said.

"Disbanded?" Enterprise asked with cocked eyebrows.

"Disbanded, our number dwindled to just me and three other personnel…I was moved away from the frontline, that until High Command decided to post me here" William said while he stared at his cup.

"…You've been through a lot" Hood said while frowning a bit.

"Yeah…It's look like we're finished with lunch, let's do a tour of the base, commander" Enterprise said to William.

"Sounds great, let's do it" William nodded his head.

William and the girls started exploring every building on the base, the girls informed him the building's functions around the base and William made sure to take in every single bit of information he could get. He asked questions, he spend a bit in exploring the buildings, meeting several ship girls who were not in patrol duty…He have to say, there's a lot of them in this base ranging from those cute little destroyers to the absolutely stacked and thicc battleships and carriers.

"And these two building is our general store and munitions shop, you could shop your daily necessity and weaponry in this place" Enterprise said to William.

There's two girls standing by in front of the building and they're Akashi and Shiranui, both immediately went over to William and the girls to greet them…Well, he's lucky that the base have supplies store and munition shop…Wait, munition shop? What were the chances he could get weaponries for himself? He's going to need it if he's going to go to the frontline and all he have now was his old M16-

"Unya? So you're the new Shikikan huh? Nice to meet you nya, I'm Akashi. You ask, I deliver…with certain fee, of course hehehe" Akashi introduced herself.

"Good afternoon Shikikan, my name is Shiranui and I'm the one handling munitions shop" Shiranui introduced herself.

"Both of you were the shop owners huh" William asked rhetorically.

"That's right! Well unfortunately, we don't have much in stock for now. Some overseas goods were late because of Siren's blockade, they will take additional two days before they could arrive here" Akashi said to William.

"I see…Well, I'm officially start working tomorrow so I'll see what I can do about it" William said while smiling a bit.

"Thank you shikikan nya!" Akashi said while smiling.

Both Akashi and Shiranui started conversing with the other girls while William surveyed the munitions shop, this building would probably the one that will be targeted by airstrikes or bombardment such as orbital bombardment…Oh wait, that's from his novel, they don't have that kind of weapon...YET. Sirens battleship and aircraft would be a major threat to this building…William hoped that their AA guns and coastal guns would do well in case of attack…Speaking of that, he noticed something above the canteen.

"…That helicopter" William muttered out loud.

"Ah, it's a modified helicopter, the previous commander used it to oversee the battle from the air" Belfast said to William.

"Huh…that made sense. If may I ask, why did he retire? I wasn't given much info about him" William asked Belfast.

"There are lots of reasons but I suppose the primary one was the fact that he alone wished to retire, he built this base and made sure it runs well before parting ways with us" Belfast said to William.

"What kind of man is he?" William asked again.

"…He's the serious type, all about protocols and keeping things professional. He worked hard and didn't afraid to do what needs to be done" It was Enterprise who answered him.

"…He sounds quite admirable" William muttered out loud.

But the girls didn't show any sign of admiration whenever they talked about him, their face remain neutral and composed…William squinted his eyes a bit. There's something going on between these girls and the previous commander, what did he do? Or rather, did he didn't do anything? These girls didn't looked like they held some kind of attachment to him…He'll get to that later.

"I believe we're done here for now commander, what do you wish to do next?" Hood asked William.

"I'd like to go to my quarters for now, do you girls have smartphones?" William asked them.

"Yes we do" Belfast said to William.

"Great. Here's my number, if you need to inform me anything you could call me or come straight to my quarters…I may looked too serious or frightening, but I believe close working relationship will improve our overall performance. Don't be a stranger, we're comrades from this day on" William said as he gave Belfast a card with his number on it.

""""""Yes sir!"""""" The secretaries replied.

William made his way to his room alone, he entered the room, closed the door and looked at his new room and sighed a bit. He walked to the office chair near the study and he sat there, he took out his phone and searched for a contact named Helena. He pressed the contact button and dialed her number, it didn't took long for the person to answer his call.

"…Lena, I made the biggest mistake on my life" William said in low tone.

"Huh, I didn't expect you to say that as soon as you arrived on the base" Lena said to William.

"Can you blame me!? I was stuck on a black hole filled with burly men and suddenly I was thrown into a paradise full of beautiful girls, with big boobs, supple arses with great thighs and it drove me mad! Fuck! I had to struggle keeping things professional when we're on tour! If it wasn't for my willpower, I'd be walking with my main gun raised to fire!" William ranted on the phone.

Yeah, William's not the serious type, he often took things lightly and constantly trying to joke. He's also like to drink, often had disagreement with his superior, didn't exactly followed rule books or protocols and thus on paper he's a bad subordinate with disciplinary problems…But in actuality, he's cool under pressure, his jokes were his effort to keep morale high, his drinking were his attempt to keep himself sane, the disagreement because sometimes his superior didn't really understand what he experienced on the field and rule books? Sometimes, not following one was the best strategy he could use to achieve victory…and he's willing to do it every time if it will give him victory with minimal losses.

"Fufufufuahahahahaha!" Lena giggled before laughing out loud.

"…You're enjoying this!" William said with exasperated tone.

"Ahahaha! Of course I am! YOU of all people, panicking? That's a first!" Lena said to William.

"Hah…What to do now? God, this would be fatal in the long run" William said after sighing.

"Relieve yourself, it's the only way. When's the last time you ever touched a woman?" Lena asked William.

"Two and half years ago" William immediately responded.

"That's quite a while…Wait, that would be me?!" Lena exclaimed.

…There you have it folks, William and Lena were involved in romantic relationship in the past. And, their relationship wasn't disclosed to the public but those who know definitely said they complement each other well. Lena was the only one he never openly berated regarding his job and how should he handle his mission, even Lena often gave him advice that he seriously considered and that's because both of them understood each other…too bad, fate didn't allow them to be together…

"Yeah! Hah…tell me why we broke up again?" William asked Lena.

"Don't you remember? The engagement, one which turned into a chaotic mess…God, Will, I wish my dad was more sane at that time" Lena said with sad tone.

"Right. Sometimes I wonder why and how fucked up things were back then…So, yeah. How's married life, Lena?" William lightly asked Lena.

"…You sure you want to talk about this, Will?" Lena said with hesitant tone.

"…On the second thoughts, maybe not…Hah…Alright, thanks for hearing me out at least. I…don't have much friends left" William said to Lena gratefully.

"Chin up will you? Despite high command and the public's opinion, you're always the hero in my eyes. You got new responsibilities now, the girls would need you there…I was the one who recommend your name because I know you're going to pull through this in the end, no matter what" Lena said to William with soft tone.

"That's comforting…" William managed to crack a small smile.

"…I have to go now, my husband is calling me" Lena said to William.

"Sure, just make sure he doesn't know that your ex-boyfriend is calling you" William replied while grinning.

"Har har, will do" Lena said before ending the call.

William plopped himself to the bed while staring at his phone, he decided to check on his mail and opened his social media but it was empty as usual save for advertisement and notifications about his subscription on few things…Man, his phone's like a graveyard. There was a ping and he opened it, it's Belfast who notified him that she had saved his number. William smiled a bit as he also saved hers, which was before a call came from Lena that startled him…

"Yes?" William asked Lena.

"I was just notified that you're needed for a raid, this will get you up to speed with that group of terrorist we mentioned yesterday…" Lena said to William.

"Really? After I just got here!?" William asked Lena with half closed eyes.

"It can't be helped Will, we only got one shot at this…Head to the island's local city's outskirt, there's a hotel named 'Crescent Moon' on that location. That's where you need to meet with the strike force, you're leaving on a chopper as soon as you arrived. It'll be a quick raid, you'll be back before dawn" Lena informed William.

"…Fine" William said and ended the call.

Sighing as he put his phone down, William lazily got off from his bed and approached the trunk that he carried. He inputted the code on it's lock and opened the trunk, he smiled bitterly at the content. The look he gave was the one filled with nostalgia and PTSD at the same time, but he shook that off as he took the things inside the trunk.

"What a reunion…Should I tell them about this? Nah, I'll be back before dawn anyway so that's fine" William muttered to himself.

.

Belfast walked toward William's room, its 7.30 AM and William would be needed in the meeting between the leaders for each faction at 9 AM. Belfast was a bit nervous to be honest, that's because she didn't knew much about William yet, about his habits, his preference, but today would be a great opportunity to start learning about him. She arrived in front of William's room, she composed herself for a bit before she knocked on it.

"Excuse me Master Blaze, I'm coming in" Belfast said as she opened the door.

William's room was still plain looking room other than a wardrobe, night stand, a study, stack of boxes and luggage and a bed with a big lump encased within a blanket on top of it. Belfast smiled as she approached the lump, William must've been quite tired yesterday. Belfast get close to the lump as she smiled, duty calls and it's time for him to wake up.

"Master, its morning already. Please wake up" Belfast said while smiling.

She expected that he wouldn't respond at first and she was right, she tried it again but this time she will shook him lightly. But when she touched the lump, there's this unmistakable feeling that this lump was devoid of any kind of human body's warmth. Belfast eyes widen a bit as she opened the blanket, what she found was a hugging pillow alongside several shirts messily folded inside it…

"Oh dear" Belfast muttered to herself.

…Now where would William be she wondered? Did he went out to jog in the morning? Did he already woke up and now roaming around the base? Was he in the toilet? There's so many possibilities. Her answer came half a minute later however in the form of the man himself entering the room, Belfast cocked her head when she heard the door was opened.

There stood William, wearing forestland Battle Dress Uniform, with military grade bulletproof vest, a green scarf on his neck, knife with its scabbard on his left shoulder, ammo pouches around his waist, a pistol and a holster on his right thigh, combat boots and knee and elbow pads. His face was dirtied by dirt and some small blood splatter, his hair was unkempt and dirty and he's carrying an M16A4 Assault Rifle with suppressor, vertical fore grip and holographic scope attached.

"Bollocks…" William muttered.

"Master Blaze, I think some explanation is in order" Belfast said to William.

"Err…Yeah, this will be hard to explain. But, it's also one of my job so don't worry about it, Belfast" William said while smiling.

"Master, forgive my rudeness, but isn't officer doesn't necessarily participate in a combat?" Belfast asked William.

"I'm a special occasion, that rule didn't apply to me…Anyway, we don't have anything planned for today, right?" William asked Belfast.

"Oh, there's a meeting between you and factions leader at nine this morning. I'm afraid you won't have time to rest" Belfast said to William.

"Ah…if that's how it is…That means I need to shower and eat something first" William said to Belfast.

Belfast smiled as she helped William who sat on a spare chair removing his equipment, she helped taking off the bulletproof vest, the ammo pouches and at the same time inspecting for any signs of injuries on him…After making sure everything checks out, she took the rifle to store it. But she stopped for a bit while looking at the rifle she held…

"...Interested?" William asked Belfast.

"A little bit, us ship girls didn't really use this kind of weapon much" Belfast said to William.

"Yeah, the guns you girls has are even more destructive than that flimsy rifle. But it served me well enough since my graduation, it stick with me that long and we go through many close calls together…In the battlefield, that gun is already like an extension of myself" William said to Belfast.

Belfast nodded her head as she inspected the rifle in detail, it's true that the rifle looked quite worn out with scratches here and there. Placing down the weapon on the nearby desk, she then took off the pistol alongside its holster and placed it beside the rifle.

"Now this one is more familiar design" Belfast commented.

"Huh, you ever wield one?" William asked Belfast.

"No, but our fellow maid Sheffield always carry one around" Belfast said to William.

"I see" William simply answered.

William got up and head straight for the bathroom that's connected with his room, taking quick shower, cleaning every nook and cranny, he got out of the room with only a towel covering him. He found Belfast already waiting with his clothes…Wait, how did she knew where he put that? Ah never mind, it's not like William care that a gorgeous maid like her touching his personal stuff. Belfast helped him put on his clothes, she made sure that William was properly dressed before she smiled in satisfaction.

"Now that you're dressed, where would you like to eat breakfast?" Belfast asked while smiling.

"On my office is fine, thank you" William replied while smiling too.

"Very well then, I will bring breakfast there. Should I accompany you to the office before that?" Belfast asked further.

"No need Belfast, I'll walk there by myself" William said to Belfast.

"Understood, master" Belfast bowed a bit.

Belfast smiled as she walked away, William maintain his composure before he leaned a bit to the wall…Damn! So this is the feeling when you got a maid that attend to your daily needs! Man, this job started to grow on him. No one seemed to care about wearing uniform on this base, but he heard that it's fine since ship girls were given liberty on their dressing choice…Yeah, he could get used to this. Unfortunately he can't laze around because this privilege were given to him at the cost of mountain of tasks he has to complete, bloody hell…

Making his way to his new office, he managed to find it without getting lost. He opened the door and stepped inside the room…It's indeed an officer's working room, with tables, office chair, large cupboard, big window, sofa set with coffee table…But there's no decoration whatsoever other than the carpet for the room, a flag of Azur Lane on the corner of the room and a plant in a pot on top of the coffee table…Oh well, since it's his room now he might as well make it comfortable to work in.

He seated himself on the chair, he was about to leaned on the chair and perhaps take a quick nap before the door was opened that resulted with him propelling back to alert. There stood Hood, already dressed on her usual dress while carrying a stack of papers with Illustrious…Wait, Illustrious?! William eyes widened a bit, hoo boy what a beauty that just came to this place! Illustrious, the voluptuous young woman with silver hair smiled at him in her sight and William had a hard time keeping his stare on her face.

"Oh, Lord Blaze you're already here" Hood said to William.

"Ah, so you're our new commander. How do you do milord? I'm Illustrious, it's a pleasure to meet you" Illustrious introduced herself.

"…The name's William Blaze milady, I'm honored to know a beauty such as you" William replied while smirking.

"My, thank you! But milord, now that I've looked at you, it seems you looked unwell" Illustrious said as she approached him with Hood.

"She's right milord, you looked a bit pale and your eyes looked tired. Did you not have a good night rest?" Hood asked William.

"Err…well, something like that. I think I'll be fine to continue a bit" William said while smiling a bit.

"Is that so. Please don't push yourself too hard, it would be bad if our new commander fell ill on his first day on duty" Hood said while smiling.

Shit she was right, William didn't think this through at all on his way home from the fight as he could surely rest for few good hours on the helicopter! But no, his too-brave-and-too-badass-to-sleep mode was active and he sat awake while reading up reports about their raid instead of just shutting his eyes! Oh well, a loss is a loss so he got no choice but to carry on like this…It's his own fault to be honest.

"So, what brings you two lovely ladies to my office?" William asked as he put his hands on the table.

"I wish to deliver these papers, there's quite bit of work piling up before you arrived so it'll be better to start working on it bit by bit. I'll be helping you with this task" Hood said to William.

"I'm just curious about you milord, so I came with Ms. Hood to see you" Illustrious said while smiling.

"I see…In that case, you two could stay here until the meeting at nine" William said as he looked through the documents.

""Yes milord"" Both Illustrious and Hood said.

William started to read the documents that Hood carried while she stood to his right side, Illustrious pulled a chair and sat in front of his desk while keep smiling. William didn't know what was she thinking right now, but he didn't care since the beauty in front of him already give him enough energy boost to pull through this current task of him.

"Lord Blaze hmm, I heard you came from Royal Navy Officer Academy" Illustrious said to William.

"Yes, and I was drafted into Azur Lane Military Expedition Unit as soon as I graduate from the academy" William said to Illustrious.

"What was your job when you're on the expedition?" Illustrious asked William.

"You can say…I'm the one who always stuck on the frontline, with a rifle on his hands and dealing with whatever request high command might have for us" William said to Illustrious while smiling a bit.

"So you're a frontline soldier...May I ask which unit specifically?" Illustrious asked further.

"…Azur Lane Task Force Nimbus" William said after hesitating for a bit.

Both Illustrious and Hood nodded their heads before their eyes widens and stared back at William with a gaping mouth that they had to cover with their hands, William wasn't sure that being honest like this would be good but lying about it wouldn't sit well with him. Task Force Nimbus of Azur Lane were known as the myth among the alliance forces, everyone knew they exist but no one could exactly pin point their location and area of operation. They just appear on one site then disappear without trace, with their targets destroyed and no sign of them ever being there.

Black Ops unit would suit their unit definition well, the boogeyman on the battlefield and the one name thrown in when there's any mysterious disappearance or the sudden death or destruction of opposing forces subject. Hood had heard of his story yesterday connected the dots and she came into grim conclusion that the task force was no longer exist, William himself said that the unit was disbanded after it lost too many people…But who were they fighting to receive such casualties rate? Their enemies must be so powerful…

"…You're among the myths of the battlefield…You must be very skilled, milord" Illustrious said to William.

"People do said so" William simply answered while smiling.

"Then, taking your story from yesterday into account, which means the task force was no longer exist because it got wiped out…What exactly happened, sir?" Hood curiously asked.

"…I'm not exactly allowed to tell you. But to put it simply, the enemies we fought? They know everything about us, our tactics, strategy, doctrine…that become our greatest weakness yet at the same time…our strength as well…In the end, we prevailed…but at massive cost" William said as he frowned.

He was spared from further explanation as Belfast arrived with a trolley bearing foods, drinks and snacks as well. She brought William's breakfast alongside putting tea and snacks for Illustrious and Hood to enjoy, William cocked his eyebrows…How did Belfast knew that these two ladies would stop by here?

"Belfast, you knew Ms. Hood and Ms. Illustrious would be here?" William asked Belfast.

"Yes, call it maid's intuition" Belfast said while smiling confidently.

"As expected of our perfect head maid!" Illustrious said while smiling.

"Ah, your black tea is the best, Ms. Belfast" Hood said to Belfast.

"Thank you, Madam Hood" Belfast said while bowing.

"…Whoa" William simply said in amazement.

With it, William enjoyed his breakfast and the ladies enjoyed the tea and snacks while chatting leisurely. He had to say, the food he ate was as delicious as the one he ate yesterday…Another thing he would like to add in the list of his growing fondness of this new job of his. While chatting about mundane things, William made sure to open himself to the ladies questions because he believed this shouldn't made him felt like strangers…

The ladies were actively trying to get to know him, they asked about his hobby, his art preference, his musical preference, his interest…The ladies were relentless and William struggled a bit in answering their questions. What made these girls so interested in him? He's their new commander, sure but this doesn't felt like subordinates getting to know their superior. It's almost like someone who get to know someone for a-.

PING!

"Ah, hold on" William said to the girls.

William took out his phone and he was right as Lena did called him, he set his phone on the table and set it to loudspeaker mode because he's still eating his breakfast. Why the hell would she call this morning? As far as he concerned, everything related to last night raid were already reported to her.

"Hey, good morning Will! How's your day inside a base filled with gorgeous ladies this morning?" Lena asked him.

"It went well so far. So any reason you're calling me this early?" William asked Lena.

"Straight to the point! Can't I call you just because I miss you?" Lena asked William.

"…Okay, you're drunk" William stated to the point.

"I can assure you I'm not! My husband was too busy this morning, I need someone to chat with while I'm eating breakfast alone" Lena said to William.

"Poor you Lena, here I am eating breakfast accompanied by three gorgeous ladies" William said while smirking.

"What?! Hey no fair!" Lena said in whining tone.

"You're the one who put me on this job! You got no right to complain! That being said, this is a good opportunity to introduce yourself" William said to Lena.

"I suppose so…Um, hey there ladies" Lena said out loud.

"Good morning, Mrs. Lena" "Hello, Mrs. Lena" "Morning, Mrs. Lena" Belfast, Hood and Illustrious said at once.

"I'm Admiral Helena McAllen, the one in charge of William there and as well his liaison with high command. He could be a little slacker, but he's a good man so take care of him for me" Lena said with light hearted tone.

"Hey now" William squinted his eyes at the remark.

"That being said. Will, what are you going to do today?" Lena asked him.

"…A meeting with four great faction, the ship girl's leader were all here" William told her of the plan.

"Perfect. That should be a good start, well I will wait the good news here so bye for now!" Lena said as she hanged the phone.

…Wait, that's all of it? William thought Lena did have something important to talk to him and that question of hers were just the opening salvo. Shrugging, he continued with his breakfast then kept working on the documents while joining the occasional chat between the ladies…At nine, he decided to go to the meeting.

.

William entered the designated meeting room on the academy building, he was surprised though that the room was jam packed with ship girls. Each faction seemed to have more than two representative as some could be seen standing behind their leaders, William looked over at everyone in the room as he went inside accompanied by Belfast, Illustrious and Hood.

There's Enterprise as Eagle Union representative alongside Brooklyn who sat beside her, there's Bismarck as the leader of Iron Blood with Tirpitz that sat beside her, there's Nagato as the leader of Sakura Empire with Shoukaku accompanying beside her and lastly, Queen Elizabeth as the leader of Royal Navy with Warspite beside her…All the big shots were here and every eyes in the room were directed at him. Nervous? Bloody hell he is!

"Good morning everyone, I suppose introduction is in order. My name is William Blaze, I have been assigned to this base as the replacement commanding officer. I will do my best and I look forward working together with everyone" Yes, at least William didn't stuttered.

"Good morning, so you're the new commander. It's good to see that Royal Navy Officer Academy managed to produce a capable officer such as you, you have my approval" Elizabeth said to William.

Well, whatever in that file that Elizabeth read must have been one big fat lie or she read his profile when he just graduated from the academy. If she managed to read the full dossier about him, William was sure that he would get harsh wordings from the queen instead of praises like now…

"Your words flatters me, your majesty" William said while smiling.

"Guten tag, kommandant. My name is Bismarck, I'm the leader of The Iron Bloods. We look forward to witness your prowess in battle, Prinz have told me that you're a veteran warrior…perhaps we can spare sometimes to test our skills against each other?" Bismarck introduced herself.

"The offer is quite intriguing, Ms. Bismarck. But allow me to consider it" William replied while smiling.

"Ohayou gozaimasu, shikikan-sama. My name is Nagato, the leader of Sakura Empire fleet girls. Sakura Empire is ready to aid thou in the defense against The Sirens, say the word and we'll move as thou will" Nagato introduced herself while bowing a little.

"Thank you for your support, I will certainly count on you and every Sakura Empire ship girls in the future, Ms. Nagato" William replied to Nagato.

"Good morning commander, my name is Enterprise and I served as the representative for Eagle Union on this meeting. We are ready to support you and battle against The Sirens at your word" Enterprise said with serious face.

"Understood, The Union's help is appreciated, Ms. Enterprise" William replied while smiling a bit.

…These four were the representative of each major faction of Azur Lane, but what about Iris Libre? Vichya Dominion? Eastern Radiance? North Union? Iris Libre? Sardegna Empire? There's a lot of representative that didn't appeared at today's meeting…Were they even on this base or they still fought at the waters on their home front? Oh well, maybe he'll get a chance to meet one of them in the future…

"…Some of you already knew about me being a veteran soldier, but I mostly deal in operation that didn't involve naval combat. However, I was also taught how to handle naval operation in case the situation demands it…Looks like I got to practice my knowledge and skill for real. That being said, I would like to know the current situation for our base, operations and enemy positions" William said out loud.

And so begins the grueling meeting to explain things to William in detail, he focused his mind solely in absorbing information and asking questions to anything relevant to the fleet operation. They were so absorbed by it that they didn't realize that it was noon by the time they decided to take a break for a bit, they have been discussing things for three hours non-stop and William felt drained as he slumped a bit on his seat.

"You're quite the studious one, Lord Blaze" Hood commented from his side.

"I couldn't afford to mess this job of mine and putting you girls in danger" William said as he looked upwards.

"Ufufufu, I'm glad that our commander care for us" Hood said while smiling.

"…That being said, I didn't expect that there would be so many girls attending this meeting. You know anything about that, Ms. Hood?" William asked Hood.

"If I had to assume, that's because the girls were quite curious about you, commander. Words traveled fast in this place…Beside, the previous commander was quite unapproachable with his professionalism. But you're different, you don't seem to mind to getting know us on personal level" Hood said while smiling a bit.

…There! That right there was one clue he sought. See, he knew there's something going on with the previous commander of this base and it turns out he was unapproachable and that resulted with the ship girls didn't felt any sorts of attachment or even interpersonal relationship or something? Too by the book and too stoic huh? Well, William isn't that kind of person…

"I already mentioned it before. I believe that success could be achieved with close working relationship, which means I have to get to know everyone better. But I don't mind doing that outside of work too because I'm just that kind of person, Ms. Hood. Making friends with you girls is a privilege I'm glad to have" William said to Hood while smiling.

"I see…Then I believe we could make that plan of yours work, milord. The girls here might be a bit eccentric at times, but they're good girls you can rely on" Hood said to William while smiling confidently.

The meeting continued all the way until dusk when William said he now know most of the base's aspects and operations, he could continue the work now and thank the girls for their cooperation. After some chit chat with the girls on the base, eating dinner alongside everyone else, William head back to his room, opened the door, took off his clothes and jumped straight into the bed only with boxers on as his extreme fatigue finally took a toll on him…Morning came and William still in deep sleep even after almost ten hour sleep.

"Master…Master, please wake up" A feminine voice was heard.

"…What? Is it time to mine those coals already?" William groggily answered.

"Mining coal?" The voice's owner was clearly confused.

"…My backs are killing me John…Can't I sit this one out?" William further said.

"Master, it would seems you're not fully awoke yet…Perhaps this would wake you" The voice said.

William felt something cold and thin touching his neck, his battle proven reflex kicked in as he grabbed whoever holding that thing to his neck and pinned them down on the bed. He could hear a cute yelp as William held down the person as he tried to reach for his knife on his left shoulder scabbard…When he realized that he's not on the battlefield, almost naked on his room, that immediately made him jolted his eyes open.

Below him was Belfast, her face shown signs of surprise as her little prank had resulted in her witnessing her master's prowess in forcefully laying down a lady…that sentence somehow came out wrong…William was about to say something before his mind almost shut down at the sight below him. Belfast sprawled on the bed beneath him, she's panting a bit due to her being surprised, her cheeks decorated in light blush, few strands of her hair were out of order, some part of her clothes were messed up and she laid down in vulnerable position.

Seconds went by and William felt his self-control slipping away as her cleavage looked very inviting for him to bury his face in…Belfast looked downwards and widened her eyes for a bit before pulling off the greatest smirk she ever pulled in the last month, William followed suit and he felt a bit embarrassed. That's because his morning wood had turned into a raging boner, pitching a large tent on his boxer and man it begged some sweet release from its shackle…

"Belfast" William called her name.

"Yes master?" Belfast asked while smiling.

"…Don't do that again in the future" William simply warned her.

"I have learned my lesson and shall reflect on my mistakes, but would other methods do as long it didn't make you feel threatened, master?" Belfast asked William.

"…Yeah, that would be fine" William said to Belfast.

"Understood" Belfast said while smiling.

The door was opened and both Belfast and William looked on whose intruding, the intruder had a name and it's Sheffield…She wordlessly stared at the scene before her and she pulled out her handgun, she aimed at William without any hint of hesitation and squeezed the trigger. The weapon was fired and the bullet hit him straight on the cranium, William fell back on the bed.

"Sheffield, this is an accident" Belfast calmly explained.

"…Is that so? For a second there I thought he's going to force himself on you" Sheffield answered.

"I don't think our master is that kind of man…I hope that weapon of yours used non-lethal ammunition?" Belfast asked as she checked on William.

"Blank rounds, yes" Sheffield simply answered.

William laid down on the bed unconscious, Belfast sighed a bit as she remembered that today Hood would like to settle some administrative matters with him, Illustrious seems want to take him on a lunch, Enterprise and Prinz wants to talk about the fleet, Brooklyn also seems to have a diplomatic matters that she would like to address with him and few Sakura Empire girls seems planning to visit him later in the afternoon...There's no way he could do all that anytime soon with him being unconscious like this.

"The ladies would not like this" Belfast commented as she inspecting William's head trauma.

Third time is the charm. That sentence correlates so well with William's condition where the third day's the start of him handling the antics of the ship girls on the base…Belfast and Sheffield somehow managed to carry him to the infirmary, Vestal was stunned when she saw both girls carrying their unconscious commander inside. After doing a brief check up on him, she looked at the maids with half closed eyes.

"This is clearly the product of blunt force trauma and judging by its size…Did one of you shot him?" Vestal asked Belfast and Sheffield.

"I did. Master and Belfast were involved in a misunderstanding and my body moved on instinct" Sheffield said to Vestal.

"Mou…he will be alright but I think it would take him a while to wake up" Vestal said while touching her left cheek.

"Thank you Madam Vestal, we'll be taking our leave now. We'll trust him in your good hands" Belfast said while bowing a bit.

Belfast and Sheffield exited the infirmary to attend to their other duties…as well telling those who sought William that he would be unavailable for a while. Vestal took a while to sort out the medicine on the shelves before she looked at William again, her lips smiled a bit.

"Okay commander, you can stop pretending" Vestal said to William.

"Yeah… you got me. Ouch, that stings" William said to Vestal.

William rose up from the infirmary bed while nursing the place where he got hit by Sheffield's pistol bullet, Vestal got close and started to treat the bruise on the area impacted. William thought that Vestal was quite attentive and he should know better than to fool a doctor by pretending to be unconscious…The reason he did all this? Well, he'll let Belfast explain that misunderstanding as his word alone would seemingly won't work at Sheffield…

"So you're the doctor, I want to visit you yesterday but I haven't got the chance to" William said to Vestal.

"That I am Commander, I run this infirmary but if required to I could also sortie with the girls out there…I'm a repair ship, but you would know better than to underestimate me" Vestal said to William.

"Got it…Hey, I was wondering…Would it be alright if I sometime bothers you at night?" William asked Vestal.

"Oh my…" Vestal was speechless unable to respond…

"…Sorry, that came out wrong. I have tasks from high command that could potentially injure me sometimes, I would need your help in the future" William said to Vestal.

"…Why at night commander?" Vestal asked William.

"Because at day I'm working as the commander of this base" William answered while smiling a bit.

"Ah…I see what you mean now…If that's your request, then I'll certainly do my best to fulfill it" Vestal answered while smiling.

"Thank you…and don't tell anyone else about this without my permission" William said to Vestal.

Well, that went right out of the window as someone was about to opened the infirmary door but stopped when they heard that conversation…Enterprise cocked her eyebrows in confusion, their commander has another task at night? And it could injure him sometimes. He's a veteran soldier, does he also required to go into direct combat sometimes? Why hide that fact from them? Well, Enterprise's going to get her answer because she then decided to open the door.


	3. Finally! A taste of combat!

_**Hey everyone, thanks for your review, follow and favorite! You know, it really motivates me to continue this story...Here's the continuation, as I'm still not well since falling ill four days ago do forgive me for any error you might encounter. Enjoy guys, see you next time.**_

_**\- Dasmara**_

* * *

…Three days in and his secret were exposed to the girls, well not all of them, just the secretaries and several other girls…Enterprise overheard what he was talking about with Vestal, needless to say there's a lot of questioning involved and the secretaries were called for emergency meeting to explain William's night job…They understand with the fact that William have to kept it under wraps but why must it be him? He's their commanding officer and in the event he's wounded or killed then…

"It's complicated" William said to everyone.

"Complicated huh? But you know Kommandant, can you really work two jobs at once? You. Will. Die from exhaustion if you keep that up~" Prinz said to William.

"…Well I don't have a choice, it's a direct order from high command" William shrugged as he answered.

"That's unreasonable" Hood said to William.

"When they ever being reasonable…" William muttered under his breath.

William knew that the best, he's been serving under them directly for years. They demand for something to be done, something impossible to do with normal means and yet when he did get it done High Command berated him for his unorthodox tactics…He's always wrong in their eyes, but at the same time they needed him…Hood had every right to call them unreasonable.

"Anyway, I'm fine with this current situation ladies. If it gets too much, I'll be sure to let you know" William said while smiling to assured them.

"…You're not forcing yourself, right?" Enterprise asked while frowning.

"Don't worry Ms. Enterprise, I don't. It's not like I will went to fight the terrorist every night, it's just when I'm needed too so it won't be often" William assured her.

"Okay…just don't forget to rest now and then, commander" Enterprise said while frowning.

After saying that, she excused herself and exited William's office. William looked around and noticed that everyone had their own reaction to the scene but most of them were smiling bitterly, he cocked his eyebrows at the sight and curiosity finally get the better of him…

"…She's quite worried" William said out loud.

"That's because she learned from experience, harshly" Illustrious said to William.

"Oh?" William looked at Illustrious.

"During the war she fought relentlessly. Enterprise is strong but the toll of constant battle finally caught up to her, she collapsed and almost defeated were it not for Belfast saving her" This time its Hood who spoke.

"I'm glad that I made it in time back then" Belfast remarked while standing beside William.

…William did read the reports of the past battle, he did have a basic knowledge of what happened with Enterprise in the past…he thought she already got over that habit of hers, it looks like she did and having a reminder of that being in the form of her commanding officer may cause discomfort for her…Still, he thought the girls were worrying too much about this second job of his. It's only for when he would be needed anyway…But deep down inside, he was smiling at the display of their care…it felt good to receive such attention.

.

…A week passed by quickly, it's all nice and quiet on Azur Lane base with no Siren attacks reported and patrol in the vicinity turned up with nothing…William sat on his office chair while tapping his left cheek repeatedly in confusion with one question haunting his mind, what the fuck are The Sirens planning with all this calmness?! Seriously, they don't even show their shadows and reports he got from the coast on every part of the globe reported the same thing! All clear.

"I'm getting quite restless here…" William muttered out loud.

…His work was done for the day, he got nothing to do and it's quite hot outside. Well, it's almost summer and he tempted to stroll the base but not at noon with glaring sun like this…William leaned back as he surveyed his office for a bit. A week after he's here and he already put in many things to decorate the bland looking room, the girls from all over the base also like to come to play or bother him for attention so…yeah, his office were quite crowded sometimes and this moment where it's empty were quite rare.

He took off his white uniform and his black t-shirt underneath it, his bare packed-with-muscle torso was exposed for the world to see and he stretched as he relished the cool air conditioned room's temperature directly with his exposed skin. He looked at the scars on his torso, very faint but it's still there if one looked close enough…Heh, William guessed that not even modern technology could hide the proof of his mistakes and close call in the past. Bullet wound, stab wound, slash wound, burn marks, he got it all. Belfast, Sheffield and Vestal saw his bare torso but none of them made any comment about it…that's quite strange.

After stretching for a bit, he then turned to the audio player he set up to the right side from the door and set it on, browsing through the music list he found a lot in it…Illustrious classical music collection, Long Island anime song list, San Diego's music collection, Hood jazz music list…When did those girls set these up!? Shrugging in complete loss, William choose one of the two list under his name…the rock and metal part.

The music kicked in, the room reverberated in sound wave filled with rock tune so much that every male in the direct vicinity could grow instant full beard, chest hair and another pair of balls from the sheer amount of testosterone hanging in the air. William started pretend carrying a guitar as he performed air guitar for the ref of the song that came up in full force, the recent DOOM game's death metal was quite sick and he's a fan of the game back before he was locked up. Why did he do this? This nonsensical immersion could let off some steam.

He let himself loose, throwing all of his frustration to his movements, his stress into his fingers that move on mach speed, his uncertainty to his passionate immersion. He imagined himself wearing that green badass power armor, with double barrel shotgun on his hands, loads of guns on his back, stranded in hell, terrorizing its local populace of demons, rip and tear those assholes until it is done.

"Come on you sods! Have a taste of my good old shotty here! Boom!" William said while pointing his imaginary shotgun.

"Oh, still standing you wanker? Come here and bite this chainsaw, motherfucker!" William said as he swung his arms wildly.

"Hmph! Baron of hell? More like Goons of Hell! You weak cunts couldn't even kill someone smaller than you such as me! Come on! Get some! Get some of this bitch!" William said as he imitated carrying a mini gun with his hands.

"Cyber demon? Pfft! BFG-9000 it is! Go fuck yourself with my bright green balls you poor excuse of terminator!" William said as he pretended shooting a massive gun.

The music ended and by god he's sweating like he's really in hell, that was a perfect immersion and it get his blood boiling to be honest! He's about to go once again when he realized there's additional light that came not from his window. William turned right and he saw the office door was opened, with Prinz smirking and her phone on her right hand, Belfast who still smiling as usual as if she didn't saw something strange just now, Illustrious eyes went wide as she closed her gaping mouth, Hood and Kongou were trying hard not to burst out laughing, Takao stared with cocked eyebrows and Enterprise stood frozen with astonished face…

"Ah guten tag kommandant, what a great content that you just gave me!" Prinz said while smirking.

"Milord, are you alright?" Illustrious asked with concerned face.

"…Such passion, such bloodlust…Now I understand why you're with Task Force Nimbus, shikikan" Takao said with her right hand on her chin.

"I could imagine how you deal with those terrorist now, commander…you surely don't give mercy on the battlefield" Enterprise said to William.

…Holy almighty shit! William felt like taking the revolver on his waist and shoot himself in the head just to save him from the sheer embarrassment that these ladies just saw him acting like that! That was so ungentlemanly thing to do…He walked back to his seat, slowly putting on his clothes, then dropped his head to the table before sighing loudly…Five seconds later, he stared back at the ladies with his usual composed face.

"…I would like to ask you to please delete that video, Prinz" William said to Prinz while smiling.

"Aww, too late kommandant. It was sent to everyone already" Prinz said while grinning.

"HUH?! You're shitting me!" William said in fear.

"Ahahahaha! That's the first time I ever saw you looking panicked like that, it's hilarious!" Prinz said while laughing.

"Mou, Prinz, I think you're being too mean to milord" Hood said while smiling.

"It's just a light teasing, Hood…Don't worry, I'm not so heartless to do that" Prinz replied while smiling smugly.

"…Alright, let's just put this under the bridge. Did something came up?" William quickly asked them.

"Yes commander, we have reports of unknown sighting near the base. Should we investigate?" Enterprise asked William.

"Hmm, let's-"

William phone ringed and he looked at the caller, his eyes narrowed in total seriousness as he stared at the caller for five seconds…The girls wondered if he would pick up the phone or not, he seemed really conflicted about answering it. The call went unanswered and William was about to continue when the phone ringed again, this time the girls could clearly saw a tick mark on his left cheek…Whoa, their commander is irritated! That's a first for them.

"…Ladies, please stay in here for a bit. I have a phone call to take, you may do as you like" William said as he walked outside.

Exiting and closing the door, the girls were left to stare at each other in confusion after William left the room…Who's that caller? This one week they get to know their commander, he's a friendly person who sometimes got swamped by ship girls antics still managed to put on a smile on his face every now and then. So, anyone who managed to get him irritated like that must be quite troublesome…

"…He's quite in bad mood since morning" Hood said out loud.

"Is he?" Illustrious asked Hood.

"I can vouch for Madam Hood's words. I don't know what happened last night, but master had not been himself since I came to wake him up" Belfast said while frowning a little.

"Could he be frustrated?" Kongou asked out loud.

"Why would he be? His workload were usual and he completed it like usual, there's no trouble on the base and everything seems fine…Could it be the problem is something out of the base?" Hood said out loud.

"…Those terrorist? Commander William went to deal with another mission yesterday right?" Enterprise suggested to them.

"Hmm? Wasn't the reason he went out last night was to visit the town?" Hood asked Enterprise.

"I can confirm that he went out to buy something on the town, I saw him off after all" Takao said to everyone.

"I DON'T EVEN CARE!" William suddenly shouted.

The girls were startled when they heard William shouted, he sounded angry. Silent agreement were signed between every one of them as they opened the door to peeked at him, there they saw William was on call with an unknown person but his face looked irritated and his huge left fist was clenched…They hoped that he won't be angry enough to punch the wall because they believed he could crack it and explaining that to Akashi would be quite awkward.

"Listen here, I don't want to ever deal with this beautifully crafted clusterfuck again! Do not even think about setting a meeting or so help me god I will nuke Azur Lane HQ without hesitation! What? You think I couldn't procure one? Mate, I can assure you that nothing good will come out from that plan of yours…No, I don't so bugger off with that idea!" William said as he hanged up.

He turned back and saw several heads peeking through his office's door, of course they're going to eavesdrop on him if he shouted and let his emotion ran wild…Now that he think of it, he's showing so much more emotion on this base compared to all the time he served on Task Force Nimbus. During that time, he had to maintain the stoic, professional and hardened attitude as their job description dictated them…In here though? He got to act like he was before the academy, even the guy who called him was surprised at his outburst of emotion before.

"…Sorry for that horrendous display ladies" William said while smiling bitterly.

"Milord, you can talk about your problems with us anytime. It's not good to bottle up like this sir, you can snap in the future" Hood said to William while frowning a bit.

"I know, but this is my problem and I don't want to involve you girls in unnecessary trouble. I appreciate the sentiment though…Alright, you girls want to investigate the sighting right? I'll accompany you girls to the area of operation" William said to them.

"What about the rooster for this deployment?" Hood asked William.

"We got plenty of resources to spare, I want third fleet as vanguards and second fleet as support. Enterprise, you and first fleet would be in charge of the base defense while we're gone" William said to them.

"Sir yes sir!" Enterprise replied while saluting.

"Let's move ladies, meet me on the helipad in ten minutes" William nodded his head.

He entered a small equipment depot and ready himself for a deployment by putting on a flight vest, putting on gloves and taking a flight helmet with him. He took a P228 Handgun, checked the ammo on it's magazine before holstering it on his vest alongside several spare magazine. William made his way out toward the canteen, along the way he saw several big yellow bird like creatures preparing the helicopter for deployment…Those things were called Manjus.

How the hell they came to be, how they're sentient enough to understand orders, how they're basically the base caretaker and how they function mostly out of sight were the biggest question William ever had since he took over the base but for the sake of his sanity he choose not to dwell too far on it…High Command and by extension Lena, had been trying to avoid answering his question regarding this creature too. He was told that they're his labor force that were paid by High Command directly and William could rest at ease with base maintenance because these birds will do it automatically…See? Nothing good will come out with overthinking about them.

"…Hey you, is the helicopter ready to go?" William asked a Manju.

The Manjus who were on near helicopter all stopped whatever they're doing and gathered in front of William in tight line formation before all of them raised their right hand (wing?) toward him like it indicated a thumbs up…William's at loss could only replied by giving him his own thumbs up with uncertain eyes, but he shrugged…Just went along, it'll be easier.

"Alright, thanks" William said to them.

With those words, The Manjus saluted at him before flopping off into all direction and disappeared from his sight within five seconds…What the actual fuck? William looked around and he saw no signs of large herd of chickens ever being present on the helipad. By this time, his back shuddered at the mystery he just witnessed. That alleviated a bit when he saw the girls approaching him, twelve of them that consisted of two fleet.

"Milord? Shouldn't we deploy through the pier?" Hood asked William.

"Nah, it'll take too long. We're going with rapid deployment tactics…Get in the helicopter, I'll personally drop you girls off on the area of operation" William said as he entered the helicopter.

Everyone then started to get inside the helicopter, the vehicle was quite large as it have enough room for at least thirty people on its cargo bay. Everyone get inside and William started the take-off procedure for the helicopter by checking the rotors, fuel and electronic systems on board. He meticulously and did it in under a minute that he didn't noticed that Hood already sat beside him.

"…Milord employed quite unusual tactics" Illustrious commented while seated.

"But he do have a point…cruising through the air would be faster, this should save a lot of time" Kongou said to Illustrious.

"You girls ready?" William asked out loud while looking at them.

All he got was collective yes and nods coming from them, he nodded back then looked at Hood who stared at him while smiling. He smiled back as he take the helicopter off the helipad and head toward the designated area of operation in top speed, most of the girls were tensed as they're not used to flying but many of them (nah, mostly the destroyers) looked outside the window and relished that they're cruising faster than their top speed while gliding on the sea.

"Milord, you're driving the helicopter yourself? Why not ask a Manju to do it?" Hood asked William.

"Don't sweat the small stuff, Ms. Hood. Besides, I like to drive around quite a bit" William said while focusing on piloting.

"I could totally see you being a cab driver" Hood said while smiling widely.

"Really? Not the private driver of a beautiful princess like you?" William shot a meaningful smirk at Hood.

"My, now you're flattering me…" Hood looked away with faint blush on her cheeks.

"…Approaching drop zone, ready yourselves ladies. Second fleet, take the left side of the helicopter while third fleet take the right. Jump in orderly manners and deploy your rigging on the air, understood?" William said out loud.

""""""""""Yes sir!"""""""""" Everyone replied.

Hood stood up and head to the back to join the other. Second Fleet consisted of Prinz Eugen, Helena, Ayanami, Hood, Arizona and California while Third Fleet consisted of Takao, Atago, Javelin, Kongou, Kirishima and Illustrious. Seeing all twelve girls ready on their positioning, William opened the helicopter side hatch and everyone were immediately hit by strong winds. William looked forward and he spotted smoke pillars in the horizon…They have arrived.

"On my mark…Three, two, one, drop now!" William said out loud.

With the command given, twelve girls jumped in orderly manners. They deployed their rigs in the air and all of them landed safely on the water surface, some naturally adapted with the landing while some had to stumble a bit but still managed to stand nevertheless. William raised the helicopter attitude once he confirmed everyone already jumped off, he closed the hatch and now it's time to work.

"This…actually works!" Kirishima said out loud.

"Whoa you're right! This will drastically change our tactics!" Arizona said to Kirishima.

"Kommandant, we're on the surface" Prinz reported through radio.

"Excellent, you ladies adapted well with on the fly tactic like this…Let's get to work then, everyone head to bearing 320. That smoke came from something, possibly a destroyed ship. Head there and assess the situation" William ordered to them.

"Jawol, kommandant. Let's get moving everyone!" Prinz said while leading the vanguards.

…William was about to set a music on the helicopter console when he noticed something, the helicopter he's on was actually armed? How? He didn't see a thing attached on the side of the helicopter but the console indicated armament were installed. He choose to activate the armament and suddenly he heard something coming from the side of the helicopter, he looked outside the window and saw several weaponry materialized on the side of the helicopter.

…Say what now?! What in the gods name the kind of bullshit he's witnessing now!? Did this helicopter equipped the same technology that the ship girl used!? It's the first time he knew about this and he could safely presumed that this was still in experimental state! Man, the number of projectiles available for him to use in the console also exceed what the normal helicopter could carry…

"…Hey, this thing is equipped to kill something! Heavy Machine Gun turret on the nose, Air to Ground Missile, Anti-Ship Missile, rocket pods and even Air to Air Missile…Packed to kill, have enough room for ship girls to deploy and customizable…I think I know how to implement all of this at fight in the future" William muttered to himself.

"Kommandant, we've arrived. It's a destroyed flotilla, a dozen of transport ships and four frigate escorts" Prinz reported on the radio.

"…Any survivors?" William asked Prinz.

"…We're surveying the area now" Prinz said to William.

Geez, this first deployment was quite catastrophic to say the least…Dozen of transport ship, by the looks of it those were medium class too so they essentially lost a good amount of stuff that were now in the bottom of the ocean. Four frigate escorts were more than enough to deter raiders or any kind of piracy attempt but…yeah, those that attacked them must've been the size of a battle group and coordinated.

"Commander, we've found no survivors" Kongou said on the radio.

"Impossible, this many ships and not a single human was found? Not even dead bodies?" William asked with cocked eyebrows.

"No sir, nothing…it's like the ships were destroyed and its people just disappeared" Kongou further said.

"Could The Sirens possibly captured them?" Prinz interjected on the radio.

"It's possible but…this would be the first" Kongou responded her.

"…Helena, I need you to scan the surroundings. I'll fly around to survey the area too" William ordered Helena.

"Yes commander, scanning now" Helena replied as she deploy her radar scan.

…Not a single dead bodies or survivors on a large destroyed group of ships like this? This was straight creepy pasta stuff. William racked his brains for any sort of explanation of the event he witnessed…But no matter what he thought, this was an irregularity and according to the girls The Sirens haven't done this kind of thing too in the past…Just as he thought that, his console blared red in alarm alongside constant beeping noise. William looked to the left and what he saw was enough to make him sweat, large squadron of fighters were heading toward him and locked specifically on his helicopter.

"…You've got to be kidding!" William said as he yanked the helicopter control.

"Eh? Commander! Large squadron of fighters is heading toward you!" Helena warned him.

"Yeah I noticed! Ready your AA guns ladies I'll bring them to your position!" William said to the girls.

Every ship girls immediately readied their Anti-Aircraft Gun and pointed it toward William's diving helicopter which was being chased by Siren jets, the girls hardened their resolve as they prepare to combat Sirens naval forces which won't be far behind those fighters. One of the fighters launched a missile toward the helicopter, William noticed it and immediately dumped flares to counter the heat seeking missile which worked as the missile hit the sea instead.

"Damn! Fighter jets! Dodging missiles have always been a hassle with a helicopter!" William cussed out loud.

"They're in range! All cannons, fire!" Prinz said out loud.

"Fighters launched! Light, lend me your strength!" Illustrious said as she summoned her fighters.

The air battle raged for a minute where the concentrated of AA guns fire and Illustrious fighters thinned out Sirens fighter's number to zero in no time, William pulled back up to a high altitude to survey the area and he saw what the girls predicted. There's a Siren's fleet approaching toward them and they're quite large in size…

"Ladies! Fleet formation, bearing 270…Hit them hard" William said on the radio.

"Yes sir!" Kongou responded on the radio.

"It's The Sirens, mass produced models" Helena informed the group.

"Look, the second wave of fighters are launching from that carrier" Javelin said to them.

"Let's make sure that's the last of it. Battleships, that thing is our primary target! Load Armor Penetration rounds, skirt to its side and let's punch a hole through it!" Hood said to the other battleships.

"Great idea!" Kongou said to Hood.

"Cruisers and destroyers! Follow me, let's hit those things straight on!" Prinz said while grinning.

They charged The Siren's fleet head on, as expected The Sirens immediately opened fire at them. Shells flew toward the ship girls who dodged it effortlessly while returning fire with their own cannons. Several shells headed toward Prinz, she only smile smugly as she deployed large blue shield barrier that destroyed the shells on impact. Prinz immediately fired her own guns that decimated two Sirens destroyer that's directly in front of her.

"More! Come on, that's the best you swine could do!?" Prinz taunted while grinning.

"Wah…Prinz really get fired up" Javelin commented on the side.

"Can you blame her? She's itching for a fight after being dormant for a whole month, even I felt cutting loose right now" Kirishima said to Javelin.

"Atago!" Takao suddenly called.

"Yes nee-san, double torpedo barrage!" Atago said out loud.

Atago and Takao launched four torpedo barrage toward The Sirens fleet, explosions followed soon after as those ships had no possible means of evading the torpedo barrages launched by the two ship girls in close quarter. But the resulting smokes and fiery explosions paved a way for three suicide boats that went passed the vanguards, all of them were shocked but they had to choose between firing at those boats or the rest of the ships in front of them.

"Suicide boats, they're heading for Illustrious!" Hood said on the radio.

Illustrious saw the three boats heading toward her in full speed, she readied herself because her aircraft were too far to help her in time so she knew this will damaged her quite a bit. She heard spinning rotors to the right and she looked just in time to see the helicopter that William rode were being chased by three Siren fighters flew at low altitude while launching rocket barrages at the three boats. The explosion forced Illustrious to hold her skirt down and keep her hat from flying off, the boats were destroyed so she looked at the helicopter when the explosion subsided and found that William was still being chased around.

"Don't worry, keep launching planes! I got the main fleet under my watch!" William said on the radio.

"Yes milord! Thank you for the help" Illustrious said while smiling.

"That's it! We're winning this!" Takao said on the radio.

"Wait, their second fleet is moving toward us from the south! It's larger than the previous one!" Hood said on the radio.

"This time they also has battleship and carrier in one mix!" Kongou further add.

"Can you girls handle it?" William asked on the radio.

"We fought worse shikikan, this much we could handle!" Atago said on the radio.

"Alright then…Give em hell" William said on the radio.

"Javelin, Ayanami, Helena, we're going to their left! Hood, take charge for the battleships will you?" Prinz said on the radio.

The combined fleet split into two as the large ships stood their ground while the more mobile ones skirt around the flank, Hood looked at the approaching fleet and she immediately analyzed on which to hit first with first barrage. She noticed that the carrier was a bit exposed sitting alone in the middle of formation…perhaps if they elevated their gun for a bit, they're not Warspite but they could still pull of long range shot.

"Hood-san, your orders?" Takao asked Hood.

"Let's make sure their attention is on us while the others goes around their flank. Ms. Takao, Ms. Atago, launch torpedo barrage on my signal" Hood said to Takao.

""Got it"" Takao and Atago responded.

"…This many mass produced model so close to our base and we didn't detect them? How?" Kongou muttered to herself.

"Doesn't matter for now Ms. Kongou…Battleships, fire at that carrier!" Hood ordered.

Simultaneously, every battleship in the combined fleet aimed their guns toward the carrier. Once they're ready, everyone immediately fired their salvo toward their target. The rounds rained upon the carrier and completely destroyed its flight deck, Hood nodded at Takao who alongside Atago immediately launched another combined torpedo barrages that decimated The Sirens vanguards. All that remains were the damaged carrier, several battleships and several cruiser who were still unscathed.

"Illustrious, we could use torpedo bombers on that battleship" Kongou said to Illustrious.

"They're on the way Ms. Kongou" Illustrious said as she prepared to launch another aircraft.

"This fight is going well. Prinz?" Hood asked on the radio.

"…Double line, stagger formation. Advance! All ships, fire at will!" Prinz said out loud.

Prinz alongside the others managed to get to their flank and unleashed every weaponry they have on their rigging, combined with the battleships focused fire and Illustrious torpedo bombers the second fleet was decimated in no time. All that remains on the battlefield were sinking Sirens ship with flames engulfing them and sea water flooding their internal structure, everyone took a breath in relief that they managed to defeat them easily.

"…Whoa. That's it huh? Enemy fleet eliminated" California said out loud.

"Kommandant, we're done here" Prinz said on the radio.

"Excellent work ladies, that's a splendid performance…Huh?!" William suddenly said.

His alarm returned and you know what that means, another wave of Siren fighter jets were approaching him and locking his helicopter for missile strike. Just like before William yanked the controller hard to avoid the passing jets but this time the jets also fired its machine gun and several rounds hit the helicopter, William noticed that he's high enough from the ocean surface then stall the engine on purpose so gravity could do their work but the fighters launched a missile when he's falling.

"Wankers!" William said as he noticed the missile.

"Please hold on milord! Our fighters is heading there to support you!" Illustrious said to William.

"Yup! Some help would be good!" William said as he's trying not to crash and hit by missile at the same time.

Illustrious fighter aircraft were making its way to help William when all of them were gunned down from something below the clouds, everyone were startled at the appearance of third Sirens fleet consisted of one carrier and several heavy cruisers. The girls could only watched as William also noticed and strived to avoid the incoming AA gun fire and pushing the helicopter engine to its limits…the man himself had to sweat in nervousness because he treated this transport craft as if a helicopter gunship.

"What!?" Illustrious was shocked.

"Third group is advancing on us! Milord-" Hood said on the radio.

"Don't worry! Go and handle them ladies!" William immediately said on the radio.

"But sir-" Kongou said on the radio.

"I can handle couple of aircraft by myself! Go now!" William ordered on the radio.

The ship girls nodded their head and they immediately moved to handle the incoming third fleet, no strategy this time as they relentlessly fired and reload their cannons at maximum speed. William noted that the girls already focusing fire on the fleet, he looked at the incoming fighter jets and narrowed his eyes as he prepared to engage them directly…No more running and letting the girls destroying them, it ends here with his own hands.

"Well…Now that they're out and handling the hopefully last Siren group. Time to waltz, you freaks" William said out loud.

He managed to avoid another machine gun barrage by diving and pulling up again, he must say that this large helicopter didn't break yet with what he's doing was quite impressive. But he should only do this when he's on tight situation and make sure this helicopter always maintained and serviced, William managed to dodge a missile by narrow margin while several others closing on him from behind.

"…For a fighter jet, they move as slow as helicopter for some reason…" William muttered to himself.

"Missile alert! Missile alert! Missile alert!" The computer console alerted non-stop.

William noticed that every time he dodged the missiles he noticed that the fighter jets immediately turned around in almost exact same fashion…Few of them even pulled a tight maneuver which should make the pilot of the aircraft passed out due to the G force alone. Seeing the example in front of him, William only had one conclusion in mind.

"…They have a pattern in their movement…That insane maneuver. No doubt, it's a drone…" William said out loud.

Few of the fighters disengaged to help with the defense of the fleet leaving only two of them still chasing William around, the man was pumped with adrenaline, everything seemed to move slower as he watched and analyzed the movement of the fighter jets. One of them flew straight before launching a missile from quite the distance, more than two kilometers. William immediately knew what was happening, he can't say he's surprised.

"Long Range Guided Missile huh…Come on, impress me" William said while narrowing his eyes.

…The timing he had to choose in order to avoid radar guided missile with slow moving helicopter was quite slim, he had to choose between stalling to the sea or the helicopter getting hit on the tail. William took the risk by making the helicopter spun 360 degrees and narrowly avoid the missile, any further than one rotation then he might crash to the sea. The fighter jet still flying straight at him, he decided that he had enough with these jets.

"Gotcha you son of a bitch!" William said out loud.

William pressed the trigger for his chin mounted 30mm cannon on the helicopter which fired hot lead straight at the incoming fighter, the rounds shredded the fighters as it spun out of control while being on fire. Another fighter headed toward him and he locked it with his Anti Air Missile, the beeping turned into continuous tone which meant he locked the target and William squeezed the trigger immediately.

The missile launched and hit the fighters and it exploded in the air, the debris flew toward him however and the helicopter shook a bit due to the debris and shockwave. He can't rest easy yet, another group of fighter was heading toward him and he wasn't sure he could take them on directly like before. But his tension alleviated when the fighter jets were destroyed by AA fire from below, he looked down and spotted Javelin and Ayanami.

"Commander! Are you alright!?" Javelin asked on the radio.

"Whew, thanks! You girls saved my skin" William said while smiling.

"Their third fleet is being taken care off as we speak, victory is almost ours" Ayanami reported on the radio.

"That carrier is going to launch another wave of fighters!" Javelin said on the radio.

"Oh hell no it won't!" William said out loud.

William immediately switched the weapon to anti-ship missile, he got a lock on Siren aircraft carrier and quickly launched two missile toward the ship. The girls who were fighting the aircraft carrier stopped firing when they heard missiles flying above them, the missile hit the ship in the bridge and the resulting explosion was enough to tore the ship into two…William was seated while stunned on the helicopter cockpit, he's still trying to comprehend the power he got with this helicopter by his side…

"…A single helicopter could do all of this? What did that commander think when he ordered one of this?" William said out loud in wonder.

.

Belfast was waiting for the deployed fleet to return and she walked toward the helipad when she noticed that the helicopter approaching the base, the helicopter landed smoothly and the ship girls disembarked with smiles on their face. Belfast took this as a good sign, it seems none of them were harmed during the battle but out of politeness and care she still asked.

"Welcome back ladies. How's the battle?" Belfast asked them.

"Went really well! Although they're mass produced model, we really managed to defeat all of them without a single scratch!" Prinz said to Belfast.

"Though, there's something different than before" Hood said while smiling a bit.

"And why is that?" Belfast asked curiously.

"Shikikan…he also participated in the battle" Takao said to Belfast.

"Huh? Is that true?" Belfast cocked her eyebrows.

"Yes. He saved Illustrious from a suicide boat with the helicopter, he waltz toward them in low altitude before launching rocket barrages…our previous commander always watched the battle from a safe distance, Commander William participated directly and he was chased around by Siren fighters because of that" Kongou said to Belfast.

…Now that the helicopter had landed, Belfast noted that the helicopter itself suffered some damage. There's several clear bullet holes on the hull, some burn marks near the rear rotor and few windows on the cargo bay seemed to crack. Belfast narrowed her eyes but returned to her usual composed face when William disembarked from the helicopter, his hair was a mess and he looked a bit tired. William noted that the girls still stood near the helipad, he cocked his eyebrows in confusion.

"Why are you girls still standing here? Go on, you need to rest" William said to them.

The girls looked at each other before nodding or saluting then went down the helipad, William looked back to check on the helicopter's condition as Belfast approached from behind…William frowned at the sight he saw, this was a first battle but it seemed he had to better his flying skill if he want to avoid taking damage like this in the future. Granted, this were miracles in itself with how huge and unwieldy this helicopter in the air yet still managed to avoid taking fatal pounding during that air gangbang.

"Master" Belfast said to William.

"Yes Belfast?" William asked Belfast.

"Allow me to say this…What you did was quite reckless" Belfast said in stern tone.

…Whoa, did Belfast just get mad at him? William shuddered a bit at the thought, he looked toward Belfast who was still looking at him with small frown and narrow eyes…Yep, she's pissed, because not even when she's irritated Belfast would show hints of facial expression directly as far as he experienced. But, William didn't back down as he answered.

"I know" William simply said.

"Then why did you do it? A commander is the head of a military forces, if one was killed then that forces could crumble" Belfast asked William.

"…Because that's how I fought" William said to Belfast.

…When did he ever lead from behind the desk? Only several times during the academy course where he were tasked to lead a large group of simulated forces to take a city…Hologram simulation was quite realistic nowadays. That's basically the only time he did that as the rest of the course involving him taking Combat Course with former SAS Instructor, since that day he always lead from the front with guns in hand…

"I always lead from the front, ever since my days on the academy. With this helicopter, I was given a power to turn the tide of battle…Illustrious was almost got hurt were it not for me intervened with those suicide boats, I was able to prevent a Siren Aircraft Carrier from launching their next wave of fighters…Belfast, I did what I did because I believe that I could make a difference even with the limited capability I have on the battlefield. Dangerous? Yes it is, but I'm prepared for the consequences when I signed up as a soldier...It's my duty" William said before he realized…did he just ranted!?

"…My goodness…you remind me of her" Belfast said while closing her eyes.

"Oh?" William raised his eyebrows.

"I know someone who also acted like you, master…She's reckless and stubborn, pushing through her limits no matter the cost to attain victory…I don't say I disapprove your methods, but please…Don't push yourself too far. Providing fire support directly for the ladies is admirable, you went above your duty requirement but please value your own safety too on the battlefield" Belfast said to William.

"Yeah…Thanks for the advice Belfast" William said while smiling.

"It's the duty of the maid to correct her master sometimes…Oh" Belfast said out loud.

Both of them heard the sound of stomach growling and both of them knew whose stomach it was, obviously its William who forgot to eat lunch as he had to sortie with the other girls and the mission took a bit longer than expected. Belfast smiled as she noted William cringed at the experience and internally cursed his stomach for its timing, Belfast smiled as she asked.

"Master, what say we have early dinner?" Belfast asked William.

"Hahahaha, yeah that sounds nice" William said as he started walking.

"What would master want to eat?" Belfast asked as she followed him.

"…Hmm, how about we go to the cafeteria once for a while? I think eating there with the others would be good change of pace" William said after thinking for a bit.

"Understood" Belfast simply replied.

Both of them walked toward the canteen from the rooftop, when he opened the door he was greeted by a large commotion around the returning ship girls. Just before he's about to ask what was going on, one of the ship girls noticed him however and suddenly he was swarmed by ship girls asking him barrage of questions that some of the more mature girls had to help William calming down everyone, he looked at the girls who sortied with him actually looked at this scene with amused face…they really didn't have any slightest intention to help him here?!

"Hey Commander! Is it true? You saved Illustrious by yourself?!" Cleveland asked William.

"We heard from the others that you saved Illustrious with that helicopter above us! They said you dived in while being chased by three Siren fighters to destroy couple of suicide boats!" Saratoga said to William.

"Well…that did happened" William said awkwardly.

"Amazing! That's the first time a commander would do that!" Cleveland said to William.

"Huh? It's nothing to brag about, I'm simply doing my job" William said modestly.

"It's not nothing, milord. You saved me from taking damage. Our previous commander wouldn't go that far, I thank you from the bottom of my heart" Illustrious said to William.

…Really? What was their previous commander did before he was posted here? The more he heard about him the more he sounded like apathetic commander who sent them off to the battlefield and leaving them to take care of everything…That commander was the one who owned the helicopter he rode before, why didn't he try to provide any kind of support to these girls? Thinking about it now, William was getting quite irritated by that former commander.

"I see…" William replied in low tone.

"Now come on Commander! We need to celebrate our first victory after a month of doing nothing!" Cleveland said while pulling his hands with the other destroyers.

"Okay okay! Don't pull so hard now!" William said as he's being led to his seat.

William was being lead to a seat and the girls kept asking him what he wanted to eat, after he thought about it for a bit he said that he wanted some 'heavy' dinner because he didn't eat lunch. What he got however was fuckton of food variety that was enough to make his face blue at the thought of having to finish it and making sure the girls kept smiling while saying 'he have to finish it to stay healthy!'…Oh well, it's do or die as William took a spoon and said his prayers while hoping he won't have to visit Vestal tonight.

"…He's quickly accepted by the girls" Belfast said as she joined Hood.

"…What can we say Bel? He did a lot in the first week compared to the previous commander. He befriended everyone, he studied hard and he even participate in that fight directly" Hood said to Belfast.

"Yes…you're right…Now, shall we join them?" Belfast asked Hood while smiling.

…It was little celebration but it was quite the warm one, the destroyers and several cruisers have retired to their dorms while the 'grown up' ship girls were still on the canteen, eating cakes and drinking alcohol while accompanying William who almost passed out on the table after eating so much and Prinz basically forced him to duel her in drinking contest…

"God…I never knew I could ate that much" William said with his face planted on the table.

"Master, does your stomach hurt?" Belfast asked William.

"…Nah, just full from all that food…and alcohol. I must say, Prinz is quite strong drinker" William said out loud.

William lifted his face from the desk and spotted Prinz still drinking with another glass of beer in her hand, she shot a wink at him and continue drinking. William could only chuckled in discomfort at the thought yielding on a drinking game, he had his pride too damnit! But for the sake of comfortable morning, he chose to forfeit the game. Illustrious sipped a wine from her glass, she then asked William.

"Milord, may I ask how are you so good in flying a helicopter?" Illustrious asked William.

"I was trained to be able to utilize anything that could give me an edge on the battlefield, simply put helicopter is one of them" William simply answered.

"Is there anything you couldn't do commander? You're so skillful" Enterprise asked William.

"Well…There's few things I couldn't do well" William said to them.

"Oh?" This caused the girls to raise their eyebrows.

"For example…I'm bad with kids" William confessed with bitter smile.

""""""""""""…Eh?""""""""""" Every girls within earshot said.

"Yep, you heard me" William said while shrugging.

"But…why?" Illustrious asked William.

"The thing is, my natural look was quite frightening for children. There's one time when I held one of my friend's newborn baby, she cried when she saw my face" William said then sipped on his tea.

…After a good five seconds of silence, the ladies around him burst out giggling at the story. Oh yes, they could totally relate with that baby. At first when they met him, he did gave the same impression and it somehow forced them to act professional…But yeah, that baby just doesn't know him well enough to know the softer and more expressive person underneath that hard façade.

"Oh my" Illustrious said after giggling.

"I'm sure we could remedy that, milord" Hood said while smiling.

"Hood, you sounded so sure" William said while smiling bitterly.

"Believe me, we'll make it work. The ladies here are ready to help you anytime" Hood said to William.

And Hood statement was followed by collective nods coming from each of them…William smiled and nodded in appreciation when he noticed his phone was ringing, he checked the caller and surely it's Lena. He immediately answered the call, if she called at night it's usually a job.

"…Yeah?" William asked Lena.

"Hey uh, I know this is sudden but can we land on the courtyard? The helipad is full after all" Lena asked William.

Widening his eyes, William bolted his way out from the canteen and earned several weird gazes from the girls who wondered what happened to him. They followed him out only to found him staring blankly into the sky with a single UTH-66 Black Hawk Helicopter hovering above the canteen with lights on, William watched as a single rope was thrown down from the helicopter and someone descended from it. A brunette with shoulder length hair, wearing white gloves, blue jacket, equally blue skirt with black stockings and white shoes. She waved her hands and the helicopter left the area, leaving Lena herself standing in front of William…

"Lena, you should've told me that you'll be coming here earlier!" William said to Lena with unamused eyes.

"I did, check your phone" Lena replied also with unamused eyes.

"…Oh right…sorry" William said while cringing after seeing several miscalls and messages.

"Don't be, it's quite sudden after all" Lena said while smiling.

Lena looked at behind William to saw several ship girls coming out of the canteen to see why William suddenly ran outside, Lena smiled a bit at the sight some ship girls trying to act disciplined at the sight of her rank on her jacket. This would be the first time she met with a ship girl directly, she put on her best smile as she walked toward them.

"So you are the ship girls. Greetings, I'm Admiral Helena McAllen, I figured some of you might already know me" Lena said while smiling warmly.

"…What is it, Lena? In my experience, whenever you're on the field that mean something went wrong" William said from her back.

"Oh you know it Will, perhaps we could find some place to talk?" Lena asked while looking at him.

"…Will this involve the girls?" William asked while folding his arms.

"Not really…but it's best if we could talk privately" Lena answered William.

"…I see…Ladies, we'll be talking on my office. You can enjoy the rest of the night" William informed them.

"Shall the maids bring you some snacks and refreshment to your office, master?" Belfast asked William.

"That's great, thank you" William said to Belfast.

"Whoa, a real maid!" Lena said out loud.

Lena approached Belfast who kept smiling as Lena inspected her closely, she was inspecting Belfast like she's a mannequin doll and she looked awestruck. The other ship girls thought that Lena was quite strange, she didn't act like a person with her rank. Then again, their commander was the same case and the fact the two knew each other might relate to something…

"Greetings Mrs. Lena, it's good to finally see you directly" Belfast said while smiling.

"Likewise…You're the one called Belfast, no?" Lena asked Belfast.

"You are correct" Belfast said to Lena.

"…Will must be having the time of his life" Lena said out loud.

"And why would he be, Mrs. Lena?" Belfast asked Lena.

"As far as I know, Will has some kind of maid fetis-"

But before Lena was able to spout another word, Will had covered her mouth and started dragging her away toward the command building. Will sensed that if Lena kept talking then his reputation among the maids (Belfast especially) would take a massive hit so he moved as fast as his body allowed to silence her, ranks be damned he'll do this to Azur Lane High Commander himself if he had to!

"Alright lady, no more word or I'll have to silence you at all cost!" William said as he dragged Lena.

"Hey! Is this how you treat your superior and ex-girlfriend!?" Lena protested out loud

"You asked for it in the first place!" William replied with annoyed tone.

And just like that the two of them disappeared into the command building. But in front of the canteen, there's several ship girls who were still stood in silence. Hood, Belfast, Enterprise, Kongou, Illustrious, Takao and Atago still stunned upon hearing that new critical piece of information that they just heard and frankly quite surprising…

"…Huh?" Enterprise managed to utter.

"Did she just said that Mrs. Lena…" Hood trailed off.

"Is milord's former lover?" Illustrious finished for Hood.

""And they get along?!" Takao and Atago asked.

.

"I heard about the phone call incident from this noon" Lena said to William.

"Oh sure you do. I'm not joking when I said I will nuke Azur Lane HQ if they kept pressing with that matter" William said to Lena.

"You want to talk about it?" Lena asked with mischievous smile.

"Nope, not now not ever…But please Lena, tell that blockhead of General to stop doing that" William said while folding his arms.

"Fufufufu…Oh alright, but you owe me" Lena said after giggling.

The both of them were now inside the safety of William's office, at first glance Lena commented that she 'could imagine that he would put so many unnecessary things on his office' one which he rebutted with 'he's so enjoying this pseudo civilian like freedom'. Both of them sat opposed of each other on the sofa with William setting the audio player to played one of Hood's soft jazz ambience music, William poured a glass of brandy for Lena before pouring one for himself…time to talk business.

"…Now, mind telling me why you're here Lena?" William asked Lena.

"Well, I got good news and bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?" Lena asked as she sipped on her drink.

"…Bad news then, what kind of mess Azur Lane landed into now?" William asked as he also took a sip from his glass.

"The Siren haven't showed their face in a month" Lena said to William.

"Nope, we literally fought three fleet of those things just this noon, Lena" William said while smiling smugly.

"Oh did you? Good job, that changed few things…But still, people have been disappearing for the last month Will. We suspected that The Sirens started to purposely kidnapped people around the coast" Lena said to him.

…And how did he only knew about this now? Didn't he told high command to give him whatever info that concerned him or his job? How the hell did this critical piece of information slipped past him? William looked at Lena with dissatisfied face as he put down his glass of brandy on the small plate. William knew that Lena would always give him info as soon as she could, that's how both of them works…so something must've been up with piece of information that made Lena refused to immediately disclose to him. Probably, she's trying to validate the info for the past month…William had to stay positive, Lena's a longtime friend and a trusted ally of his after all…the one willing to break the rules for him too.

"And why you're only telling me about this now?" But still, he couldn't help but ask.

"Because the number just suddenly skyrocketed today…So what do you think?" Lena asked William.

"…That's plausible. Just this noon we also encountered a destroyed flotilla with transport ships and four escorts, all of them destroyed but no dead bodies or survivors could be found around the site…Could this be connected?" William asked Lena.

"For sure, that confirmed my suspicion then…Usually, what do you think when enemy started capturing our civilians?" Lena asked William.

"Usually, laws of war forbid that but we didn't fight someone who obeyed those rules…That means, every option is on the table. They could use our civilians as labor forces or even…experiment subject" William said to Lena.

"Right. Because we didn't know anything about The Sirens all we could do now is to speculate, furthermore the reason we still didn't manage to find their base is because they came here with a portal" Lena said to William.

"…Portal?" William cocked his eyebrows.

"Yes, genuine portal. Take a look at this" Lena said while taking out her phone.

On her phone played a recording taken from one of Azur Lane Fighter Jets patrolling the coast before The Sirens appeared, there's a purple round portal appearing midair before their familiar black ships with glowing red parts appeared and fell down to the sea. The jets immediately came under fire from the ships AA gun and had to bailed from the area as soon as possible…Seeing the recording, now William knew why traditional tracking never succeed and satellite tracking always failed. There's a possibility that even The Sirens didn't come from Earth, no one knew where their base of operation is and they come and go as they please…Annoying pricks.

"…This is some sci-fi bullshit" William commented.

"How come you know that?" Lena asked William.

"See this? It's like faster than light portal, ships used this kind of thing when they jumped great distances" William said to Lena.

"…You've been engrossed on your novel too much, Will" Lena said in astonished tone.

"Meh, deep down you know it's true. How about the good news?" William asked Lena.

"Sardegna Empire has agreed to send two ship girl to this base, Sakura Empire also sending three ships and furthermore Royal Navy's Prince of Wales and King George V had concluded their business and also on their way to this base" Lena said to William while smiling.

"Reinforcement. That eased my heart…Wait, that's it?" William asked while frowning.

"…What? You expected more?" Lena asked back with cocked eyebrows.

"To be honest, yeah…" William answered while shrugging.

"You're in for disappointment then…Everyone still trying to recover from that fatal mistake, had we didn't wage war with one another perhaps we would have more strength to deal with The Sirens now…" Lena said with a frown and looking to the side.

Yeah…how the world would stood a better chance at facing these things if the war didn't happen but sadly, there's no way in changing that. The war was started by their manipulation in the first place, to divide and conquer mankind. Fortunately, it was over before it could cause even greater damage to their already fragile world and now those things shown their true face…Reinforcement would be a great help if he's going to face these mysterious creatures, he'll need all the edge he could get.

"We can't change the past Lena, you know that the best…So, what part that you didn't want the girls to know?" William asked Lena.

"…Will, tell me honestly. How did you view these girls?" Lena asked William.

"…I'm getting bad case of déjà vu here" William said while frowning and folding his arms at the same time.

"I know that question reflect when you asked me to marry you, but really…What do you think of them?" Lena asked while smiled bitterly.

"…They're the most valuable military asset in Azur Lane arsenal" William said to Lena.

"Is that it?" Lena asked, in almost disbelieved tone.

"No. They're also genuine people…I've heard about their purpose as tools of war, that they solely exist to fight on the frontline. But they're also no less human than us in the end, Lena. They have their own feelings, motivation, purpose and man, they're quite handful to handle in some cases" William further added with serious face.

"Good. That means I have nothing to worry about" Lena smiled satisfactory.

"Now can you explain why you ask me that? I'm not good with mind games" William asked Lena.

"I know…The real reason I asked you that is because I was worried, there's a lot of…talks regarding your assignment to this base" Lena said to William.

"Really? What did those wankers said?" William asked curiously.

"Lots of things. But the most disturbing part? That you're given this chance because of you-" Lena said to William.

"Hold up" William suddenly said.

William raised his hand and Lena stopped talking, she was curious why would William stopped her from telling him something he's probably dying to know as well? William sipped on his brandy before he looked toward the office's door.

"Ladies, I know you're out there" William said out loud.

…Three seconds later, the door opened and several ship girls entered the room. There's Prinz, Hood, Enterprise, Takao, Atago, Illustrious and Belfast…Lena was quite perplexed, how did William knew they were outside the office? She didn't hear a goddamn thing! Lena looked at William weirdly, what did he experience in that mine that he could managed to do this now?

"…How the fuck…" Lena muttered in astonishment.

"Please forgive us, master. I simply wish to deliver these snacks, but the ladies were already in front of the door by the time I've arrived" Belfast said to William.

"Nonsense! If you wish to deliver those then you wouldn't also joined us!" Hood said to Belfast.

"Now now, I'm not mad or anything. My talk with Lena is basically finished, you could join us here" William said to them.

The girls reluctantly sat on the couch as William rose up and head to his desk while searching for something on the drawers, Lena looked at the seven ladies that were secretly eyeing her and she came to a conclusion…These girls must've heard what William and her talked about and that included the part where William actually did asked Lena to marry him, Lena smirked as she sipped her drink before she went out with the killer shot.

"…I bet you girls were curious about Will asking me to marry him" Lena said to the girls.

"You're off with the most embarrassing part" William commented from his desk.

"Come on, honestly that was one of the happiest moment in my life you know?" Lena said while smiling sadly.

"Mrs. Lena, so how come you didn't marry him in the end?" Illustrious asked Lena.

"…Politics, milady. Politics was the one that prevented us from being together. But, Will and I have agreed to remain friends despite all of that…" Lena answered while smiling sadly at Illustrious.

Politics were the true reason that they could never be together, she had imagined that if she never took the path of being an officer for Azur Lane Military…The both of them now might be married with kids on the way. But she never had much choice anyway, not even William himself had choice when he was thrown into The Deep End and god, the things she did to defend him. She strived hard to prove his innocence, yet the odds were against them from the start…But things were different now, she took her chance. William was out of that mine and more importantly, still alive…He could be happy here, surrounded by these girls.

"Well enough about me now! I'm curious about you girls, Will never told me much about you. Since I'm basically his superior, I think it's a good idea to get to know you girls who are his secretaries" Lena said energetically.

…They talked until midnight, William actually had to excuse himself at ten when he realized there's no way he's going to sit there and torture himself with girls talk until midnight so William opted to slept on his own room so his weary body could rest. He was woken up by Belfast as usual, Lena and William ate breakfast together on Iron Blood dormitory in the morning, chatting and discussing things with Bismarck and the other Iron Blood ship girls was quite refreshing and mind opening for Lena herself. They did tour of the base for a bit, Lena almost getting scammed by Akashi with shady deal which fortunately William stopped from happening, they spent the day exploring the base and interacting with ship girls…Afternoon rolled and it's time for Lena to head back, William alongside Lena, Hood, Belfast and Prinz stood near the helipad with Lena's helicopter on top of it preparing to take off.

"…It was fun to do this once in a while, Will" Lena said to William.

"Yeah, stop by anytime" William said while smiling.

"I'll be sure to do that. See you later…Ladies, take care of him!" Lena said as she boarded her helicopter.

"Understood milady" "Of course madam" "Leave him to me" Belfast, Hood and Prinz said to Lena.

The helicopter took off from the helipad while the four of them waved, after the helicopter left the base area William looked at the girls beside him who also looked at him meaningfully…His spine was tingling and not the good kind, he knew something happened when he left them alone with Lena last night.

"So…What did you girls talk about last night?" William asked them.

"…Kommandant, I never knew you're that wild in bed. How lewd~" Prinz replied while smirking.

"…Huh?" William was dumbfounded.

"Milord, is it true that you often write poetry for Mrs. Lena when you're in the frontline?" Hood asked William.

"Wait, what-" William was speechless.

"Mrs. Lena have told me about your habits master, I'll be sure to put the information to good use" Belfast said while smirking.

"Alright! Did she just spouted some random trivia about me to you girls!?" William said with wide eyes.

"Some part of it, we got to stay and chat about a lot of things after all" Belfast said to William.

…William took out his phone and contacted Lena, he knew that she couldn't be trusted regarding his secret information. Lena took some time before she answered the phone and William immediately said one simple sentence to her.

"…Lena, on the second thought. Do not come back to this base!" William said to Lena.

"Aww, come on! You know I will do it again despite your word! Those ladies and I are becoming fast friends!" Lena said to William.

"Precisely…just don't do what you did last night without my approval!" William said then sighed.

"No promise! It was fun after all~!" Lena responded in cheeky tone.

…In the dense forested hill overlooking the base, two men dressed in dark green cloak surveyed the base with binoculars on their hands. They carefully monitored the whole base, they grimaced at the sight that the base didn't look like guarded but the two of them knew they will be blasted into thin red mist with how many girls in there possessing ship grade weaponries as their personal weapon. One of them pushed the other to the ground as a helicopter passed through them, it flew out from the base and headed to the city…Both of their cloak flail around a bit, revealing their codename strapped on their left shoulder. Recon-1 and Recon-2.

"…Doesn't look like we could enter the base" Recon 1 said.

"At least not now. We'll have to do it at night" Recon 2 said.

"…Seriously though, all of this just to kill one man?" Recon 1 asked.

"Not just any man, you know who he is" Recon 2 said.

The two of them continued looking through their binocular when Recon 1 caught something on his vision, its William himself who was walking with Belfast toward the command building. William looked exasperated while Belfast was smirking confidently at the conversation that happened between the two of them, William shrugged before he said something to Belfast. Belfast nodded her head, performed a curtsy with her skirt and went off to a different direction.

"Damn…he got a sexy personal maid! Think we can have fun with her when we're done with the mission?" Recon 1 asked out loud.

"…Have you ever bang a ship before?" Recon 2 asked back in complete disbelieve.

"No? But there's first time for everything. Bet she'd like my oxygen torpedo, hehehehe" Recon 1 laughed creepily.

"…Sick fuck…Remember, despite their appearance, they're just weapons in the end" Recon 2 said in monotone voice.

"Fine. If you say so…hah" Recon 1 said then sighed.

"Cheer up. The girls back on the base are more attractive that those warships anyway" Recon 2 said.

"Hmph. You always-"

"Shut the fuck up Recon one! Cut your unnecessary blabbering and give me report!" Their radio suddenly said.

"Sheesh boss! You just tore my left ear drum!" Recon 1 said.

"…He's here boss, but the base is occupied with lots of ship girls. We could charge now but this would end in bloodbath" Recon 2 said on the radio.

"...Azur Lane weren't known for their weak defenses, that base is basically their nexus of ship girls operation so of course security would be overkill" The one called Boss said.

"I can see that. Look at those AA gun emplacements, by the looks of it those things are equipped with the latest automatic targeting AI. No plane would go there and come out unscathed" Recon 2 commented.

William walked into the building before he stopped in the entrance, he looked around and toward the hill where the two men laid prone while watching him. Recon 1 zoomed in on him and got a clear look on his face, William right eye looked like he pierced Recon 1 soul directly and he shuddered when he saw that glare of his.

"What's wrong?" Recon 2 asked him.

"…I think we're compromised. He stared at me, like he stared at my soul directly" Recon 1 said.

"You're overthinking it, there's no way he'll see us at this range…Anyway, what's the word boss?" Recon 2 asked on the radio.

"…We'll strike at night, all units stand by for orders. Get comfortable, this will took a while" The boss said on the radio.

Just as he said that, around thirty men wearing the same green cloak carrying various Sub Machine Guns with silencer attached on its barrel appeared from the bush or above the trees near the two men on the cliff edge. All of them wore black mask, with combat goggles concealing their eyes, black clothing with light bulletproof vest, ammo pouches alongside utility belt and wearing black boots. All of them took position around the two men, overlooking the base as black storm clouds moving in from the direction of the sea.

"…We found the old dog, our Intel is on the mark. He will pay for what he's done to our brother and sisters…Rest assured men. For tonight, The Last Nimbus Knight will fall!" The boss said on the radio.


	4. The stake

William entered his bedroom, he took off his white jacket, hung it on his wardrobe and took off his hat and pants before storing it on neat fold under the hanged jacket. He sat on the small study desk, reached for something on his drawer before pulling out a black covered journal book. He took a pen and proceed to open the book, he skimmed the page until he reached the last written page. That page was still empty, William pondered for a bit before he started writing on it…He was interrupted when he heard someone knocked on his door, he briefly wondered on who was knocking when he finally decided to ask.

"Yes?" William asked out loud.

"Master, it's Belfast. I'm here with your coffee and light snack" Belfast said to William.

"…Right, come in" William said to Belfast.

Hiding the P228 Handgun he gripped underneath his table, William watched as the door opened and Belfast came in with a tray. She set the tray down on William's study, there's a cup of coffee and some biscuits on top of it and Belfast arranged them on William's table. Belfast set everything on the table before she took the tray with her and standing beside William, it still nine at night and her duty wasn't exactly done yet. William took the coffee cup and sipped the content, he hummed a bit as he tasted the liquid.

"You put some sugar" William said to Belfast.

"I witnessed that master didn't really like pure black coffee, so I figure some change might be in order" Belfast said while smiling a bit.

"Hmm, you're a sharp one Belfast I'd give you that…Next thing I know, you'll knew the content of this room inside and out" William mused while smiling.

"But of course I do master, it's a maid's duty after all. I know for a fact you kept an adult manga on your left drawer, hidden underneath your weapon catalog" Belfast said while smirking.

…William eyes went wide as he searched his study's left drawer, rummaging it for a bit, closed it and looked at Belfast with mix of astonishment and embarrassment. Oh shit, the contraband he picked up during his mission on Sakura Empire's territory was discovered by Belfast…Not good, if this gets out then his reputation would be permanently damaged.

"…Nothing get past your eyes huh? I'm surprised you didn't throw it out" William said while smiling bitterly.

"I have no objection with master keeping the manga, it do has nice story after all. But please read it in private, there are children around the base" Belfast said to William.

"You READ it!?" William asked with wide eyes.

"Why yes, a maid must know what her master like and prefer" Belfast said while smirking.

William could swore Belfast was smirking all this time they've been talking, it looks like Belfast enjoyed his exasperated or troubled look and he shuddered when he thought that she could be an S…But really, he couldn't imagine a girl like Belfast spend her time reading a manga about angels, demons, other mythological creatures and all of those involved boobs in some way.

"Alright, I get it…Anyway, how is it?" William asked Belfast.

"Whatever do you mean, master?" Belfast asked while tilting her head.

"The one I told you to get done after we saw Lena off" William asked again.

"Oh, that one. Shall I brief you on the situation, master?" Belfast asked William.

"That would be great" William nodded his head.

"Understood…Right now, everyone is on high alert but still maintained their casual attitude. Each dorm have prepared barricades and ready for any attack, everyone is ready for combat and every ship girls already stationed on their respective dorms with me being the exception. I've relayed your orders for Madam Shoukaku to scout the area around the base with her planes, she will report back in five minutes" Belfast explained the situation.

Deep inside William's mind, he mocked those assassins that's hiding on the forested hill. Did those cunts failed to realize that vantage point such as that place would be booby trapped? William spend an entire day surveying the base and he know if someone were to infiltrate then the hill would be their entry and vantage point. He spend the next day placing dozens of motion sensors around the area and linked it to his phone, just after he saw Lena off in the afternoon his alarm were triggered.

Shit just got real, so he immediately told Belfast, Prinz and Hood to prepare the defenses. Since the target would most likely be him, they need to lure those assassins into false sense of security. The girls would stay on their dorms while William would be the bait, as soon as the orders by an overwatch was given then they'll strike those assassins from the back at the same time. Shoukaku have been selected as the overwatch, she had been on constant alert since dusk surveying the whole base under the cover of the storm.

"Bloody well done Belfast. Thank you, you may return to The Royal Navy's dorm" William said to Belfast.

"Master, there's something else I must tell you…Milady Queen Elizabeth herself has ordered me to remain by your side" Belfast said to William.

"…Her majesty said that?" William asked Belfast.

"Yes. She said that 'No harm shall befall the commander as long as I'm around!' and thus, she sent me here" Belfast said while smiling.

"Well I'm glad for the help her majesty sent out. But waiting for them will take a while, Belfast" William said while leaning on his chair.

"My dear master, I'm sure we can find something to keep ourselves 'entertained' while we wait" Belfast said while smirking.

Smiling wryly, William could only did that at Belfast's suggestive words and coy smile she wore on her face…Man, this head maid now possessed information that could either make his life more comfortable or more hectic since few of his habits were now known to her…Thanks a lot Lena, William thought. Belfast was still standing there while smiling, William pondered on what should he talk with her? That until he got an idea…

"You said Sheffield always carried guns around, have you ever use it?" William asked Belfast curiously.

"No master, I found my cannons are quite effective already…Though I must say, it could destroy more than I intend to in some cases" Belfast said with a hand on her chin.

"…You want something less destructive?" William asked Belfast.

"Yes, if it's possible" Belfast said to William.

"Come here then" William said to Belfast.

Belfast tilted her head a bit in confusion but she approached William nevertheless, William took her right hand and put the P228 underneath his desk and placed it on her hand…Belfast eyes widened a bit at the pistol in her hand, she didn't expect William to actually hand her a weapon normally used by soldiers. She inspected the gun more closely, she did know how gun works but it's the first time she actually held one like now.

"P228, quite compact, easy to conceal and quite handy in most situation. It's loaded with thirteen 9mm rounds, didn't pack mean punch but one shot to the unprotected head is all you need. Pistol like this only works in close range, so don't try to shoot down a Siren jet with it" William said while joking lightly in the end.

"I see…But this pistol is not something I see being carried by soldiers and officers of Azur Lane, master. Where did you get this?" Belfast asked curiously.

"Iron Blood soldiers are the one who often used it. This one I snatched from someone I killed during my early days on the battlefield, the first one I killed…I took his handgun as a reminder of that day, the day where I stopped being a fresh graduate and into being a soldier. I want you to keep it" William said to Belfast.

Looking at the handgun in her hand, Belfast never thought that this thing had such history with her master. The gun was the gun she held back when she caught William just returned to his room after his not-so-secret-anymore late night mission, it looked as worn out as his M16A4 Assault Rifle. Despite that, it seems the gun internal mechanism was well maintained. There might be other reason on why did William didn't repaint the outer parts of his weapons.

"What about your 'handgun', master? Won't you need this if you're going to fight the terrorist?" Belfast asked William.

"Don't worry, I have another one. I've requested some to be delivered here through Akashi, though she charged me like a loan shark just for the administrative nonsense alone" William said while frowning.

"Ufufufufu, that's sounds just like Madam Akashi…I thank you for this gift master, I will treasure it and will surely use it to protect you and everyone on this base" Belfast said to William.

"Glad to hear it…Anyway, do you know how to use it?" William asked Belfast.

"I know the basics at least. This one is semi-automatic pistol with magazines, you need to insert the magazine, pull the slide backwards, released it to load the first bullet into the chamber which also to pull the hammer backwards, set the safety off and you're ready to fire" Belfast said as she performed the said action directly.

"…Sometimes I wonder if there's something you didn't know, Belfast. You know basically anything" William said to Belfast while smiling a bit.

"Oh my, thank you for the compliment master" Belfast said while smiling back.

William looked outside and despite the pitch black scenery outside his window, the sound of rain and the strong winds rattling his window were the indication that the storm is getting worse. Narrowing his eyes, he hoped that everyone was inside a building on this weather. He know the girls were strong, but even so it'll be best for them not to catch cold by staying indoors.

"...The storm is getting worse, none of the ladies were outside right?" William asked Belfast.

"No, since master issued the order everyone immediately head indoors-" Belfast said to William.

"They're here. Belfast, hide in the bathroom" William suddenly said.

"But master-" Belfast was about to retort.

"Do as I say" William said in firm tone.

Belfast didn't understand why did William told her to hide on the bathroom but something in William's tone told her that it would be best if she comply with his order, he have something planned out and Belfast trust her master to make the decision. She nodded as she immediately headed for the bathroom, turned off the light and shut the door. Few seconds later, there's some footsteps in front of the door before it was kicked down.

William feign shock as he quickly put his hands up as several men dressed in black and armed with suppressed SMGs pointing guns at him, all of them wore black balaclava and combat goggles so William couldn't identify anyone of them. He briefly glanced on everyone and spot no sign of insignia, rank badge or any notable thing beside their ammo pouch and knife sheathe…Oh hell these guys weren't military forces…But until they could be thoroughly examined, William can't be sure.

"Lovely evening with thunderstorm gents, so what can I do for you? You know I could help, if you ask nicely?" William said while smiling.

"…You're awfully calm for someone on the edge of death, Nimbus Knight" One of them said.

William narrowed his eyes when he heard that name, if these guys know that…then safe to say, he won't be getting out of this one alive after his usefulness was up. One of them walked forward and stared at William through his combat goggles, he looked around the office and William struggled to deduce what the hell were these guys want other than trying to murder him?

"…Nice room" The guy said to William.

"Why thank you mate, it's comfortable one" William said while still smiling.

"Yeah of course with that hot maid this room would be spotless eh? Now, where is she? She's not happen to hide in that room right?" One of them said.

"Please. You think such classical thing like that will happen in real life? I take it that you watch too much TV" William said while smirking.

Oh dear god, William only smirked and said that to irked the guy so he won't touch the door handle. It work though as he walked closer to William and stood on the side of the previous guy. William managed to get their identification, Recon 1 and 2…But William came to grave conclusion, he saw Belfast and judging by his tone he's up to no good with her…No, not to his favorite maid, not to any girls on this base, he won't let that happen. But first, he had to gamble his life in this game of death…

"Let's get straight to business shall we?" William asked while smirking.

"You're eager to die" Recon 2 said as he pointed his gun at William.

"Now now! I think you're being too hasty man, remember that the boss want to talk to him?" Recon 1 said to Recon 2.

"…Fine. Let's get to your office, move it. Don't try anything funny" Recon 2 said to William.

"Oh fine. Just one thing, I need to finish that coffee" William said to them.

William carefully moved to the table, took the cup of lukewarm coffee, downed it then complied as he moved out and being escorted by a dozen of armed men toward his office. Along the way, he saw that these men already secured the hallway…Belfast would have a hard time getting out from the bathroom but she got her phone with her right? God he do hope so…He entered the office, walked toward the center while being gun pointed before he stopped and turned around.

"Okay mate…so, what do you need?" William asked them.

"…Our boss want to talk to you" Recon 1 said to William.

Recon 1 took out a hologram projector and a figure appeared in front of William. He's a tall man but quite skinny, pale white skin, blue eyes, short dark brown hair and he smirked triumphantly at William's shocked face. William knew the man on the holographic projection, but William refused to believe that he's alive. No, he shouldn't be because William himself was the one who killed that man!

"Nimbus Knight, on gun point. Never thought I'd see the day" The guy said to William.

"…Ronald Mitchell, you're alive…" William eyes immediately narrowed.

"I'm disappointed to hear that you think a shot to the head would kill me. No no no that would be too easy wasn't it?" Ronald asked William.

"I'm surprised you didn't get here to kill me yourself" William casually remarked.

"Haha! I wish I could, mate! But nah, I don't want to get my hands dirty for little traitor like you" Ronald said with a bitter smile on his face.

"Who's the real traitor here, Ronald? You turned your back against everything you stood for! Why!?" William said while scowling.

"Oh now you asked me that?" Ronald asked while also scowling.

"I was too busy to care because all I want that day was to shot you on sight…" William said while growling.

"Ohohoho, mate you're scaring me! But for real, let's talk about this like a grown adult shall we? Assuming you're an adult now? Unlike Ben, Helena's little brother. He never got the chance" Ronald said while smirking.

Something snapped inside William, his face contorted in pure anger and his fist were clenched tightly. He was about to shouted at Ronald before the assassins around him pointed their guns toward him, taking deep breath William tried to down his anger a bit…Ronald played him like a fiddle, he know where to push his buttons and mentioning Lena's deceased brother would always get him…

"Ah ah ah, Will. You still has temper problem huh?" Ronald asked while grinning maliciously.

"You shut your mouth motherfucker…He died because of you!" William shouted at Ronald.

William would never forgive Ronald for what he did, not until the end of time. Lena's little brother was part of Task Force Nimbus and credited the title Nimbus Knight alongside William and three others, he graduated from the academy at eighteen with flying colors. Benjamin McAllen, one of the most talented graduate under William's direct command and the little brother of the task force. Everyone likes him, honestly if he's on the regular division he would become a war hero in the eyes of the troops.

"…Mate, you're known as The Nimbus Knight. Well, the five of you…The five of you were the legendary bastards that capable taking on an entire Sakura Empire infantry battalion armed with those deadly katanas and emerged victorious! Bloody fucking hell mate, I worshipped you guys! They're the enemy, them and those Iron Bloods! Those wank stain don't deserve to live after what they've done and the five of you were their cleanser! You five were heroes in our eyes! That's why…I felt betrayed…we felt betrayed by you five on that day" Ronald said to William.

It was supposed to be a simple search and capture mission, they got Intel about Iron Bloods massacring a village of Iris Libre during their occupation on the area. Task Force Nimbus got an order to find the truth and bring the perpetrator alive, so they immediately started hunting. But the more they stay in the area, the more evidence they found that it wasn't Iron Blood that did the massacre…It was Azur Lane military forces, a regular division that's advancing toward Iron Blood's territory.

"That day, what went your mind? You five escorted twenty Iron Blood civilians that was supposed to be our target…They're the target Will! You were supposed to shoot them not to escort them to safety! My god you are one dim motherfucker! So, I took charge, we killed those guys but one escaped. And you, the five of you murdered my friends, my best friends just to save one little Iron Blood whore!" Ronald shouted at William.

Those twenty Iron Blood civilians were deemed by local command as the soldiers responsible for the massacre dressing up as civilians, they went so far as to provide the proof. But William knew better than to trust them without inquiry, so The Nimbus Knights who founded them started asking questions. It turned out that the local command planned to silence those twenty civilians as they're the only living witness of the war crime committed by Azur Lane Military Forces in the area.

But they knew The Nimbus Knight already suspected them so they turned to the rest of the forces to do the job, the others complied without question and firefight between The Nimbus Knight and the other members erupted. William even tried to reason with them but local command was one step ahead of them, there's fabricated evidence that The Nimbus Knight were defecting to The Iron Bloods and thus Task Force Nimbus were ordered to eliminate them.

It was a clusterfuck of mess, in the ensuing firefight nineteen of the civilians were killed. In the act of desperation, Benjamin protected the last witness who's a sixteen years old teenage high school girl. That cost him his life and in blind rage due to his death, William and the others did the impossible. Four men took down an entire task force overnight, infiltrated the local base to get the evidence by faking their deaths, stole a plane and made a dash to Azur Lane Central Headquarters.

Handing the report, a court was held and in the ensuing process The Nimbus Knights succeeded with the testimony of the girl they saved. The garrison responsible for the war crime was punished according to international law, their leaders imprisoned and some were executed. But, the crimes committed by The Nimbus Knights couldn't be overlooked…They basically murdered an entire elite task force, one which Azur Lane High Command considered their best asset!

"You five were traitors! To Azur Lane and those that you stood for! You got no right to call me one! I'm doing this for the betterment of Azur Lane! Ben, he tried to protect that little whore and he paid the price…I always like the kid you know, young but skilled and he's a damn fine soldier to earn the title of Nimbus Knight at eighteen!" Ronald said to William.

"…No words would be enough to condemn you to hell for what you did to Ben, Ronald!" William said to Ronald.

"Your own men, your own brothers, you murdered all of them…We were there to finish the job but you four, were blinded by that lie of hers!" Ronald said to William.

"It was never a lie Ronald, you and the others chose to ignore the truth! You're the one blinded by hatred! You couldn't see that they lied straight to your face!" William shouted at Ronald.

"No…you were wrong! But as the saying goes, history is written by the victor. And there you stand, thinking that you've won. That story you told to central command still sent you to jail wasn't it? Now why was it only you that was sent to The Black Hole? But that certainly made my job easier" Ronald said to William.

What the fuck is he talking about? That's what William thought, he watched as Ronald snapped his finger and a picture appeared beside him. In the picture, there's a big Caucasian man with black short hair and green eyes leaned on the walls in an unknown alley. His torso were filled with bullet holes yet he died with a smile on his face, William widened his eyes as he saw the picture…he know who he is.

"Yuri Asimov, a gentle giant with that minigun of his. He still smiling even in death" Ronald said to William.

Another picture appeared and this time it was a dark skinned man who died with the back of his head had a large gaping hole inside a dining room, blood was pouring out to his back and the scene was a mess. William shook his head sideways in complete disbelieve, he stared at Ronald who smirked in complete confidence.

"Michael Tyrone, stoic but caring to a fault. He's the tough one so we had to be creative" Ronald said to William.

"...They're…" William was unable to speak.

Another picture appeared and there's another Caucasian man lied on top of his own blood with a disemboweled stomach, a slit throat and a knife on his heart. His face contorted in pain and fear, as if his soul slipped away while he saw something so horrifying…William stepped back until he hit his desk in disbelieve, he know everyone that Ronald shown him.

"Charles Dubois, the comedian who never fails to laugh even during artillery shelling. He didn't laugh so much in this picture" Ronald said to William.

"…No" William muttered.

"And lastly…William Blaze, the greatest soldier ever lived and I used to respect so much. You will be missed mate, not by me though" Ronald said to William.

…Those three were his best friends, the few friends he had left beside Lena. Three of them were the other Nimbus Knight beside him and every one of them died? Murdered by Ronald? No words could described the mixture of sadness, grief and anger that swirled inside him and turned into concoction of pure contempt for the man in front of him. William saw a paper plane hovering in front of a window behind the assassins, he knew its Shoukaku's paper plane…

"…Ronald, allow me to say this before your goons shoot me. I'm prepared for this, just give me the chance to help myself with this little speech" William said to Ronald.

"…Alright boys, let's give him time to say a proper goodbye to us. Go on mate, you got a minute" Ronald said while smirking in confidence.

"…I swear to any god or deity out there who can hear my words, when I find you I will personally murder you with my own bare hands! I'll tear open your chest, pull out your heart and squash it with my own two hands and I will greatly relish the look on your face as your soul slip away from your body! I've made a pact with death numerous times and today he still say, not today! See you soon, Ronald" William said while growling.

Just as William said that Shoukaku's paper plane turned into real air plane and rammed William's office, this greatly shocked everyone but William was prepared and jumped as high as he could to avoid the crashing plane, dived into one of the assassins, used his knife and jammed it to his throat, took his MP5 SMG then lay waste any assassin that still somehow survived. He heard cannon fires and commotion outside the building, looks like the ship girls were on their way here.

William heard footsteps and gunshots coming from the hallway as Shoukaku's plane disappeared, William took another downed MP5 and looked outside only to find the other assassins were getting overwhelmed by Takao, Enterprise, Ayanami, Belfast and Sheffield as they were killing anyone that didn't resemble William. Takao's swinging her katana, Enterprise firing her bow, Belfast using the gun he just gave and Sheffield with her own twin handguns. William narrowed his eyes, he's moving to-

PSIU!

William felt a sharp pain on his right hand, he switched the MP5 to his left hand, turned around, fired one handed and wasted an entire magazine filled with thirty 9mm bullets on one of them who was still alive after being hit by a fighter jet…That's it, every attacker surely died and their assassination attempt had failed. William threw the MP5 to the wall, he walked out from his office. The girls was about to ask if he's alright when William just ignored them in favor going to the part of the hallway that was exposed to the raging storm due to the wall and roof were destroyed by the previous fighter.

William felt strength left his body as he fell forward to his knees…He stared toward the horizon of pitch black sky which occasionally lighted up by thunder, as he looked up he also wonder why did this have to happen? Why to them? More ship girls came toward the floor but all of them didn't approached William. They were stunned…William had this disbelieved look on his face before he hunched down…There, a fully mature grown twenty six years old man started sobbing, that sobbing turned into cry of anguish and William for the first time in ten years bawled his eyes out.

He cried so hard as if he challenged the sound of falling rain and strong winds directly, he didn't care about the cold that were biting him to his bones, he didn't care about his bloodied arm, he didn't care about the girls watching him at his weakest point in life, all he care about was the fact that three of his remaining few friends he had were murdered. They're the ones who had fought beside him since their assignment to Task Force Nimbus, they went around the world, fighting, exploring and making sure the other soldiers could come home to see their family again…But no more, their fight was finished. He's the only one now, the last of Nimbus Knight.

He felt a gentle caress on his shoulder, despite feeling that he didn't stop as he haven't had enough. He need to let it out, his grief needed to be expressed lest he lose himself…Illustrious caressed his shoulder, Hood hugged him from the side, Enterprise took off her coat and shielded William from the harsh rain, no one except William knew what made him cried so hard…But all of them understand, they definitely understand what he need.

.

"Your main artery was not pierced but it grazed your bones, Commander. This should be enough, but I would advise you not to use your right hand for today" Vestal said to William.

"…Thank you Vestal. I'll be fine, I know how to treat wounds myself" William said to Vestal while smiling.

"I know, because you didn't even visit me and try to mend the wound by yourself. As this base doctor, anyone who were injured is my responsibilities and you're no exception! Come over regularly for the check-up will you?" Vestal asked William.

"Alright, thank you…I appreciate the sentiment" William nodded his head.

Vestal only smiled as she patted William's shoulder twice, William wore a medical sling on his bandaged right hand as he walked out of the infirmary. He saw Belfast and Hood standing in front of the infirmary door, both of them nodded to William as a sign to follow them…The walk to Royal Navy Dormitory was filled with silence, William didn't even bother to join the conversation between Hood and Belfast. They stepped out into the glaring afternoon, it's as if there's no storm raging on the island last night.

After following them for quite some time, William stumbled upon Victorian era design building with gardens around it…This was unmistakably Royal Navy's dorm, he followed both Hood and Belfast to the rear garden where there's a bit of people gathered in what appeared to be the standard afternoon tea time. There's Elizabeth herself, sipping tea while Edinburgh stood behind her. Warspite sat to her left, enjoying the pastries and there's Illustrious in front of her sitting while smiling.

"Your highness, Master William is here" Belfast announced that they have arrived.

"Ah splendid Bel…Well don't just stand there, go ahead and sit down" Elizabeth said to William.

"Yes, your highness" Belfast said while bowing a bit.

William sat beside Illustrious, she smiled faintly at William when she noticed the medical sling alongside bandaged right arm. William assured her that he's fine just by smiling at her, Illustrious seemed satisfied as she nodded her head and sipped her tea. William watched as Sheffield put a cup in front of him and poured warm black tea to his cup, William took a sip then put the cup down.

"Now Commander Blaze, what do you wish to speak to me today?" Elizabeth asked William.

"I wish to speak about the budget allocation for Royal Navy's dormitory" Williams said to Elizabeth.

"I see. If I recall Bel already had our report for the expense this month" Elizabeth said to William.

"How much?" William asked curiously.

"No more than our usual spending. But we do plan to incorporate a greenhouse on the spare land near the dorm, can you allocate some budget for that?" Elizabeth said then sipped on her tea.

"…Hmm, what would you use the greenhouse for?" William asked Elizabeth.

"Herbs and spices, the maids would like a steady supply for their dishes. Seeing our convoys often late because they got raided, I think it's best to have one in here" Elizabeth said while grinning.

"Good point…Alright. Let me consider it after talking with the other dorms, your highness" William said to Elizabeth.

William got his answer and he nodded in understanding…William took a package of cigar from his pocket, put one on his mouth and light it up. After taking a deep suck, he puffed out the smoke to calm his nerves…After what he heard last night, he still thought about it once an hour at least. William purposely exhaled to the opposite direction of the ladies, he didn't want them to be uncomfortable but some did frown a bit when they found out he did smoke.

"Commander, I could tell you're not in your best shape right now. I would suggest a rest for today" Warspite said to William.

"That's a good idea but maybe not now, Lady Warspite" William said to Warspite.

"…If you say so. Just make sure you don't push yourself too much Commander, I don't know what the cause for last night but it would be best if you find the solution quickly" Warspite said while smiling a bit.

He know the solution, he know how to deal with them, but when you lose three of your brother in arms due to some traitor he thought he killed already then it would surely take some time. All he could do now was to wait for his grief to go away…No, Will already had enough crying last night that his grief was being washed off by the harsh rain of the storm. This feeling that was left inside him, it's anger and vengeance mixed into one…Despite that, he smiled at Warspite gratefully for the advice.

"Commander, we've arrived" Enterprise said to William.

William looked to the left and saw Enterprise, Nagato and Bismarck walking toward them, there's a reason why William gathered the representative of each ship girls today. After the representative had seated, enjoying some black tea and pastries William decided to talk about why they were gathered here…These ladies would need to be briefed.

"Ladies, I'll be away tomorrow due to important matters overseas. I'll leave early in the morning and return here by night…Three of my friends, brothers in arms were assassinated last night by the same group that attacked this base. The three of them were the only survivors of Task Force Nimbus beside me" William said to them.

Collective gasps and murmurs were the immediate respond from the ship girls, William was the luckier one with the ship girls protecting him because his three other friends were caught dead in their homes and back alley…The three of them were among the greatest soldier Azur Lane had and they died like they didn't worth anything, murdered in cold blood in their peaceful days.

"Kommandant, I'm sorry to hear that" Bismarck said to William.

"My deepest condolence, shikikan" Nagato said while bowing a bit.

"I'm so sorry, commander" Enterprise said to William.

"Oh…What a tragedy, my sincerest condolence to you Commander" Elizabeth said to William.

"Thank you, ladies…Because of that, I will attend their funeral tomorrow. I ask of you four to please keep watch on the girls, operational command will fall to Bismarck in case of an attack" William said to them.

"Danke Kommandant, I won't let you down" Bismarck said while smiling.

"Good. Furthermore, I want everyone to remain on alert for the next three days. This attack was caused by that same terrorist group that I've been tracking…Now that they dare to attack this base, I think it's only fair that I'll give you the brief explanation for them" William said as he took out his phone.

He showed them picture of a logo, the logo was a logo of Crimson Axis but with crosshair painted above them. He showed a group of armed men wearing the same logo on their arms, armed with various rifles, balaclava and combat goggles covering their faces. William shown them another picture of a warehouse filled with captured weaponries and several ransacked house filled with dead bodies. The girls looked at each picture and now they got the gist of the situation.

"They called themselves Crimson Cleanser, obviously named with the fact that their hatred toward The Crimson Axis are their primary drive for their actions. Currently, we didn't know where their headquarters located, all we found so far was their safe house and base of operation alongside their weapon cache…This would be a long hunting season, but safe to say most of their members came from Azur Lane nations. They didn't afraid to frame, terrorize and kill the innocents. This group need to be stopped, before they could undermine the shaky alliance between us" William said to all of them.

"…I understand the situation. Shikikan, have Azur Lane asked Sakura Empire and The Iron Bloods to help quelling these terrorist?" Nagato asked William.

"Yes, according to Admiral McAllen, my superior, each nations intelligence agency on this world are currently cooperating and coordinating together to find these terrorist. None of us want the war to be restarted, everyone knew the stake and we'll work day and night to stop these fools" William said to Nagato.

Their actions is a clear declaration of war against Azur Lane and Crimson Axis, both factions only wanted peace between them, even willing to bury years of grudges between each other for a common goal and that's the future of humanity which free from these aliens threat. And someone dare to try and mess up that effort? Hoo boy, they better be ready making the entirety of earth their enemy because ninety percent of the people on this planet will guaranteed to fight against them if they try to undermine the alliance between the two coalitions.

"That's all I could say about them for now…So, I want everyone to be careful" William said to them.

"Commander, are you going there alone?" Enterprise asked William.

"...Yeah?" William answered unsurely.

"I suggest you bring one of us to accompany you there sir" Enterprise said to William.

Well…he knew he would need a company, spending time by himself wouldn't be good right now. He'll need a distraction, someone to keep his mind off these things for a while. Usually, he would be fine because Lena would be there but…She would surely brought her husband with her and he won't want to get too friendly with Lena in front of him. What Enterprise said made sense…

"…Right, that's a good suggestion…So, who would like to go?" William asked while smiling.

Almost everyone raised their hand, William stared at the scene before him with deadpan stare…Does these girls were eager to slack off or they really want to see new places? William couldn't tell which one was their reasons but he do know who to bring…Someone calm, polite, could talk smoothly and wouldn't cause ruckus…Hey, that sound like-

"Jeez, you girls…Fine, I'll choose-"

.

Walking in a slow pace, William headed for the academy building alone. He had told that the girls deserved to rest after what happened last night so no one should be working now, well except for Akashi and Shiranui for they have to tend to their shop. And because of that, everyone's currently enjoying their one day vacation including the secretaries…But some like Belfast preferred to keep working, she's also a maid for Elizabeth so that's fine…But Enterprise insisted that she would lead a patrol for base security, reasoning that they can't let their guard down…Her habit still haven't go away huh?

He entered the academy building, passing by Fletcher and her little sisters so they chatted for a bit. After the brief chat, William continued walking to a specific room on the top floor. He found someone standing beside the door of the destined room, she's called Ranger. She often teaches the other ship girls and considered a teacher on this pseudo academy, she noticed William approaching her and she set her posture straight as well immediately saluted at him.

"Sir!" Ranger said to William.

"Afternoon Ms. Ranger, are they inside?" William asked Ranger.

"Yes sir, they're currently being given standard orientation by Ms. Langley…Ms. Wales and Ms. George were familiar with our base but they still haven't known about the few changes you've made when you took over the base" Ranger said to William.

"I see, thanks Ms. Ranger. I'll take it from here, go rest up" William said to Ranger.

"…Yeah, I think I'll need that after class today Commander" Ranger said then sighing.

"What happened?" William asked curiously.

"…Class was in chaos today, just because of a single bee flying through the window" Ranger said while smiling wryly.

"Oh. All the more reason then, go on" Williams said while smiling.

"Yeah…With that, excuse me sir" Ranger said to William.

Ranger saluted at William while smiling before walking past him, William steeled his nerve then twisted the door handle. The sound of door being opened immediately eliminated all sound in the room, William stepped inside the room and looked at what he saw. It's an ordinary classroom, Langley was currently in the podium and it looked like she was done with their explanation.

William took a glance at the new ship girls who arrived today…Prince of Wales and King George V were looking at him and judging him, their stares were clearly evaluating him based on the things they had heard from the other ship girls. William had heard that these two ladies were someone you don't want to mess around on the battlefield and among few Queen Elizabeth's trusted aide…

The Sardegna Empire arrivals, one of them was a girl known as Carabiniere. Honestly, she looked quite familiar…Well, she looked dangerous with her serious stare while holding a musket? Wait, who the fuck still use musket on this day and age? Where automatic guns dominated the battlefield? Then William remembered that she's a ship girl, that thing could take out a main freaking battle tank in single hit for all he care.

The second girl was Zara and William's eyes were caught in a massive gravity well that's pulsating around her chest region because my god those tits were massive! William immediately darted his eyes toward Zara's face, she's smirking while staring at him with unknown glint on her eyes…Man, his dong down there reacted a bit…He hoped that's not his M side awakening…

The Sakura Empire ship girls that were sent here also looking at him, they're Kongou's sisters Haruna, Hiei and Shouhou sat on their respective seats, like the others they also silently judged William. The man who was being stared at nodded his head and walked toward Langley, she checked on the files she held and handed one to William. It's a letter, sealed with the official stamp of Azur Lane on its back…Using letter on this day and age? This one must be a sensitive information.

"Thank you Ms. Langley, I'll take it from here" William said to Langley.

"They're all yours Commander" Langley said as she gave the podium to William.

"Greetings and well met ladies, my name is William Blaze. I'm the current commander of this base, let's work together from now on…Now, I already read your profiles so there's no need for you to formally introduce yourselves. Is there anything you want to ask? You can ask anything" William said to them all.

A hand rose from the seated girls and its Prince of Wales, she'd like to ask him regarding what she heard happened few days ago. Her reason was the same as many other girls on why would they ask this question, but Wales would like to hear the answer from the man himself.

"Commander. I have heard about your feats few days ago, may I ask why would you go such lengths? A commander like you doesn't have to do that" Wales asked William.

"…Think of me like a commander who's fighting style resembled the medieval times military commander. I lead from the front, always has been and I don't see a reason to stop now. A single man could make all the difference in the world, both good and bad" William said to Wales.

"Wise one, but that means you'll be gambling your life…Nevertheless, we're ready to fought The Sirens anytime commander. You can count on us" Wales said to William.

"Then that makes the two of us" William replied while smirking.

"…I like you already" Wales said while smiling.

"Commander, may I ask something?" It was Zara this time.

"Yes Ms. Zara, what would you like to ask?" William asked Zara.

"I heard our dorms is still under construction, where would we sleep?" Zara asked William.

"You and Carabiniere would stay on the command building in the meantime, the second floor still has several empty guest rooms. Just, don't venture to the third floor, it was a complete mess after last night" William said to Zara.

"Got it~" Zara said while smiling.

"…Any other questions? If no then you're free to go, get some rest. Don't hesitate to come and talk to me, I don't mind some chit chat once in a while…Welcome and welcome back to this base, ladies" William said while smiling.

The girls stood up, some saluted and some bowed a bit before leaving while smiling…A minute passed before William returned to his usual composed face, he briefly looked at Langley who was still standing beside him. William took out the letter which was given to him, he opened it and found a single piece of paper inside it. Narrowing his eyes, he read the letter.

…It's a letter of summon to Azur Lane Central Headquarters tomorrow in the afternoon, the high commander himself was the one who asked for him. Now, when someone like High Commander of Azur Lane who want to meet you directly then there's only three possible reason. One, you're High Value Target, enemy of Azur Lane or mankind's most hated man on the planet that's captured. Two, you fucked up your job so bad that the man himself like to see your face before you get whooped and sent straight to prison or death row. Three, you did too well on your job that the man want to see your face and give you a Medal of Honor for your outstanding work…

…Reason number one, well in some aspect he might be the most hated man among majority of the officers on Azur Lane as well being a high value target. Reason number two, he did that already two years ago and voila he at least had some dark story to tell to his unborn kids about 'Doing what was right'. Reason number three? Pffttt, Medal of Honor? With all the job he had done, all High Command's mess that he cleaned and their some unreasonable orders? He should already have as much as Enterprise…But nah, his good deeds and actions were disavowed the moment that trial hammer struck down…ungrateful assholes…

"Ms. Langley, who sent this letter to you?" William asked her.

"A Manju suddenly appeared with the letter sir, not sure how they got them but it's addressed to you" Langley said to William.

"…Okay, thank you" William said in deadpan stare.

Well, it's best not to ask as William had decided to accept The Manjus for whatever they are…He felt he could go mad at the thought of discovering whatever truth concerning them, best to just roll with it. Stuffing the letter back to his inner jacket pocket, William chatted a bit with Langley before he excused himself out of the academy building. He walked a bit before turning his head toward the partially damaged Command building which was rammed by Shoukaku's airplane…Come to think of it, he haven't thank Shoukaku for her help…Guess he know where to go next.

.

BEEP BEEP BEEP!

"…Goddamit!"

Meanwhile, on undisclosed location which Azur Lane Central Headquarters located, Lena cussed as she took the office phone in force and put it on her left ear. Her usually combed straight shoulder length brown hair were messy, she had red eyes and black eye bags, her eyes half opened and she's frowning.

"WHAT?!" Lena shouted at the phone.

"Jesus McAllen!" She immediately recognized the voice on the phone.

"…Sir, I think I'm being clear with the fact that I don't want to be bothered for a while?" Lena asked the person on the phone.

"Alright, I'm playing my ace card. That's not how you talk to your superior, Lena" The person on the other side of the phone said.

…Yup, not even Lena who held the rank of Admiral could retorted to that because he's Azur Lane's High Commander and she'll be in deep shit if she lashed out now. Lena sighed while staring at her laptop screen, the report she received from the intelligence division regarding last night attack indicated that the three of them were murdered almost at the same time…

"…Hrgh! Can't you leave me be for a bit? I lost three of my former soldiers! Three, loyal and totally the best of the best among Azur Lane soldiers! They're my friends! The three of them, died despite the fact they chosen to withdraw from everything! The fact I didn't lose Will alone is a miracle!" Lena said to the High Commander.

"McAllen, I know it's hard for you but right now I need you to suck it up! We got a problem, pull yourself together!" The High Commander said to Lena.

"…Fine, what do you need me for sir?" Lena asked him.

"Strategic Control Center, ASAP" The High Commander simply said.

Lena put the phone down, took a small make up mirror, made herself look presentable and dashed out of her office. She passed rows of busy people, everyone either had stacks of paper, on their phone talking about something or with data pad analyzing something. Lena had to avoid lots of people along her way to the SCC, she finally arrived in front of a large door with two guards in front of it.

"Meeting on the way?" Lena casually asked the guard.

"Yes Madam McAllen, they're expecting you" One of the guard replied.

The two soldier opened the door and Lena immediately head inside, the door closed behind her seconds after she entered the room. Lena was greeted with the higher ups of the Azur Lane, generals, admirals, air marshal, several experts and analyst. Lena walked further into the room where she caught the sight of a middle aged woman with long jet black hair, wearing lab coats and cream turtleneck sweater. Lena smiled at her which the woman returned, that's before Lena put on her war face.

"Admiral" The High Commander said from his seat.

"This better be bad" Lena said while scowling.

"Oh believe me, we just open a can full of Grade A worms. Can't wait to taste it" One general said from her left.

Lena snorted a little as she sat next to the woman she smiled at before, the woman smiled as she silently asked her if she's alright. Lena only nodded her head with a small smile, she then focused herself in facing the other higher ups…She's done crying, Crimson Cleanser is officially on her shit list and she'll make sure they will regret that.

"Based on the brief report provided by Commander Blaze, the suspect for this assassination is Ronald Mitchel…If the fact that this supposed dead bastard who committed war crimes during his time as Task Force Nimbus soldier came back to life isn't bad enough, we got unconfirmed reports that Crimson Cleanser is assembling an army" High Commander said to Lena.

"What army? How can they managed to gather enough man power to form one? More than ninety percent of the world's population is hunting them" Lena said to The High Commander.

"Well, that last ten percent is the answer. They're operating on neutral countries, we just got word from several countries that their local police busted several recruitment attempts on their territory, it make sense to think they're building an army" The High Commander said in annoyed tone.

That means there's a huge possibility that Crimson Cleanser planning a large scale coordinated attack against them, what would be their target this time? No one liked the idea that these terrorist would go to Iron Blood or Sakura Empire Capital Cities and started massive terror attack, it's just a theory right now but this situation proved that the probability of it happening is quite high.

"I see…So, you got our next move planned out sir?" Helena asked The High Commander.

"Yes. But I would like your opinion on this one" High Commander said to Lena.

"I'm listening" Lena simply said to him.

"It's true that striking directly at the head wouldn't be effective with this kind of enemy. I'm planning to send infiltrator to their ranks, several of them" The High Commander said to Lena.

"Good plan…I don't see why you would need my opinion for this" Lena said with cocked eyebrows.

"This would take a while, gaining their trust won't be easy and during that time it's possible that Crimson Cleanser would cause more damage…I'm asking if you have other alternatives" The High Commander asked with impassive face.

…Lena scowled at the idea of more people on her life could be targeted by those assholes, William was lucky that he was on a base full of superhuman girls when it happened but it's safe to think another attempt would be tried in the future. Lena thought, what if it's her family? What if the next victim would be Will's family? What if in few days the regular coffee shop she often visited got bombed for stating their stance against The Crimson Cleanser…She knew deep down what's her answer to this problem, the problem is that not everyone would agree to this…

"…You can't kill an idea, as long as one of them stands then that idea will prevail. At the same time, we can't just go around and massacring random people we suspected. There's only one way I could think of" Lena said with impassive face, her deep purple eyes devoid from any kind of light.

"Oh, do explain?" The High Commander asked while smirking, he liked where this is going.

"Fight fire with fire. They bomb us? Bomb them back. They took hostages? Took few of them with us. They slander us on the internet? Make sure to destroy their network. People…No, these things could only understand one language and that is violence. Let's give them the taste of their own medicine, see if they like it compared to us" Lena said in firm tone.

"About time, those bastards need to be stopped at all cost!" One general said to Lena.

"For the sake of our future, perhaps this would be needed" Another one said his approval.

"…This is a war crime, Admiral!" A general said to Lena.

"Are you prepared to bear the burden to ensure the world stay safe, general? This is not the first time we got our hands dirty, you shouldn't be surprised so much. Beside, at this rate? This fragile alliance would break. Crimson Cleanser could turn public opinion easily, that's their advantage. We can't do anything if we lose our public support…We'll have to play this brutally yet at the same time cunning enough with our approach" Lena said in matter of fact tone.

The whole room was filled with murmurs, majority of them agreed with this approach in quelling the terrorist threat but some of them and the general who spoke out before were still having doubts. If they resorted to this kind of tactics, doesn't that make them no better than those terrorist?

"You're not convinced?" Lena asked the general.

"I'll be honest…You're method is quite frightening, Admiral" The general said uneasily.

"Because they just made it personal last night, I experienced what they could do and I don't want that to happen for the second time to me or anyone…Sir, your approval?" Lena swiftly asked The High Commander.

"…What do you think, chairman?" The High Commander said out loud.

A holographic scene appeared before everyone and there's five men seated facing them with black and red uniform, without a doubt everyone on that room immediately recognized them. Crimson Axis Leaders sat before them behind the holographic scene, every one of them currently whispering with one another except for the man who sat in the middle. Intimidating face, shoulder length straight blonder hair and icy cold blue eyes stared at Lena…But she wasn't fazed in the slightest, she'd seen worse.

"I like your plan, Admiral McAllen…To beat evil you have to be even greater evil huh? That's a plan we can agreed on…High Commander, The Crimson Axis offers you our full support to quell these terrorist scum!" The Chairman said to The High Commander.

"Excellent…Then let's commence this plan as well! I want full details of this new doctrine and strategy alongside overview of the plan on my desk in a week. We will continue to discuss the details with our Crimson Axis allies in mean time, is that clear?" The High Commander asked everyone.

""""""""""Yes sir!""""""""""

.

…The visit to Sakura Empire dormitory was quite fun, it managed to take his mind off things when he was busy. The little destroyers played with him, the older girls talked with him about many things, he enjoyed some sake, cakes and overall dinner was satisfying. He spend majority of the night on the balcony of the common room staring at a city's skyline on the island across from here with Shoukaku seated on a chair beside him. She played harmonious melody from her flute at his request, William felt content while enjoying the night scenery, night winds and the gentle song.

He returned to his room after thanking Shoukaku, both for his saving him and complying with his request. At his room, he sat on his bed after changing to a white t-shirt and his boxers…He took out his phone, he looked at the wallpaper. It's a picture of him alongside the other him, Lena, Yuri, Charles and Michael which was taken just after they returned from their last mission. William smiled bitterly, he made mental notes to frame this picture to the night stand later…With that, he laid on the bed and closed his eyes…

"_Will"_

"_Father…Is there nothing we could do?"_

"_The doctors have tried everything, your mother work herself to the bone to cure me…No, all of you had done more than enough. It's my time Will, you will be the man of our family…Don't cry now lad, you have to be strong for your mom and sister"_

"_What son wouldn't cry when his father laid weak on his death bed!? Don't give me that nonsense!"_

"_Hehehehe…yeah, you're my son alright. I said the same thing to your uncle years ago"_

"_Runs in the family huh…"_

"_Listen well. I'm proud of you…No one in our family's history ever entered the academy and graduated with outstanding marks, you even drafted for duty immediately. But I'm sorry son…I don't have long, I couldn't attend to your graduation ceremony in two months"_

"…_Father, what should I do?"_

"_For what?"_

"_How can I help you fight longer?"_

"_Now don't ask for the impossible son. If the most advanced medicine couldn't even make me survive tonight, then there's nothing else could…I'm glad you made it here, Will…It's been months since I saw you, I feel at ease knowing that you're doing well…"_

"_Yeah father. I'll be here, until the end…Father?"_

"…_Don't worry son…I'm just feeling sleepy"_

"…_I know where this is going"_

"_You're watching too much TV, your mother often warn you about that hehe…Right, anything you want to say to me, son?"_

"…_I'm not ready"_

"_What? Being a soldier or Helena's future husband?"_

"_Both"_

"…_Alright then, this old man will give you one last lesson. Anger shouldn't dictate your action Will…It is humane to felt anger, but your primary drive should always be your believe…Do what you do think is right, your anger should only be the icing on the cake"_

"_And…the other one?"_

"…_Helena's a good girl, I'd like her to be my daughter in law so much…my only advice? Treat her well"_

"_But…I already did that"_

"…_I mean, in whatever circumstances…Even if both of you had to part…treat her well…"_

"…_Now you're scaring me father, don't say something like that"_

"_...Ever the…worrywart…eh William?"_

"…_You know me…I just like to be prepared…Father?"_

"…"

"_Father?"_

"…"

"…_Father?"_

"…"

"…_Oh…You're leaving already, father? God…at least you could tell the reapers to wait until I say my gratitude to him…I promise you, I will upheld your lesson. Rest well up there, father"_

William opened his eyes and his pillow was wet…Damnit, dream flashback regarding his father passing away? Why now? Does that dream of his trying to tell him something? A reminder of his father's last words before departing? It sure do, since that's the part he very specifically remember…William was wiping his eyes from his tears when he heard the door opened, then he heard a girl gasping.

"Master? What's wrong?" Belfast asked William as she hurried over to him.

"Ah, Belfast…Just a dream that tugged on my heartstrings, I'm fine" William said, trying to smile at her.

"If you say so master…You need to get ready, you're scheduled to leave at eight" Belfast said to William.

Nodding his head, William immediately hit the bathroom. Getting himself clean and fresh, he looked outside and saw that the sky was dark grey…Seriously, they just got hit by storm two days ago and another one is about to hit them again? William shook his head as he equipped his uniform and put on black coat above it. He turned toward Belfast as if asking her to check his uniform, Belfast smiled as she approached him and tidied his uniform. She also took the tie on William's left hand and putting it on for him, all the while William kept staring at her.

"Master, it is rude to stare so much at a lady without her consent. Please be mindful of that while you're out there" Belfast reminded William while smiling.

"Can't help it. Any man would do that if a gorgeous maid is the one who put on their tie" William answered while smiling slightly.

"Oh dear master, think nothing of it. It's my duty after all" Belfast replied to William.

"Duty or not, I appreciate it" William said to Belfast.

Belfast took the officer cap from the desk and handed it towards him, William took the cap and put it on his head. He took out an eye patch from his jacket pocket and used it to cover his left eye, after making sure everything checks out and filling his pockets with items he might need during the journey he smiled in satisfaction.

"You look handsome master" Belfast said to William.

"Thank you, Belfast" William replied while smiling.

"Do you mind if I took a picture?" Belfast asked William.

"Hmm? Sure. Go ahead" William said while shrugging.

William posed as Belfast took out her phone, she snapped a picture of William. Both of them left the room after they're done and headed straight for the courtyard, William subtly checked every single thing he carried with him. Phone, keys, wallet, wrist watch, napkin, snub nosed Colt Python Revolver and several moon clips…Yeah, he got it all. He saw the car already parked in front of the building alongside two people beside it, they're Prinz and Hood.

Hood was selected to be the one accompanying him to the funeral, she dressed in her usual dress while carrying a purse. William smiled a bit when he saw Prinz gave something to Hood which she took and immediately put inside her purse, what's that? Deciding he shouldn't asked, William and Belfast approached the both of them.

"Hood, you didn't wait too long didn't you?" William asked Hood.

"Ah milord, Prinz and I just arrived here" Hood said to William.

"…Ready to depart?" William asked Hood again.

"Anytime milord, just say the word" Hood replied while smiling.

William motioned Hood to get in the vehicle first, she nodded and climbed aboard the 4x4 jeep and rode shotgun while William faced Belfast and Prinz. This would be the first time he'll leave the base for the entirety of day since he took his job, a bit nervous since two days ago their base came under attack. But he had confidence that these girls could deter any invaders, human or not without him. What he worried the most is the fact that this base could crumble due to the girls fighting that could get out of control, that's not a far stretch…

"Alright. Prinz, make sure the base still standing by the time we get back" William said to Prinz.

"You're expecting Siren's raid, kommandant?" Prinz asked while smiling.

"Nah, the girls…I got a feeling they will start dancing and causing mess when I'm gone somehow…I've been watching too much Youtube" William said while looking to the side.

"Fufufu, don't worry about it. The base managed to stay up in one month without a kommandant, it could survive a day without you" Prinz said to William.

"Great then. See you later Prinz, Belfast" William said to them.

"We're off, see you at night" Hood said to Prinz and Belfast.

"Take care master, Madam Hood" "See you, kommandant, Hood"

William stepped on the pedal and the car quickly accelerated, they left the base and headed for the local civilian airport in the city. Hood was curious, why didn't Azur Lane sent someone to pick them up directly from the base? Why did William opted to ride the conventional civilian airlines while he had access to the military's faster transport? But she didn't mind this at all, in fact she's quite fascinated at the prospect of trying new things…

…Meanwhile, Prinz approached Belfast after witnessing the car that William drove disappeared in the horizon. Both of them looked at each other before surveying the scenery around them, realizing that the two of them are the only person currently on the courtyard they smiled at each other…

"I believe you have it?" Prinz asked Belfast.

"Why of course" Belfast said while smirking.

"Fufufu, well done Bel. I'll trade with that video of him dancing like a mad man alright?" Prinz said to Belfast while smirking back.

"Ufufufu, sure" Belfast said to Prinz.

Both of them then took out their phone, Belfast traded the photo she just took with a video from Prinz where William was immersing himself in metal music…William doesn't know this, but photo and video involving him had become a commodities among the ship girls on the base.

* * *

**And cut! Right, better end it here than letting this dragged on for more than fifteen thousand words. Well, thanks for the follow and favorite, let me know your thoughts and see you next time when William and Hood spend the whole day together...Oops.**

**\- Dasmara**


	5. The plan

William and Hood continued their drive to the city, Hood looked around her as if to immerse herself on the scenery. This would be the first time she went to the city, normally the base has everything she needs so she didn't think to venture out like this. Now, she might have a reason to venture out of the base to visit the city once in a while. The city is looking quite peaceful, citizens walked on the sidewalk, some stood in groups and talked to each other and some enjoyed food on a restaurant or by street side vendor.

War with The Sirens could threaten to kill them any time, Sirens could attack this city in their strategy against them. But the people doesn't seemed to be affected by that fact, their enjoying their daily life as usual. William stopped his car due to red light, Hood looked to her right side and saw several kindergarten school children's crossing the road. They smiled and waved at Hood who smiled and waved back at them, the chaperone in the back nodded her head toward her.

"That smiles on their face, that's what we fought for. Our sole reason to end the war…If you ever felt questioning why you fight, just remember that smile" William suddenly said.

"Yes. I can agree with that…Is that what you did, milord?" Hood asked William.

"Yeah, you can say that" William said while nodding his head.

The traffic light turned green and William continued the drive, they approached the airport and Hood saw that it wasn't too crowded. William parked the jeep on overnight stay parking lot, he offered his right hand to Hood as if he's escorting a lady down from her carriage. Hood only smiled as she took his hand, both of them then walked toward the departure section when William noticed one thing…

"Hood, hug my left arm" William suddenly said.

"Huh? Are you sure, milord?" Hood asked unsurely.

"Yes. You have Royal Navy's Civilian ID?" William asked Hood.

"Um, we don't generally have one. But we do have our military identification papers" Hood said to William.

"That's exactly the reason. We don't need the attention nor the troublesome paper identification process, we need you to blend in…Follow my lead" William said to Hood.

Hood hugged William's left arm and walked together, why would William asked her to do this? Her answer came in the form of the entrance security, there's a queue in front of them as the security checked everyone's ID. Hood assumed that paper identification for ship girls might took a while, time they don't really have so William used this method…But how does hugging his left arm connected with all of this? William and Hood came forward as William handed not his ID but something akin to a card, the security's eyes widened as he stared at William.

"Right this way sir, sorry to have bothered you and your…" The security said as he looked at Hood.

"My lovely wife, yes. Now, if you'd be so kind to let us through?" William said to the security calmly.

"Of course! Right this way, have a good day sir, madam!" The security said to both of the,

William and Hood entered the airport through a secure line, without having to cue for x-ray scans and straight to the airlines ticket booth section. William looked at Hood and he saw her looking forward with red cheeks…Ho, even Hood could get flustered? Looks like William managed to crack that composed lady persona she wield all the time even if it's just for a bit.

"…I see what you mean now" Hood said to William.

"Yes. Your 'husband' is an important figure on Azur Lane Central Command, no one would like to cause trouble for him" William said while smirking.

"So that's the privilege of traveling with someone important, maybe I should brought you when I'm going shopping to the town in the future" Hood said while smiling at William.

"Hoho, never take you to be the scheming type, Hood" William said to Hood.

"Then you still have a lot to learn, milord" Hood said with a triumphant smile.

"…I guess I am" William said in somber tone.

Both of them get to the ticket booth, although it's William who did most of the talking since Hood is quite unfamiliar with how things work outside the base so she decided to use this experience to learn. William who got the overflowing amount of cash on his bank account decided to indulge himself for a bit, all those money weren't going to spend themselves and he had lots of trouble on what to expend…Though, there's this small gut feeling inside him that he should save around seventy percent of his income. His gut feeling never wrong before…so-

"What class would you like to fly with sir?" The lady at the register asked.

"First class my dear" William said in his British accent.

"Understood, where to sir?" The lady asked him.

"Azur Lane Headquarters, your corporation is the only one with an open flight there, correct?" William asked while smiling.

"Yes you're right, please wait a bit while I finish your boarding pass…There, enjoy your flight!" The lady said to them.

"Thank you" William said to the lady.

Both William and Hood walked toward the waiting room, both of them had to go through the last x-ray scan and William pulled to the side. Hood watched as William shown them the same blue card that he shown to the security guard at the entrance, one of the guard checked on him manually and William shown them something underneath his black coat. They nodded in understanding, William said something to them and then nodded his head toward Hood who then approached him.

"Madam, can we see the content of your purse? It's just procedure" One of the guard said.

"Sure" Hood simply said as she handed her the purse.

Briefly looking on the content inside Hood's purse, the guard only nodded his head before handing it back to Hood while saying that both of them were clear. After bidding goodbye to them, both William and Hood made their way to the waiting room. They sat on the edge and they got a clear view of the sky, it was light grey…Looks like it could rain any second now.

"Milord, does civilian airplane could take off during rain?" Hood asked William.

"Yeah, they could. Providing the wind or turbulence isn't too strong around the airport, it's quite tricky with a huge airplane but a fighter jet could managed it easy" Williams said to Hood.

"I see…How about the security? It seems to be quite heavy, does it have connection with the attack two days ago?" Hood asked William.

"It is, Azur Lane have decided that Crimson Cleanser members or affiliated person is to be apprehended or shoot on sight" William nodded his head.

"We have taken more direct measure" Hood said her conclusion.

"Couldn't let them roam free Hood, the sooner we took care of them the sooner we could focus on the war against The Sirens" William said as he rested on the chair.

The fact they could assassinated three ex-special forces soldier with enough battle experience to rival the most seasoned warriors on the planet is a direct proof that Crimson Cleanser shouldn't be taken lightly, Azur Lane will implement Zero Tolerance Policy regarding them soon. William looked outside and saw a plane landing on the runway, it looks like the plane that they will board later…But will the weather allow them to take off?

"I agree…Also, milord, you have started calling me by my name these past few days" Hood said while smiling softly.

"Oh yes…You know, I tend to just called someone's name casually when they work closely with me. It's an old habit of mine, if you don't like it-" William said as he looked at Hood.

"Oh no, it's fine. I'm just wondering why you stopped calling me like that…Now that I think about it, you also did it with few other girls" Hood said to William.

"Right" William simply said.

"…Does that mean you're more comfortable with us now?" Hood decided to take a shot.

"You could say that…I've gotten used to be around ship girls now, even the antics" William said as he looked to the room's ceiling.

And that was the most honest truth, William had gotten used to handling them…Well, not entirely but he got the gist of it. Long Island and Ayanami could be a problematic shut in, San Diego with her antics, Saratoga pranking mania, Prinz constant teasing, Enterprise unsanctioned patrols, Illustrious defenseless attitude, Atago aggressive pampering, Akashi shady deals, Shiranui merciless price tags, add that the destroyers like being clingy to him…Several of them from Sakura Empire even used him as jungle gym when he was napping on the bench outside, in their defense his sleeping posture enabled them to do so. And those just scratched the surface…

Then, there's the fact that not one day on that base where William didn't see someone's panties or cleavages! Heck, no matter where he go he always given the chance to see one! Like with Saint Louis four days ago, she tripped on the pavement when she's walking toward him and he caught her. Her cleavage was totally showing and her boobs pressed dearly to his own abdomen…Then there's one with Nelson and her frilly black panties when she climbed the stairs in front of him, he's lucky she didn't notice because she will definitely pulverized him if she did.

"Ufufufufufu, that's what make them endearing isn't it?" Hood asked while smiling.

"Yeah…Anyway Hood, I never see you wearing casual clothes" William asked, changing the topic.

"Oh, neither were you milord…How about we goes out to the city on the weekend? You and I could wore our casual clothes while spending time with each other?" Hood asked while looking at William's eyes straight.

"…Never in my life have I asked for a date by a lady before. Sure, why not?" William answered while smiling a bit.

"Then it's settled" Hood said as she smiled and clapped her hands once.

A date huh, it's been years since he went to one so this might be good. So, an elegant lady like Hood…Where should he take her? Fancy restaurant? Theme parks? Nah, he can't think of anything at the moment. There's not even a fixed date for the outing with her anyway, safe to say William still have time to think where Hood and him should go for a date…

"…Also, you could just call me William" William suddenly said to Hood.

"Eh? But, I already called you Lord William" Hood asked while cocking her eyebrows.

"No, just William. We're friends, right?" William asked while staring at Hood.

"Yes, but for me to call you without lord…then that means…" Hood said in low voice.

"Hmm?" William asked Hood.

"Oh, it's nothing" Hood said to William.

"You…don't want to call me by my name?" William asked in slightly dejected tone.

"Maybe sometime in the future, when we're…closer" Hood said while smiling meaningfully.

…What did she meant by that? At worst, that means when both Hood and William become close friends and at best if both Hood and him married with one another. Either way, it's a good thing…William shook his head while lightly chuckling to himself, ah woman and their mind games, no matter where he go he always encountered one.

"…That send mixed signal, Hood" William said to Hood.

"You can interpret it however you like, milord" Hood said, this time she's grinning!

That…only further reinforced his theory, but before he could reply both of them hear an announcement that their plane is ready to go. Both of them quickly boarded the plane, the spacious and luxurious first class reserved only for those who could afford it. The plane soon take off, Hood was busy spending her first ten minutes of taking off by admiring the view from above until the plane had to fly above the grey clouds. This would be her second time flying, and she got a feeling that she'll never get bored of this sight.

.

It took around five hours until they landed at the Azur Lane Central Headquarters Civilian Airport, both Hood and William disembarked from the plane. They exited the airport, find a nearby taxi and head immediately to the address that William told the driver…It was sunny, the driver and William chatted a bit during the drive while Hood sat calmly in the backseat with her book. It only took fifteen minutes' drive from the airport and they've arrived on a large building…After paying the taxi driver, both of them walked toward the entrance where it's filled with people wearing black clothing or military uniform. But despite all that, none of them recognized William and Hood.

That until William saw Lena herself walking toward them, after both acknowledged each other presence Lena proceed to hugged William and vice versa…Both of them knew each other long enough that sometimes they don't have to speak a word and both would understood each other to some degree, both of them grieved for their friends but they wouldn't let this dampened their spirit. They have to stay strong, to face the dangers that took their friend's life.

"Will, you've arrived" Lena said after she's done hugging him.

"Yeah" William simply replied.

"Ah, Ms. Hood! So you're accompanying him!" Lena said as she hugged Hood.

"It's good to see you again, Mrs. Lena" Hood said as she also hugged back.

"Likewise. Shall we head in?" Lena said after letting Hood go.

The trio then entered the main gate, Hood looked around and her attention was taken with the fact that this supposed 'cemetery' still have lots of vacant land around. Hood then looked to the large building with a gold statue of an armored medieval knight riding a unicorn while carrying a shield and a lance, there's a large inscription underneath it that reads '_The Knights of Azur Lane _'…Hood knew that Knights of Azur Lane is the highest honorary title on Azur Lane, given to those who pulled an impossible feat no matter the odds.

There's a reason why there's only several people that held this title and that's because most of them were awarded posthumously, the impossible feat often cost someone their life. In honor to their deeds, The Knights of Azur Lane title often bestowed alongside a Medal of Honor. Now Hood understood why there's so many vacant grounds around, there's not many that received the title and majority who did died in the line of duty…William possessed the title Nimbus Knight, is that different than Knights of Azur Lane?

"…Are you sure with this place, Lena?" William asked Lena.

"Azur Lane Heroes Cemetery? Protocol dictated that Task Force Nimbus action couldn't be revealed to the public, but I'd say screw that for this one…Our friends need the recognition they deserved" Lena said in matter of fact tone.

"Couldn't agree more than that" William nodded his head in approval.

They entered the building and faced with a large hall filled with row of seats, William didn't recognized almost all of the people around here save for several people…who hates him somehow so he couldn't be bothered to say hi. While walking, the three of them was approached by a man with black medium hair, he had green eyes with glasses complimenting it, average figure wrapped in black clothing and black shoes…William know who he is, just from the fact that the man softened his gaze at Lena…

"Sir William, my name is Garry McAllen. It's good to finally see you" Garry said to William.

"Lena's husband? I see, the name's William Blaze" William said to Garry.

Both of them meet for the first time and locked in firm handshake, in spans of few seconds lots of message were sent between the two of them. William knew that Garry's a determined man, Garry knew that William's a cautious man. William stared at Garry with the 'I got my eye on you' while Garry replied with 'You're wary of me' stare, after that brief yet meaningful handshake both of them let go of each other hands…

"I've heard your exploits, you sir have my deepest respect for what you've done. Always fight for the truth, not even the deadliest unit on the planet could make that resolve waver" Garry said to William.

"Thank you. It felt good to hear that" William said while smiling slightly.

"For sure…Helena, father has arrived. I'm going to greet him now" Garry said to Lena.

"Sure, I'll be here with the others" Lena said to Garry.

Nodding his head to William and Hood, Garry took off for the entrance while they continued their walk to the end of the hall where three coffins laid beside each other. The halls were filled with murmurs and talks from various people, some military personnel some were civilians. For being a private event, it sure quite packed with people here…No TV crew for the publicity so it's a plus…

"…He seemed to be the geeky type, guess that's your taste huh?" William asked Lena.

"Aw, are you jealous?" Lena asked while smirking.

"Let's not go there..." William looked away with a small frown.

"But for real, he's a sweet man. Intelligent yet modest, his only drawback is that he's still a bit reserved around me sometimes" Lena said while smiling.

"Really…But that takes time, you know that. He treated you well, right?" William asked Lena with serious face.

"Of course. He somehow knew that my ex would come and beat him up if he ever mistreated me" Lena answered with reassuring smile.

"Good, there's no need for a little talk then" William said to Lena.

…Truth to be told, while both of them agreed to remain friends with each other but both of them knew that the feelings they have for one another couldn't just gone like that. Even now, both William and Lena still cursed the fact that this had to happen to them…Years of history, their feelings, their love for one another couldn't go away easily and having to work together really put the gasoline on the fire…But they have to, there's nothing good in continuing the dead romance between them. There's nothing more they could do to set things right…it's far too late.

"…Anyway, Ms. Hood. How is the flight? I heard both of you decide to fly commercial airlines" Lena asked Hood.

"It's the first time I've been on the first class, it has excellent service" Hood said while smiling.

"True that. I always want to ride one, but the task I've had to do only allow me to use military vehicles…It's faster but, I want those luxury once in a while!" Lena said in whining tone.

"I hope someday you'll get the chance to ride one, Mrs. Lena" Hood said while smiling broadly.

"Thank you, that someday better happen!" Lena said while grinning.

…The three of them arrived on the podium with the three coffins, this is it. William felt his steps grew heavy the nearer he got to the coffins, he couldn't bear to see face of his dead best friends…Lena stepped beside him, she gently wrapped her left hand around William's gloved right hand. William looked to the right to see Lena smiling sadly at him, but that act…give him the resolve to push on.

"Will…Are you ready?" Lena asked William softly.

"I never did, but I have to greet them nonetheless…Hood, you want to come with us?" William asked Hood.

"Um, I think I'll stay here. This is supposed to be you and Mrs. Lena's moment, both of you were their friends, right?" Hood asked while smiling.

"Best friend is more like it, Ms. Hood" Lena said while smiling sadly.

"All the more reason. Go on, I'll be here milord" Hood said while smiling.

"Alright" William nodded his head.

The steps both William and Lena took felt like ages, but eventually they reached them…William took a good long look at Yuri, Charles and Michael. The three of them were dressed on their ceremonial dress, their face were pale and the three of them each held a long sword and shield with Azur Lane insignia painted on it…It's a tradition for those who were buried militaristically by Azur Lane Armed Forces to be given a sword and a shield, something to protect them in the afterlife…

"…You three don't deserve this after everything you've done, the last words we exchanged were full of arguments. But not even once I thought the three of you as an enemy, you three would always be my best friends…I swear to you Michael, Charles, Yuri, I'll find Ronald and I'll make him pay for what he's done" William said in tone full of grief…

During the trial to determine the innocence of The Nimbus Knights, William took all the blame by saying that it's his orders that Michael, Charles and Yuri did what they did. High Command concluded the same thing and William was sentenced his punishment…That resulted in a massive argument between Michael, Charles, Yuri, Lena and William. In the end, the three of them left while saying that they could never agree to this method…William never had the chance to reconnect with the three of them since they went off the grid, living their life in secrecy until they were assassinated…

"Make that two of us. Yuri, Michael, Charles, you three will be avenged…That I swore of it" Lena said out loud.

"Ut sensit hostem feriunt coelestis" William said out loud.

That's the motto of Task Force Nimbus, it means 'May our enemy felt our heavenly strike'…The both of them returned to Hood's position when the event started…They headed outside, to the open plains filled with green grass and three holes that were prepared beforehand. The coffins were carried outside, sobs alongside cries could be heard and a music for burial was played by a group of soldiers with music instruments…A priest came to the front, he started his speech for the departed while everyone listened intently. Then the priest head over to William, he looked at him with an understanding look…

"Major William Blaze, the three of them had stated in their wills that you should be the one who send them off" The Priest said to William.

"…They knew I'll live longer than them?" William muttered to himself.

"Regardless of the reason, you'll do the same thing right?" The Priest heard and asked William while smiling.

"Yeah" William nodded somberly.

…Despite everything that happened, the three of them still want him to be the one who sent them off if they passed away ahead of him. Despite that argument, William had thought that their friendships would end there…William stood, went to the front and stared at everyone…God, William felt his vision blurred as tears spilled from his eyes and he did his best to carry on with this request…Their last request. It really touched his heart that Yuri, Michael and Charles kept him in their minds despite their fight.

William looked at Lena, she's no better than him as she already had her tissue and sobbing while Garry caressed her shoulder. Then William looked at Hood, she smiled supportively while nodding her head…as if to encourage him which worked extremely well as William managed to smile for a bit. He don't need a text on what to say, he could tell an hour of monologue about why these three men were great men…But that wouldn't do, he'll have to keep it short.

"…The three of them are my best friends. I have so much to tell about their deeds, how many times they saved me from death, how they're the ones who'll stay by your side no matter the odds to how they valiantly fought even in the face of demise…Admiral McAllen and I, we're the living witness of Yuri, Charles and Michael's great deeds. I would say, they don't deserve this. The perpetrator of this atrocity, shall be caught and punished accordingly. I would not stop, until my three best friends get the justice they deserved…To the family they've left behind, to their friends, to their lovers, may you stay strong despite this great loss. From this day on, let their names be known among us as the three brave men who stay true to their principal…And they shall not be forgotten!" William said in firm tone.

"Present arms!" Someone shouted.

That someone was the squad leader for the honorary three volley salute, seven men dressed on ceremonial uniform lifted their ceremonial M14 Rifles behind William…William took off his officer hat, he then saluted at the coffins as the squad fired three times on their squad leader's order. The first shot fired, he remembered the first time he met with the three of them. The second shot fired, he remembered the time of their last fight where they fought relentlessly. The final shot fired, William remembered the night two days ago…where he witnessed their deaths…

The crowds paid their respects and one by one everyone leaved the area, William walked back toward Hood, Lena and Garry who were waiting for him. William looked back one last time to the coffins which were lowered to the hole and currently being covered by the soils…Lena and Hood walked up to him, Lena tapped William's left shoulder as she also looked at the graves.

"Short but impactful, as always" Lena commented.

"I'm winging it, as always with speeches. It didn't turn out as well as the version in my head" William said in somber tone.

"But Milord, that's quite the speech" Hood said from his right.

"Thanks…Hood" William said to Hood.

"May I?" Hood asked William.

Turning his head in confusion, William didn't have time to react as Hood took out her handkerchief and gently wiped William's tears away from his cheeks while smiling softly. William widened his eyes, he didn't expect this at all…But he can't say he didn't like it, William then nodded his head appreciatively toward Hood while muttering his thanks to her. What both Hood and William didn't see was a sight of Lena looking at them, with a bitter smile on her face…

.

"Your husband didn't come with you?" William asked Lena.

"What do you expect Will? He have his own job too" Lena said in 'obviously' tone.

"Oh. Right" William said to Lena.

The three of them walked to the entrance of what seemingly to be a large castle walls, but in reality it's a massive fortress. Hood couldn't stopped looking at the ridiculous amount of 'defenses' littered around this site, no matter where she looked she either found soldiers on patrol duty, combat vehicles, defensive emplacement or even a helicopter gunship flying by…The three of them currently walking to the entrance of a massive gate, after the soldiers saw the three of them and Lena nodding her head they opened the gate without any questions.

"Is this the first time you've ever been on Azur Lane Central Headquarters, Hood?" William asked Hood.

"Yes…this place look like a fortress" Hood commented to herself.

"Why yes, during the war this place have been targeted by Crimson Axis task force multiple times. They're trying to probe this place for any weaknesses, so far they've failed. The five meter walls were reinforced with titanium plating, tons of anti-air defenses emplacement, numerous coastal guns, ballistic missile silos, internal hangars and numerous garrison filled with best of the best…The only place that could rivaled this defense is Crimson Axis Headquarters themselves" Lena explained to Hood.

"But, if The Sirens were the one who attack this place…I'm not so sure this place could hold out long" Hood said to Lena.

"On that, we could agree" Lena said while shrugging.

They continued their walk to the inner compound and the inside were littered with buildings, some militaristic buildings and some civilian buildings. Hood looked to her left and saw a convenience store filled with several military personnel shopping for either food or utilities, then she looked to the right and saw several people in front of what appears to be a guard post…

"…What the hell is that guy doing here? With a beautiful girl nonetheless" One of them said.

"Man, is he going to screw her too like his previous task force?" The other guy said.

"Guy like him should've been executed, an acquaintance of mine is under him and that guy killed him without a second thought" The previous guy said.

"Really? Sheesh, he's the worst!" Another one said.

"Shush! Quiet! If McAllen hear you, it'll be messy" The other guy said.

Hood narrowed her eyes, there's only one man currently walking with them and it didn't took a genius to know that those men were talking about her commander. They appeared to held some kind of disdain toward him, add to the fact that they openly trash talking him in public like this didn't sit well with her. As far as she knows, William is a great commander, the one who cared about those under his command and even went as far to participate in combat with them…There might be a story about him that she never knew, but she got the time to get to know him better in the future.

"…They really think we couldn't hear them" Lena said while scowling.

"How unsavory. Milord, shall we go and reprimand them?" Hood asked to William while frowning.

"Let them be Hood. It doesn't worth the effort, nothing on this world could change their view of me" William said in firm tone.

"…If you say so" Hood said while looking down to the road.

They reached a large building in the center, they entered the building and went through numerous corridors and took elevators that Hood would be sure to get lost if she didn't paid attention. They reached top floor of the building, the place where Lena's office was located. The owner opened the door and led Hood and William in, inside it they found someone that seated on the sofa with a magazine in hand.

That figure was a middle aged woman with long jet black hair, she wore lab coat, pink turtleneck sweater and long white pants. Her blue doe eyes stared at them and vice versa, Hood was confused on why would this woman stayed inside Lena's office but the man beside her didn't. William knew who she is, how can he not? That woman in front of him was the one who birthed and took care of him…She stood up after putting the magazine on the coffee table, she started walking when William called her.

"…Mom?" William said out loud.

"William Blaze! No phone calls, no messages and you appeared before me with your new wife!? If you think you could get my blessing that easily then-" William's mother ranted while walking towards William.

"Whoa whoa whoa! Mom! You're jumping the gun several steps there!" William said in exasperation.

"How could I not if you suddenly brought a beautiful girl here!? I'm old, I told you to quickly marry and give me grandkids-" William's mother kept her pace.

Hood and Lena could only watch as a giant man and veteran soldier being backed into corner by his mother, even after all that he's still her son in her eyes and that fact never change even when he's twenty six years old already.

"Oh god in heavens…this will took a while" Lena said after sighing.

"Um…Has she always been like this?" Hood asked Lena.

"Will's mother is quite eccentric in some way Ms. Hood, she could be your mother-in-law in the future so pay attention on how to deal with her" Lena said as she approached them.

"That's…" Hood was left speechless with faint blush on her cheeks.

Lena went and stopped the ranting mother by explaining the gist of the situation, William then begun his five minutes utter bullshit reasoning on why he didn't call or message her. Busy, Crimson Cleanser, yada yada and William's mother deemed that his circumstances were quite reasonable so she let him go from further rant. Then, she looked and approached Hood while smiling gently.

"I'm sorry for that presumptuous display. Ms. Hood, my name is Diana Blaze, I'm William's mother. Thank you for taking care of him, it's an honor to meet you" Diana said to Hood while smiling gently.

"Oh no, the honor is mine madam. Your son is a very capable commander, it was us who got taken care by him on the field few days ago" Hood said while also smiling.

"I guess that came from his father, both of them is quite proficient in the art of combat…I'm just glad he turned out to be a good son" Diana said while nodding her head.

"…Come on, please sit down Ms. Hood. Looks like you, me and Mrs. Diana have some chat to do!" Lena said out loud.

"Oh, great idea Lena!" Diana said while smiling broadly.

"…Let me assume that this will end like when you visit the base?" William said from behind.

"Oh even better! Now your mother could tell Ms. Hood about your childhood and I get to spill everything with backing from a credible source" Lena said while smirking.

"Great, everything. You women and your gossips…Please wait until I left the room. Where did you put the document?" William asked Lena.

"My desk, second right drawer in red cover" Lena said to William.

William head to Lena's office desk and started rummaging through her drawer to find a document in red cover, he took the papers and make sure it's the right one he sought. After confirming that it's the one he wanted, William closed the drawer and looked toward the ladies while Diana was looking at him with a gaze that screamed 'concern'…

"Will, you're not staying long?" Diana asked William.

"No mom, I still have lot to do on the base…I could stay for dinner however" William answered while smiling a bit.

"Good, because I will get your arse if you immediately go back to the base" Diana said with half opened eyes.

"I know, figured some chit chat with you would do me good" William said while grinning.

"Anyway…What does he want with you now?" Diana asked William.

"I have no idea…I guess I'm about to find out. Hood, you could stay here with Lena and mom while I go talk with The High Commander" William said to Hood.

"By your command, milord" Hood said while nodding her head.

"Be careful Will, politics is a dangerous realm. You know how it turned out last time" Diana advised to William.

"Always mom" William said while nodding his head.

William left the office and closed the door behind him, Hood wondered what would The High Commander of Azur Lane want with William? Maybe he's being given new orders or he had to report something? She wasn't sure how things goes on top of the command chain, she better stayed here and talked with Lena and Diana…the two women that impacted William's life greatly.

"Now that the man himself is away, where shall we begin?" Lena asked out loud.

"Hmm, ah Ms. Hood. Is there anything you want to ask about him? We could start from there" Diana asked Hood.

"Lord William haven't talk about his family ever since he arrived on the base, I confess I'm quite curious" Hood asked Diana.

"Ah…Well, William was born into small family of four. Me, his father and a little sister. We're-"

Going through another set of corridors, William stumbled upon a large wooden door. He knocked on the door twice before he heard someone telling him to come in, and entered the room he did. The office belonged to The High Commander of Azur Lane, it was dressed in many trinkets and furniture's...William was too busy to note everything, his sole focus was on a man seated behind a large wooden desk.

The middle aged man with short ashen gray hair, brown eyes, naturally evil expression (William's biased but honest opinion) currently staring at him with a small smirk on his face. The man wore dark blue officer jacket with several medals dangling on his chest, white shirt, black tie, equally blue pants and black shoes. William came face to face with him, not showing any kind of respect as he didn't even thrown in salute at The High Commander of Azur Lane…

"…William, good to see you again son" The High Commander said to William.

"…Lucas" The name William have been avoid using for two years.

"How's the job? I could tell you enjoyed it" Lucas said to William.

"Well it beats the old one, I'm surprised you're willing to give this opportunity to me" William said while narrowing his eyes.

"Oh come on, we're friends right? Of course I'll help you" Lucas said to William.

"Friends won't stab you in the back" William simply said while frowning a bit.

"…We're going to argue over that again? It's getting old, William…But, I guess I never tell you why I did that" Lucas said as he stood up.

Bad blood between the two? No, more like one sided hate from William himself. The man in front of him present during his trial but he didn't say much, Lucas considered both of them friends? Well why don't he helped William when he's in a pinch with death glare coming from everyone for what he and his friends done!?

"Eighty percent of the higher ups want you off to the chopping block, William. Lena and I had to pull lots of strings, ask for favors and talk our way to make sure you're sent to the prison instead…I did all of that, so my friend won't die for doing what was right. But, my position won't allow me to say it…I have to look the part" Lucas said to William.

Ah, so that's why. It makes sense when you think about it but William still had doubts within his heart about Lucas' true motive doing this to him…William is a careful person, some said it might be a bad thing to have on military commander because being too careful would negatively impact any performance. No, William knew when to draw the line, when to be careful in his advance and where to go 'fuck that shit I'm going all out'…But for this guy? His danger sense is always on, there's no telling what The High Commander might say…He's unpredictable in some sense.

"Though I'm glad, two years later Lena and I found the perfect gap to free you. The situation is also extremely favorable, your skill couldn't be denied despite everything you've did so no one could argue when Lena volunteered your name to lead the combined fleet of ship girls" Lucas said to William.

"…Right, guess I should thank you for that Lucas…I basically owe you" William said while softening his face.

"Putting it simply yes" Lucas said while shrugging lightly.

"So why do you call me here? Something you want to talk about? You could do it through phone or something" William asked Lucas.

"Sit down, this will took a while. I don't want this intercepted or eavesdropped by someone" Lucas said to William.

William proceed to seated himself in the chairs in front of Lucas' table, the man himself seated back on his seat. William took out a cigar, light one up and sucked lightly. Lucas took the small bottle filled with Jack Daniels he stored on his desk drawer, took one bottle out and two small glass, pouring one to himself then William before both of them took the glass and sipped on the content…

"What do you know about Wisdom Cube, Will?" Lucas asked, beginning the talk.

"Something out of science fiction, the thing that capable creating miracles and realizing collective human consciousness into physical form. Basically, it could become anything that we want. The potential inside a Wisdom Cube is limitless" William said in complete confidence.

"…You should put that opinion of yours on theoretical papers, I'm sure the universities around Earth would be in uproar" Lucas said while smirking.

"Almost a decade of research and they can't come up with that simple explanation?" William asked with cocked eyebrows.

"You know them, they would like more concrete answer than what you just said…There's something you should know, we run a test on the ship girl's DNA sequence. We found…little alteration" Lucas said to William.

"Elaborate?" William asked to Lucas.

"You ever watch Anime? Sakura Empire produced a lot of those" Lucas asked while smiling a bit.

"Yeah, which one?" William narrowed his eyes a bit as he asked.

"Anything that involves super human. Wisdom Cube alters the DNA of a ship girl to be compatible with their rigging, as a result their body undergoes slight change. From outer appearance, they're basically the same as us. But, their biology…" Lucas wasn't sure how to proceed.

"…Go on, don't leave me hanging" William said to egged him on.

"How should I say this…Their DNA sequencing are a bit different than us and uh…Basically, it's hard for them to conceive a child" Lucas finally said to William.

"…What?" William asked, he's asking for confirmation on what he heard.

"You heard me, it's hard for a ship girl to get pregnant and conceive a child even though structurally they're the same as human woman" Lucas stated to William.

"And how did you know this?" William asked with his eyes narrowing with each questions.

"DNA Sequence Test, I told you already…It didn't take a nuclear scientist to know that their compatibility is quite low with a normal man, though intercourse with them would still be as normal with human woman" Lucas said to William…

…Crazy? No, theoretically it's possible that this might happen since Wisdom Cube somehow altered them so they could be ship girls. Their DNA sequence being different than normal human might be the sacrifice in order to obtain such power, it's understandable but if Lucas opened the talk with this then safe to say this is the highlight of High Command's overall plan in the future…

"…Okay, now why did you brought this up?" William asked then sucked on his cigar.

"Wisdom Cube possessed limitless potential and would take time to fully master, we can't always rely on them for everything…This technology is still categorized as special case and we have agreed to begin process of conventionalizing them…" Lucas said to William.

"…You want to produce a new generation of humans, the one that's compatible with weaponry produced by Wisdom Cube" William said his conclusion.

"You catch on quickly, no wonder you graduated with outstanding marks" Lucas said while smirking.

"So you want to make sure that a normal man can impregnate a ship girl?" William asked Lucas.

"Yes, not that it's impossible for now but the chance of fertilization happening would be under zero point eight percent…It's basically a miracle if it did happened. We don't know how much Wisdom Cube we could produce or get in the future and they are far too unstable to yield the result we want, we would need an alternative" Lucas said to William.

…Yeah, William could agree with this one. If they're going toe to toe with something that technologically owned the humanity then they need to up the ante…But does producing more ship girls is the right answer? How about using the Wisdom Cube to further enhanced humanity already existing combat vehicles or even produced a super soldiers…There's so many things they could do, why choose this route?

"…I'm doing this for the betterment of mankind, I know if we kept going as now then we'll only tire ourselves and that would lead to our demise. We could replicate the riggings, but the ship girls themselves would have to be naturally born. From a womb, not a cube…I'm sure you understand Will" Lucas said to William.

"…We're entering a new age of warfare, it's reasonable to do this…So, how do you plan to achieve that result?" William asked as he drank the alcohol.

"You" Lucas said without missing a beat.

"Guhk! Say what?!" William immediately choked on his drink.

"I'm giving you the permission to form the largest harem in the history of mankind, you should be grateful!" Lucas said while grinning widely.

"No matter what, no one can beat Genghis Khan's record! Not even me…Wait, you want me to have sex with them!? Some of them are basically kids!" William said in outraged face.

"I didn't tell you to go that far you sick pedophilic fuck!" Lucas fired back with his own outraged face.

"Well elaborate yourself better you damn scheming cunt!" William said in pure annoyance.

Whoops, he spoke his mind a bit there. But no matter, so this is basically giving him license to bang every ship girls? What's with this doujin plot?! No, why was it him that was chosen!? What's the indicator? Genes? Physical prowess? Brain prowess? What? William was baffled to be honest, this was out of his expectation by miles.

"…Will, you're the greatest warrior Azur Lane have and my most trusted man. I feel a lot more at ease if you're the one who become our subject…Will you do the honors of being the father of the new generation of humans?" William couldn't helped himself to think Lucas is buttering him up…

"…This is a lot to consider" William said in firm tone.

"Well, I'll make it simple. I know you wouldn't mistreat the girls, they're basically in good hands…You're our best choice, both physically and mentally" Lucas said to William.

"…What's this about the physical aspect?" William asked Lucas.

"We would require your DNA before we could create some kind of mutagen, needless to say you're the candidate for testing" Lucas said to William.

Okay…a testing for mutagen, William seen enough literature, movie and manga to deduced where this could go and how's this a bad idea to begin with. But so far they managed to make the impossible, possible. Nevertheless, the prospect of mutating himself was quite scary and he won't just do it in the name of science! He need to have legit reason on why he should agree with this!

"What you say before? I'm your most trusted man? What if this mutagen turned me into some kind of freakshow?" William asked in sarcastic tone.

"Believe me when I say this. That wouldn't be any concern, we basically only mutated a small strain of your DNA that it shouldn't affect your outer appearance. Needless to say, if it's not safe yet, we wouldn't commence the testing" Lucas said while smiling reassuringly.

"…Since when you become an expert in biology?" William asked with sneering tone.

"Last night, I crammed the reports…So, what do you say?" Lucas asked while smiling.

This might be a good plan on paper but there's lot of things that could go wrong, for example does the ship girls themselves are willing to be a part of this? They're people too, they have the right to choose…Then there's the fact that he's still new to their base, the relationship between him and the girls are acquaintances at worst and friends at best. Then what if they have children in the future? Would they be immediately drafted into the military?

"...Promise me several things, in written document" William said after contemplating for a bit.

"What do you need?" Lucas asked eagerly.

"First of, if I do have children with them then they should be allowed to choose whether they want to be a ship girl or live their life according to their wish. They're humans, not weapons" William said to Lucas.

"Consider it done. That would be against my own morals too" Not sure how to felt knowing that…

"Second, if you need to test something with them then they should be treated as humanely as possible" William further said.

"Done" Lucas said to William.

"…I'll say more in a written draft, but that's basically the most important things for you to keep in mind" William said while smirking.

"…You're a goddamn tease William! No wonder Lena left you if you never gave her some action!" Lucas said in frustration.

…That caused William to tensed up, his eyes narrowed, veins throbbed on his forehead and his grip on the glass to tighten. Lucas said that in complete light hearted manner until he remembered what happened between William and Lena, his eyes widened in realization and he looked like he regretted saying that straight to William.

"Landmine? Sorry…Anyway, I understand if you want to think about it further before committing a response. This involved your future children's after all…I suppose the girls would need to know about this too, though we could let Lena handle that part" Lucas said to William.

"Right" William simply replied.

"But, that means we can proceed with the development of the mutagen?" Lucas asked to William.

"…Fine" William simply answered.

"Excellent. Don't worry, the process would take years anyway. Unless some breakthrough happened, then maybe it could be done in months…You have time to think, just like to let you know what's the plan for the future" Lucas said to William.

"Alright…Anything else? I got a feeling that's not all you want to talk about" William asked straight to the point.

Lucas nodded his head as he pulled a document file from under his desk, he placed it on the table for William who took it and looked at the name written on the front cover. Project Custos Terrae? It's latin, but William wasn't sure what the word means. He just know that Terra meant Earth and safe to say this would involve everyone globally…

"…We've begun reverse engineering Siren's technology" Lucas said to William.

"…We literally broke our principle with this" William said in astonished tone.

"So are with the plans with naturally born ship girl's right? Now that we're on an alliance, we exchanged a lot of ideas with The Crimson Axis…They were right to some extent, we couldn't win this war with our current technology. We have been too idealistic before, and look where that lead us…So, an upgrade to our military and civilization is needed, the upgrade that our enemy conveniently provided. Yet there's some border that we shouldn't cross, that's the combination of idea between Azur Lane and Crimson Axis. Our new philosophical standing that united the two coalition…What do you think? The Chairman and I came up with the idea" Lucas said in confident tone.

"I'd say it's a good one, until we have to practice that…The temptation to cross the line to let go of our humanity is great, because only then usually we got the power we want. How do you plan to mitigate that?" William asked doubtfully.

"You know me Will, I'll find a way" Lucas said while smiling mysteriously.

"Hmph. I'm skeptical so far, but if this united the two coalition then so be it" William snorted then said.

Curiosity got the better of him and William opened the document, he saw lots of plans alongside detailed concept and theories about the massive upgrade planned worldwide…Neat, William unconsciously smiled in satisfaction at the plans he saw. Look at these things, this will definitely improve their combat capabilities across the board! Oh god, look at that sexy tank with rail guns on it!

"…We're also planning to incorporate a modernized rigging for the ship girls, turn to page 24" Lucas said to William.

"Titanium plating, rail guns, ion torpedoes, pulse lasers, jet fighters, cruise missiles and whole lot other variations alongside improvement of their equipment…I'm sure this is every science fiction geek's wet dream" William said to Lucas.

"That include yours?" Lucas asked while smirking.

"Hell yeah…The girls would be significantly powerful with this weaponries, not even mass produced Siren ships could stand toe to toe with them" William said while smiling.

"You're a man with vision, I know you'll agree to this. Unfortunately, that's where you have to work your ass off for this benefit. We need you to keep killing Sirens, salvage their ship parts, stole any technology we could use. You do that, we develop new weapons, the ship girls get stronger and everybody except The Sirens would be happy. We clear?" Lucas asked while smiling in satisfaction.

"Now this is a deal I can get behind immediately!" William said while downing his glass of alcohol.

"Haha, you change of attitude is quite amusing" Lucas noted as he refiled the glass.

"That's because this won't actually affected the livelihood of the girls or me, they need all the edge they could get out there. I'm more than happy to give them something that could help them fight and survive better" William said as he looked at the plans on his hand.

Lucas smiled before he looked to the left, a view outside reminded him one thing. How Lena convinced Lucas that William Blaze should be on Task Force Nimbus, how she begged him to join her plan to save William and how she basically threw in William's name when they need a replacement commanding officer for ship girls…That woman clearly loved him, no one would do this if they didn't.

"…Lena was right, you're the most suited for this job" Lucas said to William.

"What was that?" William asked Lucas.

"Nothing…Well, this is also the form of keeping my promise. You said that you should be given info about everything related to your job, here's me doing that" Lucas said to William.

"Glad to know you could keep your promise…Oh, also, there's this problem that I have" William said to Lucas…

.

"It's good to see you again Will" Diana said to William.

"You should stop by on the base sometime, mom" Williams said to Diana.

"When I'm not busy with request from High Command, I'll be there" Diana said while smiling.

It was around seven in the evening when William and Hood decided to return to the base, after the talk with Lucas the four of them enjoyed dinner that was served on Lena's office. William and Diana caught up on everything, but for some reason William didn't want to talk about his time on The Black Hole and preferred to listen on how Diana and his sister been doing for the past two years…

About the request, Diana worked as a scientist that specialized on Physics and Engineering. Basically, threw her a pipe, rubber band, some bolts, metal bar, sticks and she'll create a handheld crossbow. Back at home? She could fix any kind of household problems by her knowledge, often doing it while saying 'Trust me, I'm an engineer' when her husband asked if she need any help…High Command need her expertise for their grand plan, that's the reason on why she stayed on Central Headquarters.

"Call me and your sister alright? It's been two years, she would love to hear from you" Diana said while smiling softly.

"You didn't tell her about me being freed from the prison?" William asked in surprised tone.

"She's quite busy with her college entrance, the orientation should already passed and maybe she's ready for some earth shattering news. Her beloved big brother is free" Diana said while grinning.

"You're exaggerating mom…But yeah, I'll try to call you several times week if I could" William said while smiling.

"Will!" Lena shouted at William.

William, Hood and Diana stared back to see Lena who approached them after riding a military jeep with a private. Lena disembarked and told the private to wait for her instruction, the young man nodded his head while keeping the jeep's engine running.

"Lena?" William asked Lena.

"Are you planning to ride civilian airlines again?!" Lena asked straight.

"…Yeah?" William answered unsurely.

"At this hour? You'll be sleeping on the airport! I've arranged a transport for you and Ms. Hood!" Lena said while smiling.

"Wait, what transport?" William cocked his eyebrows.

"The cargo plane will transit to the airport near your base, you could hitch a ride for free" Lena said to William.

"Money is not the issue here" William said to Lena.

"If this about spoiling the beautiful lady behind you, then you could do that later! You're needed tomorrow on the base right? It would took hours to wait the plane arriving on the airport, this transport is basically faster than the conventional airlines anyway so just accept this already!" Lena said to William with serious gaze.

The man in question briefly glanced at Hood who at the same time also glanced at him with questioning eyes, William then did a think over with Lena's suggestion…Sure, they could ride a cargo plane but there would be no first class service like on the civilian airlines. But the trade is the fact that military cargo plane could flew significantly faster, they'll be back on the base before midnight…

"Ah…Hood, what do you think? Shall we ride this one?" William asked Hood.

"Mrs. Lena have provided us with a straight way back to the island, it'll be rude not to take on her offer and disregard her effort to make our return journey easier" Hood said to William.

"See? Even Ms. Hood have a point!" Lena said, smiling at Hood's support.

"Fine…thanks for arranging this, Lena!" William said to Lena.

"You're welcome! Say hi to the girls for me!" Lena said while smiling.

"Will do! Mom! I'm leaving!" William said to Diana.

"Take care of yourself dear! Ms. Hood, please watch over him!" Diana said to Hood.

"I'll be sure to do that madam! Until we meet again!" Hood said while bowing slightly.

They got on the jeep that the private drive, after a short trip to the large military airbase they disembarked beside a cargo plane. Saying thanks to the private, meeting with the co-pilot near the rear hatch and they soon take off and started their flight back to the city near the base…Hood was a bit disappointed with the night flight, but that was mitigated a little when she could see the night view of the nearby city. She kept looking through the window until William said something.

"…What a day huh?" William said out loud.

"Yes it is. In one day I get to meet lots of people and learn so many things, I'm grateful for the chance milord" Hood said to William.

"Good" William nodded his head.

"But I found several people to be quite rude to you milord" Hood frowned a little.

"…Those people and I have long history, I did something they didn't like and they resent me until now. It's fine" William assured Hood.

After that, both of them decided to do their own activity and that's reading a book. Hood continued the novel she brought with her while William decided to thoroughly read the document that Lucas gave him, the concepts were interesting and William thought whether he could also gave a proposal for one? He was coincidently looking to his right when he saw Hood yawning, she's tired after going around all day would be understandable.

"Hood, if you're feeling tired then you can rest" William said to Hood.

"But, I'm accompanying you" Hood said while staring at William.

"I'm not some cold blooded man that let my tired secretary to force herself awake…It's been a long day, you need to rest too" William said while smiling faintly.

"…Then I'll take on your offer. What about you, milord?" Hood asked William.

"Conveniently, High Commander gave me a reading material" William said as he shown Hood the document while smirking.

"Fufufufu, how studious" Hood commented as she rested her head on her seat.

"Sci-fi geek, remember?" William said while shrugging.

"Oh yes…" Hood said while smiling.

She then closed her eyes in order to try to sleep, William continued reading after making sure that Hood had fallen asleep…Hours passed, William's eyes were getting tired from reading despite the interesting content of the document so he opted to take a short break. That's when he felt something fell on his right shoulder, he looked to the right and found Hood had switched her pillow from the seat to his right shoulder…

"Commander Blaze, sir?" Someone appeared from the cockpit.

"Sorry…I couldn't get up at the moment, what is it?" William said as he motioned at Hood resting on him.

"We're approaching the island sir, but a storm currently pounding the said island. You might want to put on the seatbelt" The man said.

"I see. Can you land?" William asked the man.

"Are you kidding me? This strong wind is nothing, we even landed during a blizzard back on Northern Union Defense Campaign!" The man said while grinning.

Northern Union Defense Campaign? Holy shit, that was during the opening stage of Azur Lane and Crimson Axis war! This presumably pilot must've had extensive experience, because the air combat during that time were considered the most intense during the war which only rivaled during the famous showdown between Sakura Empire and Eagle Union Ace Pilots…

"Ah, a veteran pilot huh. I felt at ease now" William said while smiling.

"Hahaha! Don't worry about us landing, worry about getting wet after we touched down" The pilot said to William.

He went and checked on the cargo holds inside the plane, William had been wondering on where they would deliver those things covered in black cover if they had to transit to the airport near their base…Meh, probably the regular supplies for the base that was stationed near their own ship girl's base. Hood adjusted her sleeping posture and she leaned in further to William, the man couldn't helped but thinking that he would be a hugging pillow soon…

"Oh yes, almost forgot to tell you…Me and the boys? Should you ever need us to pick you up, deliver something or drop you off somewhere? Tuned to channel G1-ALAF-T2247 on the battle network. If we aren't busy or shot down yet, we'll come running…We're specifically instructed to be your air cab in case you need it" The pilot said to William.

"Let me guess, this order came straight from Admiral McAllen" William asked with cocked eyebrows.

"You're right…How do you know?" The pilot seemed surprised.

"I have my ways…Well carry on pilot" William said to him.

"Sir!" The pilot saluted at William.

After the pilot returned to the cockpit, William carefully and slowly took the seatbelts and secured it around Hood's body. She looked like she's fast asleep and William felt bad about waking her up so he let her sleep longer, he heard her murmured something under her breath and he looked toward her but found nothing to indicate that she woke up…She's probably dreaming. William returned his attention to the document he's reading, that until he felt something circling around his right arm and he looked to the side.

Hood who already rested her head on William's right shoulder now further locked him in place by hugging his right arm as if it's a hugging pillow, the man sighed a bit at the sight and was about to continue reading when the plane shook due to turbulence. Hood felt the shaking as she jumped awake while scanning her surroundings, that until she realized she's been hugging William's right arm and seconds later she let go of his arm.

"That's quite the turbulence. Still sleepy Hood?" William asked Hood.

"…Not anymore milord, that short nap was quite fulfilling" Hood said to William.

Hood noticed that William still holding the document he carried from central headquarters on his hands, she's quite sure that William didn't even catch a wink ever since she shut her eyes…She looked over the page he was on, there's several designs of armed men posing with an unknown rifle on their hands and wearing equipment that Hood had never seen before on either Azur Lane nor Crimson Axis infantries…There's a huge sentence on top of the paper. Project Custos Terrae, Plan Bellator Luminis.

"Milord, that page…" Hood asked curiously.

"…Future plans to combat The Sirens. Nothing concrete now as this is still a concept" William said to Hood.

"We're pulling all the stops" Hood said her assumption.

"Yeah, it's time to go all in for our military because our future is quite uncertain" William said while frowning a bit.

The cargo plane made its final approach to the airport and successfully landed despite strong winds and heavy rain, William and Hood stood up from their seats. After William thanked the pilots, the rear hatch opened and there's an SUV waiting for them alongside two men carrying umbrella's, William took one and opened it before taking Hood's left hand and gently pulled her close. Hood was surprised but she welcomed it by hugging William's right arm, both walked toward the SUV while being escorted by the military police.

"Welcome back sir! We already set a car for you to get back to the base!" An officer said while walking in front of William and Hood.

"Thanks! Anything happen!?" William asked the officer.

"Except for being drenched on this nonstop rain!? It's been all quiet sir!" The officer said while smiling.

"Alright then!" William said while nodding.

William opened the SUV door and Hood went inside first then followed by William, the umbrella he held was taken by an officer who also closed the door for him. Safe from the rain, William looked at who's the one on the driver seat which to Hood and his surprise the driver is Belfast The Head Maid herself. She looked back toward the middle passenger seats to found William with his mouth agape in shock while Hood had her eyes widened and covering her mouth with her gloved hands, not one of them expect the head maid herself would be their pickup driver.

"Belfast!" William exclaimed in surprise.

"Quite a chilly night. Welcome back, master, Madam Hood. I trust the flight went well?" Belfast asked in her usual smile.

"Yes it is, but what are you doing out here? Shouldn't you be attending her highness at this hour?" Hood asked Belfast.

"Her royal highness already went to bed, so my duty was over for the day. It is a maid's duty to welcome back her master so here I am" Belfast explained while smiling.

"Well I'm touched because you went this far…But how do you get an SUV?" William asked while narrowing his eyes.

"Oh I didn't tell you? We have one on the garage back at the base master" Belfast said in surprised tone.

"Yeah, you forgot to mention that back on the tour…So that's where you stored the jeep!" William eyes widened in realization.

"Madam Belfast, how is our base while we're away? Any trouble?" Hood asked Belfast.

"I'm pleased to say that everything is in order, Madam Hood…Now, shall we head back?" Belfast asked them both.

"Let's…I miss the comfort of my bed" William said out loud.

"Oh yes, we definitely need the rest" Hood said out loud.

Belfast nodded her head as she drove the car out from the airport under the intense rain, she's being careful despite the streets were basically clear from any vehicles due to the weather. William rested his head at the seat when he noticed Belfast staring at him through the rear view mirror, raising his eyebrows as if to ask what's wrong? Belfast then decided to speak.

"Speaking of your bed's comfort, do you want me to accompany you until you fell asleep master?" Belfast asked while smiling.

"That's…unnecessary" William replied with a slight delay, damn he want her to!

"If you say so. But how about some light massage?" Belfast asked again while she kept smiling.

"I'm fine for now, Belfast" William said to Belfast, yeah goddamnit he want a massage!

So why the fuck did he said that?! The reason being that Hood will absolutely talked about this with Lena or his mother later! Those three are becoming fast friends, Hood doesn't seemed the type to gossip at a glance but she somehow quite inquisitive when it comes to him…His suspicion was proven correct when he looked at Hood and she was staring at him while smiling.

"Hood, please…" William said to Hood.

"But I didn't say anything milord" Hood said while smiling broadly.

"Oh don't you act innocent with me! I know you're going to use this when Lena visited the base in the future!" William accused while frowning.

"Ufufufufufu!" It seems he was on point as Hood started giggling…

After that, the ride back to the base was filled with light chatter between Belfast, Hood and William. They enjoyed the short half an hour ride under the stormy night, William looked to the side when finally he got to see the base…He smiled slightly at the thought of laying back on his bed and…he looked at Hood who was busy talking with Belfast, she seemed distracted…good!

William subtly opened his phone and find a folder that was transferred by Lucas, that man despite being at the top of the ranks and being a forty-three years old guy was quite…dirty. Not in that kind of corruption sense, but in his sense of helping a fellow brother in need. William actually expressed a concern regarding him needing to take care of his sexual drives lest he got out of control, but going to a brothel is out of question and he's running out of options except banging the ship girls…something which he preferred to not doing for now. They're humans, not some sex machine.

Masturbation won't cut it, he need some real action. That's when Lucas said that he got a method for him while not exactly like the real deal but its close enough, he transferred an application to his phone and it took around a terabyte of his internal storage just from the application alone. He also handed William a specially designed hard light hologram projector, the one that can solidify the hologram so it could be touched freely. That hologram projector was a hot deal among the designers and William was confused on why did Lucas had one, that until he explained the connection between the projector and the app on his phone.

Basically, that app is a Holographic Sexual Reliever Assistance. A prototype being developed by Azur Lane to be distributed to frontline soldier to reduce the risk of…sexual violations on combat theater. This application included interactive A.I. program, customizable model, all kind of sexual services, it's basically all in one packages. Just wait until Azur Lane mass produced this, they'll make a killing revenue enough to wage another war!

When William first heard of this from Lucas, he realized that he's been out of touch since his time in prison and he was enlightened. Humanity proven time and time again that they managed to do the impossible, what a technology he just received! A breakthrough! An innovation! Man, he was glad he was alive at this time and age! Grinning at the thought of 'testing' this tech immediately, he failed to realize that Hood was staring at him.

"Milord, you're-" Hood asked William.

"Eh? Ah, what is it?" William swiftly answered.

"You're grinning ear to ear, something good happened?" Hood innocently asked.

"Oh yes, something good indeed happened" William said, in more than one meaning.

…They arrived on the base and the storm haven't let up, William parted ways with Belfast and Hood on the front entrance because they still have something to do. After wishing them a good night, William walked as fast as he could to his room. As soon as he entered his room, William changed his clothes to a white t-shirt and black boxer…Taking deep breath to control his excitement, he took his phone and the hologram projector before going to the bathroom and locked the door.

"Right…time to see what this baby could do!" William muttered while grinning.

He connected the phone to the hologram projector, he put the hologram projector on the cold floor and he opened the application. The projector projected a blue transparent cube in the size of five times five meter which basically engulfed the entire bathroom, the cube dissolved and a screen appeared in front of him with words '_Prototype HOSERA Project' _and the 'Start' button underneath it. William looked at his left hand and then touched the button as the screen changed.

He was presented with the option of male or female model, he choose female and now the real shit begins. Lots of interface and menu appeared around the female model, William decided to experiment a bit. He went to the 'Breast' slider and put it to max and holy moly he got instant confused boner from what he's seeing! Chuckling, he set the slider back as he begin to ponder on how he will set the model…An idea hit him and he unconsciously started tuning the model.

Setting the hair to blonde, setting the hairstyle the way he want with direct touch feature, setting the eyes to blue, the pink lips, apparently he could put on clothes but he decided to fuck that shit, he set the breast size, the body shapes, the proportion of the ass, the height and…What the fuck…William realized one thing, the model in front of him looked exactly like Hood! Not that he ever saw her body directly like this but it's damn close to his prediction! Motherfucker! William just realized that he sometimes eyed Hood from the corner of his eyes and actually imagined how she looked like without clothes…what an absolute degenerate! He's a perverted bastard in the core!

But William put that matter of his disgust to himself aside for now, he got a mission and he'll accomplished it like a trooper! He went to set the personality? Oh right, the A.I. is quite interactive. Scrolling down the list, he selected 'Noble lady' personality and 'composed' attitude…Setting the pitch of her voice, he then tested the voice with the 'voice test' option.

"What a fine evening. How do you do milord? It's good to see you here" The model said while smiling…

…William looked to the side while blushing, eyes wide in realization, mouth agape in awe and his penis erect inside his boxer, the veins pulsating and stand ready for combat activity…Holy fucking hell! She looked and sound EXACTLY like Hood! Well except that this model doesn't have her British accent but goddamn boy! How perverted is he to be able recreated this model to look and sound like his secretary in one attempt?! William then convinced himself, that she's just a model…she's not the real one, so it should be fine…William took a deep breath as he selected the 'confirm' option and the model started moving…

"Oh, milord. Why, you're 'equipped' with a magnificent lance! I can see why you're called as 'The Succubus Slayer' by the ladies around the kingdom!" The model said to William in sultry tone.

…He know it's just programmed simulation but hell that sweet talk got him excited and raring to go! After convincing himself that this is not the real one, all kind of reasoning, shame and doubt were thrown out of the window as William approached the model…He admired the view, the very beauty he just molded by his own two hands! He smiled perversely as his left hand moved to touch the model's right arm.

"…Hmm" The model responded.

The interactive feature seemed to be working well, the body of the model seemed to somehow simulated real life human body's temperature which is thirty six degrees Celsius…His smile grew as his hand moved, tracing the arm, to her shoulder and finally to her right breast. Cupping a feel, he concentrated his left hand to the senses…Springy, rich, it's as if he's holding the real one! He groped the model's breast gently, playing with the pink nipple a bit as she squirmed her eyes shut.

"Ah! Umm...Ha!" The model said in sensual voice.

William's smile grew even more as he traced his left hand lower, passing her stomach area, all down to the very place he targeted. Her womanhood looked exactly like a real one, he traced his right hand around her lower stomach…He hesitated a bit before he resolved himself to finally went pass the first line, his hand traced around her vagina and the model started to sound more aroused and sensual the longer his big hand dwelled there.

"Ahn! Milord! Please…don't tease me like this! Give it to me!" The model said to William.

Grinning perversely from ear to ear so much it should've hurt his cheeks, William took off his boxer as he turned the model around and bend her so she rested her upper body on the bathroom wall. Admiring the view from behind, her perfectly shaped ass, her pink vagina, her puckered pink asshole. William eagerly took his penis as he positioned himself behind the model, aligning his large, burly, circumcised cock to her pussy…This is it, the final frontier before Nirvana!

Yeah! Science bitch! Everything is possible with the right development, passion and resources! Fuck yeah! Man, to finally release his pent up frustration after so long this might be his salvation! With this, he'll be fine being around the ship girls because his lust is kept in check! There's no way he could just up and asked the girls for sex, first it is wrong to do that so freely without their consent! Second, there's that matter that Lucas had told him before and third, they only know each other even less than a month so he wasn't sure how the ship girls felt about him! See? This is the logical problem solving technique! William is going to pile diver this model girl to the wall with the speed of jackhammer and the power of hydraulic piston!

"Milord?" …It was Hood, the REAL Hood!

…William stopped dead on his track, his eyes widened in shock, his blood turned cold and his erection died instantly…He looked frantically between the model and the bathroom door back and forth, his panicked mind failed to come up with any kind of plan to get himself out of a possible clusterfuck imminent on his future! He prayed to whatever god out there who were willing to listen to him, please make Hood go away from his room!

"Oh, are you in the bathroom?" Hood said out loud.

"…Milord? What's wrong?" The model suddenly said.

"What? Who's in there?!" Hood suddenly said after hearing the model's voice.

William's heart stopped beating for a second before going maximum overdrive as he started to sweat profusely and his face turned blue, oh not even God is willing to save his ass from this one! He survived countless battle, avoiding death by nick of time and now he's back on the seat of the doom train heading straight to certain death…watching porn is a lot easier to explain compared to…this! He contemplated a way out, either jumping through the window and let himself be drenched to his nut sack in a stormy weather or even hiding on the bathtub!

"Madam Hood? What's wrong?" Now even Belfast joined in the fray?!

Not one but he had to deal with two women which both were extremely hard to trick! William is out of time and he's still in dilemma on the escape path he had to take, he briefly contemplated to barged outside and closed the bathroom door behind him before coming up with the most believable bullshit he could came up with in five seconds when he saw the door handle moved down…That's it, his ass is grass and he shut his eyes to accept his fate.

(_Insert To Be Continued Meme Here_)

* * *

**Alright doujin artist, I gave you a scenario here so make it happen...Naw, just kidding. Anyway, thanks for the review, follow and favorite dear readers! Let me know your thoughts and we'll see how the man himself get out from that imminent trouble in the future, see you next time!**

**\- Dasmara**


	6. Just your average day

KRECHAK!

The door didn't open…Thank the gods who still shown him some kind of mercy because William didn't forgot to lock the goddamn door before! Hallelujah! William's mind quickly work on overdrive to resolve this whole mess, first he deactivated the holographic projector, then exited the application on his phone, he put on his boxer and flushed the toilet on the bathroom.

Preparing the most neutral face he could muster despite the close call, he peeked outside to see Hood with serious expression and Belfast who stared in confusion. Hood was looking at William who wore t-shirt and boxer, but she's got more pressing matter at the moment. Belfast was confused because she suddenly heard Hood raised her voice…that woman even when angry never raised her voice before…

"Oh, it's you Hood. Something happened?" William casually asked Hood.

"I just heard some voice that came from the bathroom milord, sounds like a woman!" Hood said to William.

"Ha? What are you talking about? It's just me in here, perhaps you're hearing things?" William said to Hood with confused face.

Hood cocked her eyebrows in confusion before she gently opened the bathroom door, went past William and inspected the bathroom herself, she carefully scanned every corner of the room and she couldn't find any signs of someone other than William being here…But Hood refused to believe that because she clearly heard a woman voice that disturbingly sound so close to her own voice, she stared at William with clear confused expression. She's a battleship for god sake, she got amazing listening capability!

"No…I could swore I heard a voice…she sound like me too" Hood said while putting her right hand on her chin.

"…Well, let's just drop this matter now seeing there's no one inside the bathroom except me. Is there something you need, Hood?" William said trying to redirect this entire talk.

William starting to sweat despite the fact that it's goddamn chilly on his room, he carefully looked toward Belfast who still staring from Hood's back and sent her the look that screamed to help him out of this mess…Belfast being in her perfect maid mode quickly stepped up and went beside Hood, tapping her shoulder Belfast gave her a convincing smile that could literally convince someone to believe even the most bullshit reason a human being could utter.

"Madam Hood, I think you need to rest. Lack of sleep could cause some hallucination…It's been a long day, am I right?" Belfast said to Hood while smiling.

Hood narrowed her eyes…There's no way she's dropping this matter unresolved but Belfast did have a point, it's been a long day and it's not unknown when someone being tired they could started hearing or seeing things…Hood did felt sluggish after the trip so maybe it'll be best for her to let this matter go, seeing there's no evidence that could support her own accusation too she felt continuing the investigation will only result a hit on dead end.

"Maybe you're right, Madam Belfast…Milord, tomorrow I will be required to attend to her majesty's council in the morning so I wouldn't be available for my secretarial duty for a bit" Hood said to William.

"Is that so, it's alright. We only have few paper works, I could manage on my own" William said to Hood.

"Understood milord…Now, I shall head back to my room for clearly I need to rest" Hood said as she massaged her left temple.

"Madam Hood, could you please wait a bit on the entrance? It'll be best for us to head back together" Belfast said while smiling.

"Alright, but please be quick about it…Milord, I bid you good night and may you rest well" Hood said while bowing a bit.

"Likewise…" William said while nodding his head.

William and Belfast watched as Hood exited the room with a small frown on her pink lips, sign that she's quite dissatisfied of not finding an answer to that mystery. William looked to the side while breathed out in relief that he managed to dodge a bullet with Hood, he's in luck that Hood is reasonable woman and the fact that Belfast helped him out with a very convincing reason seeing Hood's circumstances was a saving grace…That until he realized that Belfast had been staring at him for like ten seconds with the same smile she shown to Hood.

"…Master" Belfast said to William.

"Yeah?" William asked Belfast.

"Is it true that you're alone on the bathroom?" Belfast asked William.

"Now why would I lie about that?" William asked while shrugging.

Belfast smirked slightly as she entered the bathroom and William returned to his desk to put his phone, that's when he realized that there's something that he left back on the bathroom…add to the fact that it's Belfast turn to search that room, she's the perfect maid and that's why William get nervous because Belfast could even find the most well hidden item in a room…Seconds later however, Belfast came out of the bathroom while still smiling.

"I see…It looks like this is just misunderstanding, very well then. Do you require anything before I departed for the dorm, master?" Belfast asked William.

"Nothing for now Belfast, you may head back" William said to Belfast.

"By your command master" Belfast said as she performed a curtsy.

William sighed in relief…Well, at least William managed to get away from this trouble. He really should've looked for an option to put that application on silent mode because he doesn't have the luxury to enjoy the app with the sound on this base, there's girls everywhere and their hearing could be considered super human in a sense…

"Oh, master. Don't leave this on the bathroom next time" Belfast said to William.

And she handed him the holographic projector which caused William's eyes to bulged, he dodged a bullet but he forgot that the shots came in burst fire mode…William gently put the projector on the table, he seriously didn't have the courage to look at Belfast right now due to his embarrassment. But, he did anyway because his mom didn't raise a coward and he saw Belfast smirking at him…Shit, that either means a saving grace or a trouble and this case William sure it meant trouble.

"I know perfectly on how that device function master, rest assured for I shall be quiet about it…However, should you require me to ease you of your 'frustration', you only need to ask master" Belfast said while smirking to William.

"Okay…" William thoughtlessly answered.

"Good night, master" Belfast said as she headed for the door.

Closing the door, Belfast got the sight of a giant with stunned face, blue and red decorated his face at the same time with the horror and embarrassment swirled into one inside him and his mouth was hanging wide open. She closed the door, Belfast then walked away a bit before she started giggling at the sight she just witnessed. Oh her master might tried to look composed all the time, but he could be startled quite easily enough…Belfast had sworn that she'll give everything to her master, both her body and soul. If this could help her master, then she'll gladly do it…Though, she'll wait for him to initiate it…

William thought that Belfast definitely knew what's he up to with that device and the fact that it doesn't take a genius to analyze his intention, put a touchable holographic projector inside a bathroom and the fact that Hood heard a voice that sounded like her…He's glad that Belfast would be quiet about this but It doesn't helped the fact that it seemed Belfast dropped a hint bomb back then, if he ever felt 'frustrated' he only need to ask Belfast to take care of it…Did she just basically said it's okay for him to ask her to 'relieve' him? That's basically a sexual service right?

No…not now, maybe when he and the girls knew each other better. He's not the type to go to one night stand even before his military service, he felt the girls are worth more than that…Living with them daily has taught William that majority of these girls are not reserved about their sexuality, with the exception of those innocent destroyers. Their uniform also quite provoking to look at, with exception of few of them who dressed modestly like Hood, Kongou, Shoukaku and many others. Not that he didn't like it, it's their own choice how they want to dress up but William found it hard to control his primal drives after being locked up for two years…and those revealing dress are not helping.

He's tempted to use the application, but he doesn't want this to happen again tonight so William choose to sleep…He tried for ten minutes before he checked his groin and found his main gun stood up when he thought back about that Hood model he built himself. Sighing in complete annoyance, William took his phone, took headphones and decided to open his browser before taking off his boxer…Sheesh…William then started typing on his phone, should he watch or should he read? Shrugging, William start typing…Pornhub. He's a careful man, he don't want to take a risk when Zara and Carabiniere just couple rooms down the hall…

.

…William fell asleep soundly that night, his tiredness played a huge roll in putting him on the dream land…as well that glorious release which eased his mind and libido temporarily. Then morning came, sun had risen from the east and it signified the beginning of the day. William was awake earlier than usual, Belfast usually came to his room at 07.30 in the morning…William looked to the clock on his night stand, it reads 06.00 AM. Okay, he still got time and he laid back on his bed then shut his eyes…But, yeah, he couldn't fall back to sleep so he sat up on his bed while grumbling. A man like him would need as much sleep as he could…He wanted to be ready before dealing with whatever antics or surprise he gets daily on this base.

Deciding to get up reluctantly, William stretched his body and felt his joints cracking. Performing some light exercise, he felt his body became fully awake after doing so for three minutes. William head to the bathroom, washed his face and then returned back to his room where he switched into a black track suit. Putting on a pair of sneakers, William looked at himself on the wall before he noticed that his eye patch was taken off before sleeping. He sought it and found the said thing on the night stand, he took the eye patch, covered his left eye and took some things alongside his wallet before exiting the bedroom.

Exiting the command building, he immediately started jogging. He jogged while wandering aimlessly, he kept himself occupied with the list of song he currently listened to with his wireless headphone…Blaring rock music is a good way to get him pumped up, the slow relaxing music is useful when he wants to cool down and should a stray dog or tiger chased him then the death metal music would be the good background music for him to bail out like a little bitch…Oh wait, it's been three years and this is not the previous operation on Dragon Empery's borders, there's no such things here…

…Half an hour later, William reached the Sakura Empire dormitory with its traditional looking building and cherry blossom trees…Wait, why did he jogged and headed here? He shrugged as he started to slow down his pace when he heard familiar melody. Shoukaku must've been playing her flute, though if he could heard it then she must be close. Slowing down to a walking speed, William scanned his way to see any indication of ladies around the dormitory…

"Ara, shikikan-sama" Speak of the devil.

William turned around and saw Shoukaku sitting on a bench with Zuikaku beside her, William nodded his head as he approached them. Both in their usual attire, Shoukaku with flute on her hands while Zuikaku sat with her katana on her lap. Both smiled at the sight of him approaching them, William stopped in front of them as Zuikaku stood up from her seat.

"Ohayou gozaimasu, shikikan. Are you exercising?" Zuikaku asked him.

"Just done with it, figured I should keep in shape" William answered to Zuikaku.

"I could see you've worked quite some sweat shikikan-sama, have you ate breakfast yet? Canteen should be open in a bit, how about we eat together over there?" Shoukaku asked while smiling widely.

"Yeah shikikan! We almost never see you eating breakfast, you should join us once in a while" Zuikaku asked while smiling excitedly.

That's when he realized that ever since he arrived on this base his breakfast was always provided by Belfast, it's hella delicious and no doubt it grew on him with different dishes every morning but as a result he never went to canteen except for few times when he happened to be outside during chow time…And that's why he never ate a breakfast on the canteen before, perhaps he should go there…Should be fine mingling with the ladies, as long they're not rowdy about it.

"I agree. Maybe I shouldn't trouble the maids today, we could go there when you two are ready" William said while smiling a bit.

"Let's go now then! We could reserve a great spot!" Zuikaku said to William.

"Alright…Wait, what about the other girls?" William asked Zuikaku.

"They'll catch up, don't worry. We didn't usually goes to canteen in packs" Zuikaku said as she walked past him.

The three of them started to head back to the base area, the walk with the two crane sisters were filled with light chatter between the two while William following closely behind them. There's this sense of bliss at seeing two beauties just talking to each other while walking down the road, Zuikaku and Shoukaku talked about their activity last night which involved watching TV…Oh right, come to think of it he haven't installed those on his office. But that would make his free time nonexistent, the girls already heavily abused the fact he had the best audio player on the base to regularly visited his office…Imagine if he put a large TV screen for his gaming purpose inside his office-

"I heard you're away yesterday, shikikan" Zuikaku said to William.

"Yeah, some business needs to be done. Everyone behaved, right?" William asked Zuikaku.

"If you count the fact that Prinz and Belfast being chummy with each other in front of command building as behaved, then yes" Zuikaku said while rubbing her chin.

"Ho, are they good friends or something?" William asked with a smile.

"I'm not sure, both used to fought each other back during the war…But I guess since we've become allies, both of them started to become friends too in the process" Zuikaku said to William.

"I see. That's good, all of us should let go of our grudges. The Sirens would have a field day if we started to get divided again" William said while nodding his head.

"Hai, I agree" Shoukaku said while smiling..

"Me too" Zuikaku said while smiling.

They eventually reached the base area, the three of them stumbled upon Akashi opening her shop with several Manjuus around assisting her moving and organizing stuff. William noticed that they were moving boxes that were far larger than their body, how strong were they?! The boxes are matte black, he know he saw the design before but he forgot about the supposed content for that kind of box. Shoukaku got closer as she greeted Akashi with smile on her face.

"Akashi-chan, you're open early" Shoukaku said to Akashi.

"Why it's Shoukaku-san, Zuikaku-san and shikikan! Ohayou nya, your order has arrived last night shikikan" Akashi said to William.

"Really? Where is it?" William asked Akashi.

"It's in those black boxes nya!" Akashi said while pointing at the boxes.

…Now he remembered! Akashi walked over toward the black boxes and followed by William, Shoukaku and Zuikaku. She entered the codes on the small console, when the codes were accepted the boxes released a mechanical sound as it opened itself and revealed the array of weaponry stored inside it. Akashi went to the other and did the same thing, the others stored heavier weaponry alongside their ammunition…The content of the boxes is enough for William to wage war against an entire battalion, there's just so much ammo!

"Behold, the compact armory! Filled with the things you've requested, should come in handy if you need to fight nya!" Akashi said as she grinned.

William walked forward slowly and his mouth hanging at what he saw, it was a glorious sight…William got close to one of the boxes rifle section, he pulled an HK417…Wait, Iron Blood's gun? He looked further in to see G36C, SCAR, AR15, M14 EBR, AUG, AK103, L85A1, Howa Type 89? That is Sakura Empire's standard issue rifle…ARX160? Sardegna Empires guns…This is International weapon collections! It's like everyone gave him a gift to combat whatever threats out there with this tools being provided.

You know the strange thing about all of this? William only ordered one box filled with Azur Lane Standard Field Armory content, but what he received was this international mess and he loved it! He started to meticulously inspect the content of the boxes like a child being excited for Christmas, grinning while holding what appeared to be the best toy in the world.

"…Sweet lord, look at this darling! And this! And this! I think they're being too generous by giving me these tools!" William said while grinning.

"Ufufufufufu. Shikikan-sama, you're like a child on a dagashi shop" Shoukaku said to William.

"…Dagashi?" William cocked his eyebrows.

"It's the equivalent of sweets store on Royal Navy or candy shop on Eagle Union" Zuikaku explained while smiling.

"Well can you blame me? This could be compared to as an adult sweet store! Any soldier out there would be happy with this package!" William said while smiling widely.

William went back and forth between boxes excitedly, Shoukaku and Zuikaku could only smiled at the sight. He went over to the melee weapon part and his smile turned into grin at the collection…Knives, long sword, short sword, kukri, tonfa, axe…Whoa man, he got lot of stuff to try on! One section caught his eye as he took the item from it place. Military combat machete, the one thing he always carried on his load out whenever he went for action as Task Force Nimbus Operator.

"Ah, combat machete. Been a while since I held one!" William said as he inspected the machete.

"A machete? Don't you already have a sword, shikikan?" Zuikaku asked as she went closer and also inspected the machete.

"…That one I carried mostly for appearance only, I got my own reason for using a machete in combat. It has the reach, not too long nor too short, durable and very reliable for hack and slash. A perfect tool for quick strikes" William said to Zuikaku.

Experience is the one backing his statement on this one, machete always pulled him out of any close quarter combat situation. How many necks or limbs that he severed already in those close encounter whenever his guns were out of ammo or unavailable to use? How many he stabbed in desperation or pure intent on killing? Knife maybe small and easily concealable, but machete get the job done as no organ could survive this fifty centimeter blade of pure sharpened reinforced steel.

"I see…Shikikan, do you want to exercise some more?" Zuikaku asked William.

"I still got some energy to spare, sure" William answered without looking at Zuikaku.

"Great…Then, I challenge you into a duel, shikikan!" Zuikaku said to William.

"…Huh?" …That was all William could said in response.

So that's how he found himself in front of Akashi's shop with a machete in hand while Zuikaku stood in front of him with her sheathed katana in hand, did William seriously considering himself to fight a ship girl directly? Did he even realized that Zuikaku could asshanded him so easily with her strength alone!? His rational mind said this is a bad idea, his warrior side however…felt this is a great chance to challenge himself.

"…You sure about this, Ms. Zuikaku?" William asked her.

"Hai! You see, there's lots of talks about you being a veteran soldier shikikan. I'd like to see how well you do in combat!" Zuikaku said while grinning.

"Well, I guess I do need to exercise my close quarter combat techniques…I guess you'll be using your katana then?" William asked Zuikaku.

"You're right. Well, how about we set some rules? If you're disarmed or fall to the ground then you automatically lose. Nee-sama, how about time limit?" Zuikaku asked Shoukaku.

"Let's see…Five minutes will have to do, it'll be 7.30 AM soon" Shoukaku said while smiling and staring at her phone.

"That's quite some time…Oh well, let's keep the arena small. From this lamp post to that lamp post, no getting out from this road?" William proposed the idea.

"Very well then" Zuikaku agreed to the idea.

"Ms. Shoukaku, please be the referee for this duel" William said to Shoukaku while smiling.

"Hai…Both of you, get to your positions and draw your weapons!" Shoukaku said while also smiling.

William took off the black track suit leaving him with his white shirt and black jersey, William took the machete off the sheath and swung it around for a bit to get a grip on its weight…It felt lighter than his previously owned one, but he didn't doubt that this one is just as strong. Zuikaku set her footing as she drawn her katana out from her sheathe, she swung it horizontally once before setting her readied stance.

"Don't hold back with me, shikikan. Show me how capable you are!" Zuikaku said while smiling widely.

"Alright then" William answered as he set his stance.

"Ready? Fight!" Shoukaku declared.

Immediately, Zuikaku bolted her way forward in unreal speed and William knew that she'll be charging ahead first so he side stepped to the right. Zuikaku swung her katana toward William, the man had to side stepped again before he cartwheeled his way to gain distance from Zuikaku but the woman is relentless. She stopped and dashed toward him again, William saw no other option other than facing her head on. So, William stopped dodging as he redirected his machete and parried Zuikaku's katana directly.

He had to grunt, he could feel how powerful she is just from parrying her attack and it shook him to his bones. William dashed forward with machete thrusting toward Zuikaku which she dodged by jumping above him, Zuikaku used this chance to launch an attack from behind but William was aware of her movement so he immediately turned his body around and blocked her katana strike. William decided to go offensive as he started moving forward while performing multiple slashing attacks that Zuikaku successfully parried or blocked completely.

William realized, this duel is a bad idea because he didn't see any gap he could use to breach Zuikaku's defenses if he limited himself. Shit, he should've wore a wrist armor padding or plating because he got no other asset than his own machete on this duel…William stopped attacking as he pulled back because he noticed Zuikaku setting her stance, she leapt forward with a downwards swinging katana and William replied by swinging upwards with his own machete in full power. The blades clashed and both of them were pushed back due to the sheer recoil, both gained distance from each other to regain their footing.

Not to waste this opportunity though, William immediately charged ahead which unfortunately for him Zuikaku also did the same thing. Both clashed blades again, performing rapid swings that produced loud clanking sounds before both retreated because they need to regain their momentum…William was panting, this is the first time he take on a ship girl in direct combat and man this is quite the experience! He smiled a bit as he regulated his breathing, he might make this a habit in the future.

"…You're strong, Ms. Zuikaku!" William commented.

"You as well shikikan, you hit hard!" Zuikaku said while smiling.

"Hee…how interesting~" Prinz said out loud.

"Oh my, they noticed us! Do your best you two!" Illustrious said while smiling.

"Zuikaku, don't injure shikikan too badly, alright?" Kongou said to Zuikaku.

"Oh commander, your wound on your right arm haven't even fully healed and you participate in this duel? Don't force yourself now" Vestal said to William.

"Herr Kommandant was doing quite well for only using a machete" Z23 said out loud.

"I know, wonder how will this turn out if he used a sword instead" Wales commented.

"Zuikaku kept pressuring him, it's amazing that he could still hold on" Cleveland said out loud.

"Commander, do your best!" Saint Louis said to William.

…The side of the streets were crowded by ship girls who were on their way to the canteen, they heard a commotion and found out that their commander fought Zuikaku in a duel. Needless to say, it's an entertainment they couldn't miss. William was quite amused at the sight of the crowd and their numbers kept growing, Zuikaku who just noticed had the same reaction as William before she grinned while William smiled awkwardly before he stared at Shoukaku.

"…Since when?" William asked Shoukaku.

"Not even a minute after you two started the duel. There's three minutes left, do you want to continue or end it here?" Shoukaku asked while smiling.

"Let's continue shikikan, I won't stop until the match decided or the timer runs out!" Zuikaku declared with her katana pointed at him.

"…I like your resolve Ms. Zuikaku!" William replied as he grinned.

"Saa, kakkate koi!" Zuikaku set her stance.

…It's getting hot so William proceed to take off his shirt and flashed his torso that's packed with muscles to every girls on site, oh safe to say majority of them got red cheeks at the sight of their commander going topless, glistening in sweat and his muscle tightens with his every moves. More than one girl got their phones out and snapped pictures, Zuikaku noticed but she couldn't help herself getting distracted. She'll proved to him that she's strong, she wanted his acknowledgement.

William was the one taking the initiative this time as he moved forward slowly, Zuikaku patiently watched his movement before she found him within striking range. As soon as William lifted his feet to walk closer to her Zuikaku immediately rushed forward, William smirked a bit at this then he summersaulted above Zuikaku. He landed behind her and closing in on her with a swinging machete, Zuikaku realized what he did and quickly set a blocking stance. The machete hit her katana multiple times as William relentlessly slashed at Zuikaku, which lasted until he delivered a strong blow that resulted in Zuikaku stumbling back.

"Wha-" Zuikaku yelped in shock.

William dashed forward while thrusting his machete, Zuikaku narrowly avoided the machete before she dashed backward and back flipped to gain some distance. She made it close to the lamp post that was the border of the fighting area, she exhaled in relief while William reset his stance and tighten his grip on his machete.

"Phew! That was close!" Zuikaku said out loud.

"Ho, alright then…Looks like I have to get serious" William said while narrowing his eyes.

Zuikaku and William both approached each other step by step before William suddenly broke into a sprint, Zuikaku watched as William swung his machete downwards and she chose to dodged it. Rapidly adjusting his footing, William then swung horizontally toward Zuikaku who blocked his strike when she realized one thing…his strikes were heavier than before. The impact she felt was more apparent and he's relentless in his attacks, Zuikaku would need a way to disarm him. She swung in full force which William answered with full power swing, both blades clashed and they were stumbling backwards once again.

Zuikaku patiently waited until William charged when she dashed forward and hit him straight in the gut with her katana hilt, William felt his pancreas was given a harsh massage and stumbled back in shock. Zuikaku spun backwards then slashed at William's machete which was thrown to the ground because he's still shocked thus his grip was weak, the machete produced loud clanking sounds and Zuikaku sheathed her katana…William realized that the stunt she tried to pull could actually destroyed his pancreas, but he said nothing as he shrugged.

"Bollocks…Ah well, it's my loss" William said while smiling.

"Yay I won! But honestly that was some magnificent display of your combat prowess shikikan, I have no doubt that you're worthy of your reputation!" Zuikaku said while grinning.

"Thank you, you also doing extremely well there…I think I know who to send on a commission later" William said as he picked up the machete.

"R-Really? Arigatou gozaimasu!" Zuikaku said while bowing.

"Ah shikikan-sama! You're bleeding!" Shoukaku suddenly said.

"Eh?" William cocked his eyebrows.

…That's when he decided to look toward his bandaged right arm, indeed there's dark patch of red on the place where he was hit by a 9mm bullet few days ago…Whoops, now he felt the wound started pulsing and perhaps he overdid it a bit. Shoukaku approached him first, grabbed his right hand and inspected it with Vestal approaching close from William's back.

"Mou, Vestal-san was right. You shouldn't push yourself!" Shoukaku said with serious face.

"This was a complete accident, Ms. Shoukaku" William said to Shoukaku.

"…I told you so commander, let's get you treated" Vestal said to William.

"Come this way, I'll help" Shoukaku said to Vestal while taking William's right hand.

"Thanks" Vestal said as she followed Shoukaku.

"Right…But this bleeding should stop on its own isn't it?" William asked Shoukaku.

"Shikikan-sama!" Shoukaku said while narrowing her eyes.

"Okay okay I get it!" William quickly said.

…William witnessed how frightening Shoukaku could be just with a simple glare! Heck, he daresay that her beautiful face isn't suitable for getting angry but boy she could pull of one so well! Gulping in nervousness, he was glad that Shoukaku only kept that expression for two seconds before she dragged him to the infirmary while being followed by Vestal closely behind…Zuikaku who were left behind shrugged, guess there's no stopping her nee-sama when she's that determined. Akashi then stepped forward to the crowd of girls, she's holding her own phone with list of the girl's name on the screen.

"Ha…well, I guess I'll leave him to nee-sama and Vestal-san for this one" Zuikaku said out loud.

"…Alright! Match concluded! Pay up nya!" Akashi said cheerfully as some cheers and groans could be heard.

"All of you were betting on this?!" Zuikaku double backed and stared at Akashi.

…After being treated and berated by two girls with silver hair, William, Vestal and Shoukaku joined the others at the canteen. Safe to say, the already lively canteen became even livelier when William decided to join them for breakfast. But that came with its own troubles, for example…His portion was gigantic, Nevada who's in charge for canteen duty said that he need it after the duel with Zuikaku. Then, there's the matter where the girls basically asking him to sit with them and it turned into huge commotion. To make it fair, William said he'll sit on the corner by himself much to everyone's disappointment but they understood why.

William stared at the meal on his plate, it beats any MRE rations that he had to eat back during weeks long missions. It was cold, hard, doesn't taste good so he's glad that he could ate warm meals like this every day from now on. Taking the sausage, he munched and started digging on his meal because he got work to do after this. He did this while taking on the scenery, ship girls from various nations sat in one room, having meals together while chatting and laughing…Ah, the best sight, this is what unity feels like! Viva la hare-

"…Commander?" It was Enterprise who appeared beside him.

"Hmm? Yes Enterprise, what is it?" William asked her.

"I can't find an empty seat, would it be fine if I sit with you?" Enterprise asked William.

"I don't mind" William said while shrugging.

Enterprise sat in front of him and put her plate down, whoa that's a ton of food! William narrowed his eyes in confusion before he stared around, the ladies around him on the canteen didn't complain the fact that Enterprise sat with him. Sure, they sneaked glances now and then but none tried to sit with them…William took a sausage and ate one while wondering.

"…Strange, no one's butting in?" William muttered to himself.

"What's wrong sir?" Enterprise asked William.

"No, nothing…Anyway, your portion is the same size like mine" William commented.

"…This always happened whenever Nevada's in charge of canteen duty. I don't think I can finish all of this" Enterprise said with a little frown.

"Really? You couldn't?" William raised his left eyebrow.

"Yeah…Would you like some, sir?" Enterprise asked William.

Hell yes more food! William's a big man with a big tank capacity and born with motherfucking engine that need constant supply of energy! But William couldn't exactly said that he'd gladly took some of her portion, he need the girls to eat properly and Enterprise is no exception. An effectively functioning soldier need their bellies fed, at least that's what he learned from experience. Enterprise is among the most combat capable ship girls he has in this base, he don't want her to collapse on the field just because she didn't eat properly. William only smiled as he studied Enterprise feature…there's a hint of uncertainty in her eyes, so William opted to go with this one method.

"Not that I mind. But try it out first, if you really can't do it then I'll take the rest" William said to Enterprise while smiling.

"…Okay, if you say so. Here we go" Enterprise said out loud.

And just like that, Enterprise started eating her portion. William also eat while constantly observing Enterprise's expression, if he saw signs that she started to fed up with the taste William told her to take a sip with her beverage to keep her palate fresh. Enterprise herself found it strange that she had to be instructed when she eats, but she did it anyway…Minutes later, she found herself staring at the empty plate in front of her which devoid from any signs of food. William himself had finished earlier than her and currently staring at her face with disbelieve painted on it…

"I…finished it" Enterprise said in astonished tone.

"See? You can do it…If you always think that you couldn't do it, then you will not be able to. Try it out first, do the best you can…There are lot of ways to tackle a problem, it depends on you to choose which one. Kept that technique I told you, it'll come in handy when you have big portion to finish" William said then sipped on his tea.

"You're quite wise sir" Enterprise commented.

"Nah, I'm still twenty six, my dad is far wiser than me. He's the one who taught me that" William said while putting down his cup.

Enterprise hummed in acknowledgement, she noted that one by one the ship girls already starting to leave the canteen to proceed with their duty for the day. Enterprise's schedule is free this morning, though she planned to immediately sortie on patrol around the base she found herself wanting to talk to William after his display of combat capabilities against Zuikaku this morning. She didn't joined the crowds beside the street, she watched from distances but she could still clearly saw each of movements performed by the two…

"I see…By the way, I watched how you duel with Zuikaku sir…Back during the war, I also fought her" Enterprise said to William.

"Is that so…" William said in response.

"You fought so well despite facing off against a ship girl, how did you do it?" Enterprise asked William.

"…Would you believe me if I say it's due to experience and guts? What's your analysis then, from the way I fight?" William asked Enterprise.

William's question got her to think about what she saw before, how Zuikaku and William fought…Enterprise noted that Zuikaku was more agile than William, she landed more hits in span of five seconds than William did. William attacks were heavy and laced with power, Zuikaku had both speed and power…In short, there's a clear difference in strength between the two. Zuikaku is a ship girl, her strength is super human while William despite possessing such build is still limited with his human anatomy. But there's one thing that Enterprise sensed…

"…If I would described it, your style would be unpredictable. I couldn't read your attack pattern, you fought defensively at first before going all out near the end…But I got a feeling that you still holding back despite all that" Enterprise said to William.

"Astute eh, you're not far off. If that was a real combat, I would use any means on my disposal and that included my own body. There's some rules, so when I was disarmed I automatically lost. But, even if that was a real fight, I got a feeling that I would be defeated anyway despite using everything I had…The difference in our raw strength was apparent, I could never fought a ship girl and came out unscathed" William said then sipped on his tea.

"…Pretty inhuman huh" Enterprise said in low tone as she looked to the side.

…Yeah, it took a long time and effort by others to make her realized that she's just as human as anyone else. But despite all that, it doesn't help changed the entire cognition of others who still misunderstood ship girls as military asset that's only good for combat. Enterprise was quite interested to see how William saw them, so far he treated them as normal human being…William noted that this is quite sensitive topic for ship girls, he'll be honest as he faced Enterprise with serious face.

"Only on that part Enterprise, you and the others as human as you could be. You have feelings, you have emotions, you have purpose and you most definitely have what it takes to be a human…Consider yourself as this, you're a human who's given a gift to help protect those who don't…Don't ever forget that" William said with serious face.

"…Like I said before sir, you're wise" Enterprise said while smiling.

"Well, thanks…" William said as he leaned on his seat.

…The girls were right about him, he definitely didn't see them as a military asset somehow and somewhat. She took in his words…He said to her about being a human who have been given a gift, it might be a good way to describe their existence as ship girls. In the end, they fought to attain the same goals as the rest of humanity with the difference only lies in the amount of power each of them had compared to individual human…Enterprise also reminded herself, he's not the same as the previous commander. William is approachable…and lot easier to talk to.

"Sitting and talking with you together like this, it's not so bad after all" Enterprise said to William.

"Don't be shy to talk with me Enterprise, if you got problems I'm willing to lend an ear" William said while smiling a bit.

"Thank you, I'll be sure to remember that sir" Enterprise said to William.

.

…Breakfast was done, time to work his ass off to earn this privilege for living surrounded by beauties and receiving top notch service by the maids…William signed off documents, received calls from several companies who worked closely with Azur Lane, overseeing Holographic battle network with maps alongside their units positioning on it, approving research progress, Akashi and Shiranui goods manifest, taking a look at commissions because that's one of the ways this base could get funds beside occasional High Command 'donation' which sometimes immediately used for base maintenance…Yeah, he felt more less like a commander and more like a mayor of a small city…

That aside though, paperwork was light and he's grateful since Hood wouldn't be available for today. Seriously, that woman could do secretarial work efficiently, she barely make any inquiries to him and she did all that with a smile on her face…He did asked someone to help him a bit since he only starting to get used to this work, he might still need few pointers. That someone however was lying on her stomach on one of his sofa, she hummed contently while listening some opera song set on his audio player with a familiar book on her hand…Wait a fucking second, he know that book!

"…Prinz" William called the person's name.

"Hmm?" Prinz hummed in question.

"That's my manga, did you messed with my desk?" William asked with cocked eyebrows.

"Now how can you be sure that I didn't bought these online?" Prinz asked back with a smirk.

Oh you picked the wrong subject to act smug like this Prinz Eugen, William thought on his head. He had carried and read that for five years! Well, three years since The Deep End doesn't sell any of this kind of thing or allow him to carry personal belongings…He know that manga inside and out, he'd recognized it anywhere. William narrowed his eyes at the prospect of ship girls barging inside his room and messing with his personal belongings and that's another nightmare fuel that make his spine tingled.

"The cover's a bit ripped, that's obviously mine" William said to Prinz.

"…Nice observation kommandant, I happened to follow Belfast to clean your room yesterday. I got hooked to this story, do you have the continuation?" Prinz asked William without looking at him.

…Then he remembered what Zuikaku said this morning, the fact that Belfast and Prinz being chummy with each other in front of command building. Well, it made sense that Prinz could follow Belfast as she proceed to clean his room but why did Belfast let her go with one of his books without notifying him? That head maid knew that William loved the series…Nevertheless, Prinz actually looked interested as she's been making various faces while reading it…Huh, never seen her like that before.

"…Depends if you're going to return them or not" William said to Prinz.

"What do you think?" Prinz asked while smirking again.

"Hah…Fine, I'll LEND you some later" William said in frustrated tone, he knew she won't back down…

"Yay~, you know how to please a girl" Prinz said while smiling smugly this time.

"By trial and error, but its worth it…Anyway, come here" William said to Prinz.

"…I thought you got everything handled?" Prinz cocked her eyebrows in wonder.

"…This concern the fleet you lead, come on" William said with half closed eyes.

"Alright~" Prinz said while pouting.

Getting up reluctantly, Prinz put the manga down on the coffee table as she approached William who's been staring at commission document screen and a holographic map in front of his desk. He constantly switched between the two as if he's trying to formulate something…Prinz ignored that as she approached William's left side and take a look at the document before staring at the holographic map.

"So, what's the problem?" Prinz asked William.

"I want you ladies to head to that small isle on the south, there's an oil refinery complex there and lately they've been seeing some strange things…Black things on the horizon, it sounded like Sirens" William said to Prinz.

"You want us to go there and investigate hmm? Not a problem" Prinz replied while shrugging.

"Not just that, those refineries are planning to send a convoy to our base for oil supply tomorrow. We'll need it in case we're planning a major offensive so I'm hoarding resources as much as possible" William said to Prinz.

"Investigation and escort mission, this would be boring" Now she's pouting, cute!

…William had to agree, escort mission is a bitch in real life or in game. They had to move the same speed as their protection target, their offensive capabilities are limited and there's only so much you could do before their target started taking fire and you had to struggle between protecting the target or eliminating the threat as soon as you could…It's a constant challenge to balance your man power and if you're alone, let's just say that you're a poor bastard to be involved in such thing.

"There's a chance you'll encounter them you know?" William asked while smiling a bit.

"But it's not confirmed yet, so we'll never know…Alright then, I'll go round up the second fleet" Prinz said to William.

She copied the compiled soft copy of the mission folder to her phone, she confirmed that the file was transferred, took the manga and started walking toward the exit…Ah, the beauty of modern technology, no hassle with copying the whole folder on photocopier. William also made rooster for the commission fleet, consisted of several cruisers and carriers with reasonable armor and firepower. He thought of deploying several destroyers with them, but he overruled that suggestion with the fact they had to attend lectures today…

"You'll be briefing them yourself?" William asked Prinz.

"Ja, I got the information and the plan memorized already" Prinz said while lightly shaking her phone.

"Thanks Prinz, good luck out there. Packed lots of ammo will you?" William said while smiling.

"Don't worry, I'll be sure to get those oils…maybe some kills along the way" Prinz said while smiling smugly.

"…Just make sure they're hostile" William said in uncomfortable tone.

"Jawohl kommandant, see ya~" Prinz said in melodic tone.

With that, the door to his office was closed. Oh? You wondered how on earth the office that was supposed to be shredded by a fighter craft looked good as new? The Manjuus of course! While he was gone with Hood, they expertly repaired the office as if nothing ever crashed into it overnight! Holy moly, William really grateful with the fact those chickens could work quickly and efficiently regarding anything! He wondered where did they stay or even come from, they always appeared out of nowhere when required and then disappeared all of a sudden when the jobs done…

William opened another commission file…Whoa, this one had been running for twenty seven days! What kind of commission need that kind of deployment time?! Then, William spotted the details on where are they going. Northern Union, north-pole regions…That place had tendency to freeze anyone and the fact that The Sirens also appeared there and heavily engaged Northern Union forces is an unsettling thought. What do they want with North Pole? So, Northern Union required help from Azur Lane in the meantime huh? William looked on who's the flagship for this operation, which is a carrier with Formidable as her name…William took out his phone and dialed Illustrious number.

"…Illustrious?" William asked as soon he heard the call connected.

"Yes milord? Do you need me for something?" Illustrious asked William.

"Correct, please drop by on my office as soon as you could" William said to Illustrious.

"Understood, I'm on my way" Illustrious said to William.

Switching to the holographic screen, William tried contacting the commission team but the notification appeared that the team is out of range…Hey, that's not good, fleets of ship girls went to north-pole and they couldn't be contacted? It's not he didn't trust that Northern Union won't take care of them, it's the fact that he couldn't clarify the situation directly is what's bothering him…William heard a knock on the door before it's opened, Illustrious came in while smiling.

"That was fast" William commented.

"I'm on the second floor, talking with Ms. Zara…Anyway, what is it milord?" Illustrious asked William.

"I'm looking on the ongoing commission file and I saw this…Formidable is your sister correct?" William asked Illustrious.

"Why yes, is something wrong?" Illustrious asked back.

"They already went for almost a month judging by the time of deployment to Northern Union, I've tried contacting them yet there's no response" William said with serious tone.

"Oh, currently they're on an expedition near the north pole. Some of our allies need reinforcement against The Sirens, I've been told to expect that they couldn't be contacted for the duration of their mission. But don't worry milord, as you can see from the fleet composition, they will make it back here alive and sound" Illustrious said while smiling confidently.

…William cocked his eyebrows as he examined the composition of the fleet. Formidable, the flagship and Royal Navy's carrier. Hornet, Enterprise's little sister and Eagle Union's carrier. Mikasa, the former combined fleet flagship and Sakura Empire's battleship. Honolulu, Saint Louis and Brooklyn sister and Eagle Union's light cruiser. Admiral Hipper, Prinz sister and Iron Bloods heavy cruiser…And around a dozen of destroyers from the four great factions…Whoa, okay that's some serious reinforcement. Judging from their combat data and capabilities Illustrious is right, they should be fine with anything thrown at them…

"…I'll trust you on that" William said to Illustrious.

Illustrious nodded while smiling as she sat on the sofa that Prinz previously occupied, William returned to the task at hand when he felt his concentration wavers…ah goddamnit, he really need a nap to compensate waking that early huh? Yeah, who wouldn't be bored working behind desk like this? William yawned but decided to push one, just one more file before he could rest and leave the short stack of papers to finish tonight.

"Milord, what do you think the most important aspect in a girl? Milord?" Illustrious asked William.

"…Sorry, I think I need a rest" William said to Illustrious.

"Is that so…Hmm, why don't you lie down next to me?" Illustrious suggested to William.

"Umm, there won't be enough space" William noted to Illustrious.

"Oh that's not a problem" Illustrious said to William.

She tapped her lap twice…Lap pillow? From a beautiful woman? Hell yeah William's down for it! But, he need to keep his appearance, he raised himself from his chair and walked over toward Illustrious…He sit on the sofa before he laid his head down on Illustrious soft thighs which really fit as a pillow too well! Adjusting his position better, he finally found the perfect balance before sighing in contentment…The last time he received lap pillow was four years ago, Lena and him were spending their days off on the local park…No! No! No! She's someone else wife now! William thought he would never move on if he kept remembering those times…those happy times.

"See? Comfortable isn't it?" Illustrious asked while smiling.

"…I'm not heavy, right?" William asked, hey her face is obstructed by her boobs from down here!

"Oh don't worry about it, I'm quite used to do this…Now, lie down and take your time to rest" Illustrious said to William.

"…So, why do you ask me that question before, Illustrious?" William tried to make some small talk.

"I'm simply curious, I do want to get to know you better you know?" Illustrious said while smiling.

"Is that so…Is there anything else you want to know?" William asked Illustrious.

"Your favorite drink?" Illustrious asked William.

"Tea" William answered without missing a beat.

"Is it not alcohol? Ms. Belfast found lot of those empty cans in your room" Illustrious said to William…

…Oh right, forgot about that. Well, how else could he finished those beer that were given to him as a welcoming gift from Lucas that were sent a week ago? He got an entire box of it, someone had to finish it and coincidentally William liked this brand's taste. To think of it, he really didn't need drinking that much since this job isn't as stressful as being on frontline 24/7…maybe he should share with the girls, but would they even like it? There's first time for everything, he should just give it a go…

"…Those taste good you know?" William argued to Illustrious.

"I see, but you mustn't take so many alright? It is unhealthy to drink so much~" Illustrious said to William.

William about to retort with the fact that Illustrious is just as bad as him with Wine, then he realized that he might be the worst one since he could go through four cans in a single night while Illustrious may only took a glass for a day…He pursed his lips at his bad self-control with food and alcohol, this base doesn't run short on any of those but still he have to control himself better!

"Now, what's your favorite food?" Illustrious asked William.

"Anything delicious" William immediately answered.

"You do have a big appetite~…How about, your favorite kind of girl?" Illustrious asked William.

"…Hmm" William said while thinking.

"Milord? Are you too embarrassed to answer that question?" Illustrious asked with raised eyebrows.

"No, not like that…I'm thinking about it and I got nothing. I don't have any favorite kind for a girl…" Williams said to Illustrious.

"Is that so…So, you're saying that you could love everyone?" Illustrious asked William.

"…I'm quite open minded for girl's personality…As long they're sane!" William added that in the end quickly.

That was a close call! Yeah, he don't want to jinx himself! What if by chance there's ship girls that could be categorize as a yandere out there? Would he even be fine? No, must likely not. He had read dozens of literature, references and mangas to know how a relationship with a yandere would end…School Days, that manga wrecked his innocence on his early teenage years. Mirai Nikki, quite cool but damn that psychopathic chick was smoking hot! Shimoneta, that one is pure gold…Oh, he's side tracked here as he should focused on his conversation with Illustrious.

"Hmm, is that so…How about me, milord?" Illustrious asked William.

"What do you mean?" William cocked his eyebrows.

"Do you like me?" Illustrious boldly asked.

"Yes" William answered without missing a beat.

"Uh-uh, could you please describe why you like me?" Illustrious said while gently caressing William's hair.

Now this could be a little embarrassing to say, what's the first thing William could thought up if someone asked 'what's the most prominent thing about Illustrious?' Then his answer would be ninety percent involved her boobs or her beautiful face. But, she asked him why did he like her? William might want to put his words carefully for this one…Nevertheless, he still choose to speak from the bottom of his heart.

"…You're kind, gentle and beautiful. I admit that when I first saw you, I instantly like how you carry yourself and that summed it up" Short and simple, no need to blab and make everything complicated…

"Ufufufu, aw you're making me blush~" Illustrious said, her cheeks reddening a little.

"Now with that out of the way, it's my turn. What do you think of me?" William asked with confident smirk.

Yeah this is a perfect chance! He would like an input on how the girls thought about him too! Hood once said that he should listen more to other people and that include their opinion of you, in order to work better with them William also have to know how the girls think of him…Did they saw him as nothing but a complete stranger who happened to be commanding this base or a friendly commander who want to do his best on his second chance in life?

"…A knight in shining armor, the type that will rescue maidens and fought off monsters. You are kind, you are strong and you are definitely handsome…Did you know, when you saved me with that helicopter? I never expected that to happen. I am well armored, I could take hits from the enemy…But you put your life in line just so I won't get hurt. To receive such care from someone who went above his duty, are you trying to make me fall in love with you, Lord William?" Illustrious said with a noticeable blush on her cheeks…

…William had to face away from Illustrious also with a noticeable blush on his cheeks because man Illustrious didn't minced her words! She went through extra detail on that statement of hers, did he really make that much impact with that simple action? (Nothing is ever simple with saving a lady from being hurt and being a knight in shining armor, William you dumb twat!) So that's how Illustrious thought of him huh? Well, he felt a little good after hearing such statement. William returned to his composed face three seconds later while smirking toward Illustrious.

"Hahahaha…My lips are sealed for that matter~" William added a wink for extra emphasis.

"I see Ms. Prinz's tendency to tease have rubbed on milord, you bully~" Illustrious smiled sweetly at William.

"Heh…I'm getting sleepy now Illustrious" …Yeah, and he don't need further questions for now.

"There there, I shall be here with you. Now rest to your heart's content" Illustrious said while caressing William's hair.

.

…Waking up few hours later, William decided to stroll outside the office to get some fresh air in the afternoon while Illustrious returned to the dorm. He was walking to the large park where he saw someone sitting and looking at the sea that was decorated by orange sky near the peak of sunset. She's Bismarck, never had William saw Bismarck strolling around freely like this before and she's alone. Smiling a bit, William approached and sat beside her on the bench she sat on.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer" William said out loud.

"Kommandant William…yes, I suppose that could work" Bismarck said as she looked at William.

"It's quite rare to see you outside like this" William said to Bismarck.

"Sometimes I just want to be alone for a while, clear my head a bit and maybe enjoy the view…I've been doing some thinking on my own" Bismarck said to William.

"Care to share?" William asked as he leaned on the bench.

"…Chairman of Crimson Axis contacted me, he explained that the rules have changed again. In order to fight The Siren, we need to be united once more and that means working closely with Azur Lane again. I believe, our defection alongside Sakura Empire is justified…We aim to manipulate them, to steal their technology and use it for our own to drive those beasts back for good. But, along the way, our humanity felt like it's being stripped little by little…The great power we attained, has its own price and the disagreement between us and Azur Lane were the primary cause for the war" Bismarck said to William.

"So you already knew about them from the start?" William asked Bismarck.

"Are you joking? We fought them long before the war breaks out Kommandant…It's just never being publicized. When the war happened and Azur Lane found out about The Sirens involvement with Crimson Axis, things became more intense than ever…They believed we're being manipulated…They weren't wrong, we choose to be manipulated…before striking them when they least aware of it. But, that's not a possibility anymore" Bismarck said while looking to the ground.

…First time William ever heard this story from Crimson Axis side, it was quite informative as he now understood better about regarding their motivation back then. It's always the constant struggle between attaining power yet keeping your humanity, could you be strong and being a human at the same time? No one know the exact answer and that's why Crimson Axis action couldn't be judged as right or wrong…both Azur Lane and Crimson Axis had their own stands in this conflict, what was supposed to be two way fight became three way fight because of these differences…

"The war between us only hurt the people we supposed to protect, millions died and many more trapped between the seemingly endless war…That's what The Sirens aimed from the start, they wanted our destruction to serve whatever purpose they have in mind. We are fortunate, the people that lead us have more common sense than to let ourselves being subjected to divide and conquer tactics…Hah, what have we done? If only we didn't do that…humanity would stood better at their threat" Bismarck said as she stared at William's face.

"…You can't change the past Ms. Bismarck, right now all we could do is how we make the best of this situation. We shouldn't forget the past, but we can't let it chained us either…" William said to Bismarck with serious expression.

"I know…How do you thought about the war, William?" Bismarck asked William.

…Whoa! She skipped all protocol aside and called him straight by name! That was greatly uncharacteristic of her! William stared at her with shocked face, seeing Bismarck didn't budge and expecting answer however he then begun to contemplate his response…How did William though about the war? Frankly speaking, he already enjoyed it from any part of it except for space combat…Experience? He got it. Wisdom? Hell yeah…Telling her his story on the war would take too long, so William opted to give her his view regarding how his approach to conflict…

"I have my own view of it…You know, there are two sentences that I held dear with me in facing any kind of threat. First, I was taught about this on the academy…Si Vis Pacem Parabellum, if you seek peace then prepare for war. To attain peace itself, we must prepare for whatever threat that could disturb it. Prepared to fight, to laid down your own life, all for the sake of humanity's continued peaceful existence…I held that words as I was deployed in combat around the world, I did all of that just so the important people in my life could live as normal as they could…Never I have once bear contempt for Crimson Axis, all of us that fought are humans and I believed most of them fought with the same purpose as me" William said to Bismarck.

That's how he summarized his early days during the war, the fact that he fought Crimson Axis wasn't because he hated them. He solely fought to protect the people he cared about, his mom, his sister, his friends and Lena but at the same time William is not those innocent manga protagonist. If he had to kill to save them, he'd do it without a second thought despite his views of conflict in general. Did he felt disgusted? Yes and no. Yes, he's willing to trample his own morale viewpoints for the sake of his desire. No, he know how the world works and that he's ready to do it again for the second time if he have to…

"The next one, I believed it before I fought in a carnage known as Operation Dradetheus…There, chaos reigned, friends betrayed and truth buried. It was one of the most harrowing moments in my entire life, I fought tooth and nail for almost three days, I killed hundreds of people on a single night, we wrecked an entire base and made a long flight scouring half the earth on a stolen plane…All of that? Just to get the truth out for the world. Fiat Justitia Ruat Caelum, let justice be done though the heavens fall…I've prepared to deliver the justice for those victims during Operation Dradetheus, and I'll do that even if the entire world hunt me down" William said while looking at the statue of the golden anchor in front of him…

And that's how he summarized the last days of him during the war before being locked up. The fight against the men he stood with in dozens of battlefield, the feeling of being betrayed by those he supposed to rely on, all the effort to protect the truth and served justice to those who deserved it…Yeah, he didn't cut out to be a superhero. But William didn't regret it, those events served as the biggest lesson he ever got in life because experience is the best teacher. It shaped him into who he is today…

"…You've been through a lot" Bismarck said to William.

"You too…I've read of what happened, both of us are no strangers to the battlefield…But I sensed we both fought for the same thing, peace" William said as he looked at Bismarck.

"I agree…William, are you ready to fight these Sirens?" Bismarck asked William.

"…If I have to be honest, not yet…there are still so many things I didn't know about them, Sun Tzu once said that knowing is half the battle and I didn't know anything about these Sirens…But, I'll be long dead before I let those things conquered the earth" William said while narrowing his eyes.

Earth shall not fall to those aliens! Heh, it's like he's put into a situation on one of the novel he reads. Humanity have to survive against an alien invasion and he got to take a part on the defense against them, this could become a great novel which should give him additional boost of income if he ever want to published it…or a game, or a movie, anime, manga, the choice is endless…Bismarck smiled at William's words, she'll see that if William could do his job to the fullest. Bismarck stood up from her seat, she went in front of William and stared at him directly in the eye.

"You are determined man, one who I don't doubt capable to lead this combined fleet…Kommandant William, I will support you in your fight against The Siren. We're counting on you" Bismarck said while smiling a bit.

"It's reassuring when the famous Ms. Bismarck is the one who said that she'll support you…But, I felt confident now. Let's do our best, mein freunde" William said as he smiled.

"Ja kommandant…Hail Ironblood, Hail Azur Lane" Bismarck said to William.

…The sun had set when both William and Bismarck decided to head back, now it's time to get back to work. William opened the door to his office and switched on the lights, closed the door and walked toward his seat before contemplating what else he haven't done for today's task. Ah yes paperwork, no one liked doing it but it's necessary. Fortunately, being a geek during his high school days were the saving grace because he's trained and well used to the amount of paper stacks he had to read…He grabbed a short pile that he might as well finished tonight and started skimming on the content.

"…What the" That's what William said at the sight of the content.

This is pile of misprint, William double checked to the finished stack of papers and found the supposed papers were already handled alongside a tiny slip of card on top of it. He took it and read the words 'Finished this for you, now go and rest – Yours, Hood'…When did she came in here? Must be when he's having long chat with Bismarck on the park. That aside, where did she go? Realizing he did lived in fucking modern age not Victorian Era, William took out his own phone and searched for her number before dialing in…

"Milord? Good evening" Hood answered the call.

"Evening. Thanks for taking care the last pile" William said to Hood.

"You're welcome" Hood said in soft tone.

"Where are you, Hood?" William asked Hood.

"I'm back on my room, enjoying my novel with a cup of tea. Why do you ask?" Hood asked William.

"…Nothing, it's kind of odd that we haven't seen each other for a whole day…This is the first time, isn't it?" William asked while smiling.

"Ufufufu, true. I attend to her highness for today, she did require us during the talk" Hood said to William.

"Yeah…Anyway-"

A notification of incoming video call on the base military channel prompted William to silenced his question before sighing, he really want to talk to her but it seems duty calls…Hood heard that there's an incoming call sound, she smiled a bit before taking a sip from her cup of tea. Just when she look forward to talk to him, duty had to interrupt…

"You might want to answer that" Hood said to William.

"…Yeah sorry, talk to you later Hood. Incoming calls from the commission team" William said to Hood.

"Understood, good night milord" Hood said as she ended the call.

William put his phone down and answered the call, a hologram screen appeared before him and shown an image of Prinz with several flashes in the back and occasional explosions. She looked fine but there's several scorch marks on her clothes and her riggings were deployed, are they in combat? Sure look like it but why would she reported to him in the middle of it?

"…Prinz, what you have to report?" William asked Prinz.

"Kommandant, I don't normally say this but…I think we're going to need reinforcement and supply" Prinz said with serious face.

"Something is up I see…Send the data Prinz, I'd like to assess the situation first" William said to Prinz.

Prinz nodded her head and typed on something below the screen camera, William noticed another screen popped up beside Prinz video screen and he touched it which opened into a map. It's the map of the area where he send the commission team, there are four oil rigs scattered around the area and facilities on the islands with blue arrow icons indicating allied units including the ship girls. Then, there's red arrow icons that indicated hostile…a lot of hostiles on the other side of the blue icons position.

"As you can see on the screen, it was quite the mess. Initially, we fought off two waves of small Siren fleet easily but their reinforcement just doesn't stop coming…It's getting annoying, it seems like they want these oil rigs and the facilities so bad Kommandant" Prinz said to William.

"There's so many of them around the defensive perimeter…They've been sieging the refineries or have they tried to take it?" William asked Prinz.

"The outer one, rig number five has fallen to the sirens by the time we arrived. We lost all forms of communication with them and we can't get close due to the intense air cover…Those pesky jets, Zuikaku have tried everything to gather info from the air. So far, no luck" Prinz said to William.

One rig has fallen, that's not good as surely Lena would have few choice of words for this...William stared at the position of the Siren fleet and he noticed that there are around seven Siren Carriers, so Prinz was right about Siren possessing air superiority on the area…If he deploy the helicopter then that would mean he have to play it safe, don't want to get gangbanged again in the air…William noticed that there's several missile fired at the incoming Siren jets from the oil rigs.

"…Prinz, what about the oil rig defenders?" William asked Prinz.

"They're consisted of mostly civilian operators and several squad of marines on each platform, they could repel small scale attacks but their emplacement is inefficient when they have to fight larger ships than destroyers" Prinz reported to William.

William chose to zoom in to one of the rigs, he thoroughly inspected the defensive emplacement just from the holographic projection alone. Several AA Missiles Emplacement, AA Guns, Auto Cannons, Surface to Surface Missile…Yeah, Prinz was right, these could moderately effective in fighting a destroyer but there's no way those emplacement could damage larger ships. Besides, the defenses were more concentrated in combating aerial threats.

"I understand. How much longer can you hold out?" William asked Prinz.

"Depends on the situation, five hours would be a good estimation" Prinz said with left hand on her chin.

"Alright…Hold the remaining rigs, fight defensively and only shoot when you're sure that you could bring down the target. We're coming" William said to Prinz.

"There's one more thing you should know kommandant…I have enough experience with Sirens and whenever they pulled this kind of tactical maneuver, then that means someone is commanding them directly" Prinz said to William with serious expression.

…Gah, for fuck sake that complicates it! If there's a Siren actively commanding these ships, then you can bet William would paint a big red crosshair over its face. Or that would've been the plan if not his other side of mind which took over and reasoned 'Mate, you need all the info you could get. Get close, and find out directly about them!'…Is he being a moron? Yes. Is he being logical? Also yes. Is he being suicidal bastard who thought that he'll easily survive an encounter against these unknown alien that could possibly be as strong as a ship girl? Fucking yes…Oh he's going to regret this one later.

"Got it" William nodded his head.

"We'll wait for you" Prinz said while smirking.

The holographic scene disappeared as next one appeared, it's also a video call and William opened it to saw a bald dark skinned man wearing oval glasses, sharp brown eyes, goatee beard, blue officer suit, blue slacks and black shoes. He looked like he stood in the middle of a busy room of people in front of their console as well walking around to coordinate with one another, there's also few men dressed in Azur Lane Marines Battle Dress Uniform who stood behind him…Who's this man? You remember about the base which located a kilometer away from the ship girl's base? That man is their commander.

Commander Carl Johnson, William only met with the guy twice since the start of his assignment. He first met with Johnson when he wanted to visit him, get to know each other better and that meeting happened over a bar on the city. The second time was a day before Lena visited him, William went to buy several things before Johnson asked to meet. They also picked the same bar to meet up again but this time the talk between them were quite serious…Johnson oversaw the defense of the city and he noted to William that there could be Crimson Cleanser cell operating in the area, safe to say William wasn't happy with the news.

"Commander Blaze" Johnson said to William.

"Commander Johnson, I assume you heard what's going on over Isle of Terania?" William asked Johnson.

"Yeah, we received reports that your ship girls already on station and help protecting the area from those Sirens. We're planning to send our own forces into the area, I would like to coordinate with you as I assume you will send reinforcement over there too?" Johnson asked William.

"Correct. I'll send you over the Intel that my girls have collected in the meantime" William said as he send a file to Johnson.

Johnson noticed the file on his console, he then opened it and studied it for a bit while William rapidly send a text to Hood to notify the situation and briefed the secretaries to meet him on his office as soon as possible. William was just in time to see Johnson massaged his left temple at the sight of the map that William sent, it's not looking good for those oil rigs…

"Hah…that facility is our closest source of oil within two hundred kilometers range, equipped with the proper facility to properly processed them and contain enough fuel for both of our base to operate for months…I think we could agree that we cannot lose this facility" Johnson said to William.

"For sure. I'm currently assembling reinforcement, it'll take some time for us to prepare. We could handle those boats…Can I count on you to handle their infantries or god forbid any kind of Siren armored vehicles and secure the facilities? We'll wrestle the control for seas, you make sure the facility stay intact or both of us would be starving for fuel by next month" William said in serious expression.

"I agreed. Don't worry commander, my troops are more than capable for this task" Johnson said while smiling a bit.

"Understood. Then, we're counting on you" William nodded his head.

"Ditto. See you on the field, commander" Johnson said as he disconnected the call.

And there's one thing both of them had in common, both of them were raised on their academy to graduate as field commanders. Tough bastards who lead by example, Johnson deploying directly meaning he could deploy significant amount of his forces to protect the oil facilities around the isle. William had to deploy lots of ship girls too if he want to make sure those siren ships won't cause extra damage than what they already did…

The door was promptly opened as his secretaries and several other ship girls slowly filled in his office. Enterprise, Vestal, Kongou, Hiei, Hood, Belfast, Warspite, Shoukaku, Zara, Carabiniere, Tirpitz and Z23…All of them stood at attention in front of his desk, William stood up as he shown them the map which Prinz sent to him few minutes ago and William watched how their face morphed into grim realization that this would be a major battle…Realizing that the girls already grasped on the situation, William decided to speak.

"Ladies, as you can see we got a big problem. I'll go over the situation briefly, time is off the essence…We're going to reinforce Prinz and the commission team over that isle and hold the oil facilities, it's crucial for us that we don't lose them as we would be in very tight spot if we do. We're about to participate in Battle of Terania, prepare your hearts, strengthen your resolve, ready your wits…We're deploying in ten minutes" William said to them in firm tone.

* * *

**Hey there, thanks for the follow, favorite and reviews dear readers. Looks like a huge battle is coming on next chapter, should I stay focused on the naval battle with William or should I involved bits of CJ and his troops following along? Either way, the next chapter is going to heavily focused on combat and could potentially goes on for two chapters...Oh anyway, who do you think would appear alongside The Siren on Terania?**

**For you random citizen who took their time to leave a comment: Thanks! I don't have fix upload schedule but a week would probably be earliest since I also got lot of stuff to do back in real life.**

**Until next time dear readers!**

**\- Dasmara**


	7. Battle of Terania Part 1

Quiet night, clear sky with glimmering stars and full moon illuminated the earth with its dim light. That would be a perfect night for a date before twelve F-16 Fighter Jets and six F-22A Raptor Fighter Jets blazed through the sky, followed by several V-22 Osprey Transports following close behind. Single large helicopter flown not too far behind with two smaller helicopter gunships by each side, this are the combined forces heading toward Terania Isles. This would be Azur Lane's first wave, second strike force are currently being prepared. As soon as a signal for reinforcement is given, they'll sortie immediately.

"Commander, our vanguards is on the site. They said that Siren's Fleet still holding their position" Johnson said to William.

"What are they after? Any indication to surround the island or flanking our forces there?" William asked Johnson.

"…No indication of such. Honestly, they're just staying there while occasionally harassing the facilities with their jets. Our vanguards are currently keeping their distance, they'll go in as soon as we arrive" Johnson said to William.

"Understood" William said to Johnson.

William looked outside the window of the helicopter passenger bay, he noted that the gunships were armed to the teeth…Sighing as he went over to the cockpit, he observed four Manjuus driving the helicopter SOMEHOW. He wouldn't bother asking how, William then returned to the passenger bay to saw the girls seated on their seat while chatting…Good, they may felt apprehensive but at least they're not so tensed that they won't talk to each other.

There are twenty four ship girls currently inside this helicopter. What? Overkill? No damnit, they shouldn't take chances with this because losing is not an option! Carriers, battleships, cruisers, destroyers, repair ship, they got it all. Someone beside him offered him something, she's Belfast who offered William a water bottle while smiling. Smiling a bit, William took the bottle and drank it before handing it back…how did she know he's a bit thirsty?

"Thanks Belfast" William said to Belfast.

"Think nothing of it, master" Belfast replied while smiling.

"…Listen up ladies. When we're down there, I want you to stick to the plan. Focus on defending first, we'll attack them when the situation is in our favor" William said out loud.

"Milord, are you planning to join the others in combat? You looked the part" Illustrious asked William.

Yeah, he's currently wearing Azur Lane dark blue Special Forces BDU alongside Kevlar vest with metal plating underneath it to protect his organs. He wore paddings on his knees and elbows, shoulder guards, his hands covered in black combat gloves, black combat boots, ammo pouches and combat goggles with blue tint on it. A machete was sheathed on his back, his hands were holding M14 Enhanced Battle Rifle with ACOG Scope and there's a Colt Python Revolver on his thigh pistol holster…See? Illustrious has every right to assume he will be joining in a combat.

"If required to, I just want to be ready. I'm not insane enough to join the fight against Siren fleet without a proper gear" William said while smiling a bit.

"…Glad your screw is still tight on your head master" Sheffield commented beside Illustrious.

"Ouch Sheffield" William said while smiling wryly.

The talk resumed after William got the confirmation that these ladies understood his orders, this would be a defensive battle until they could find a crack that they could use to counterattack…Readying himself for the umpteenth time, he couldn't help himself for feeling he wasn't ready because he clearly wasn't. He heard about the rumored Sirens ship girls, just or even deadlier than their own ship girls and that's not all.

…There's unconfirmed reports of their armored assault vehicles, their infantries already give them enough headache already for how inconsistent the reports about them. Keep this up and they'll lose ninety percent of the oceans around the earth and that would be bad in all manners of bad. Once their oceans were gone, William is sure that the mainland would be their next target...He's the pioneer to dive in directly to situations involving them, searching for ways to effectively combat these Sirens and drive them off Earth for good…He can't fail.

"Kommandant this is Prinz! The Sirens made their move. Several of them advancing on the remaining rigs!" Prinz reported on the radio.

"Damnit! Hold them Prinz, we're few minutes away from reaching you!" William said to Prinz on the radio.

"Jawohl!" Prinz said before she went back to her business.

So they finally begin their assault, William must said he's surprised with the fact that those things waited for a bit despite already amassing their forces…Why now though? Doesn't matter, they gave Azur Lane much needed time to deploy and that's good enough. William saw several distant flashes on the sky and on the sea in the horizon, looks like the battle already started. The fighter crafts that were with them immediately engaged their afterburners to join the combat, the helicopters also started to drop their altitude in preparations to insert the troops.

"Manjuus, open the rear hatch and drop down to fifteen meters! Destroyers, cruisers, get ready!" William said to the Manjuus.

Their chirps were the respond he got, but William somehow could interpret it as 'Roger that!'…He felt the helicopter slowly lowering its altitude, the rear hatch was opened and he nodded to the girls so they could prepare themselves. The cruisers and the destroyers stood up and lined themselves so they could jump down in orderly manners, William nodded his head again in approval.

"Belfast, the cruiser is under your command! Z23, you will lead the destroyers!" William said to the two of them.

"By your command, master!" "Ja kommandant!" Belfast and Z23 said to William.

"Alright ladies! Give them hell!" William shouted his orders.

Thus, the cruisers and the destroyers jumped off from the helicopter, activated their riggings mid-air, landed on the water and going full speed ahead immediately to the battlefield. The helicopter didn't close it's rear hatch for their destination is mere hundred meters away, William saw several ship girls were on the oil rig platform three so he told the Manjuus to head there.

"Drop us off on that rig guys, I need to talk with Prinz" William said to them.

The helicopter hovered and the rear hatch almost touched the guard railings on the rig's top most floor, the remaining ship girls exited the helicopter with William following closely behind. After that, two Manjuus also dropped down with several crates before going back inside the helicopter. The crates were filled with weapons and ammunitions for ship girls, the helicopter that dropped them off then proceed to fly away from the rig to conduct combat patrol.

The commission team didn't expect that William would appear this fast, with a large forces backing him up as they saw their approach from the horizon. Zuikaku approached William after she launched several fighters in the air, she's smiling widely at the sight of everyone on the platform.

"Shikikan! It's good to see you here!" Zuikaku said while smiling.

"We're going as fast as we can. How are you holding up?" William asked Zuikaku.

"We're fine shikikan! We're ready for orders!" Zuikaku said to William.

"Stand by for that-" William said to Zuikaku.

"Kommandant" Someone said from above.

That someone was Prinz, she had her riggings out and currently floating down from the top of the oil rig. She touched down smoothly before her rig disappeared…Wait, William were sure that ship girls don't hover! How is that possible!? He never saw them flying or something, but hey, Ironbloods engineering is the best in the world? He had to admit, most of The Crimson Axis got a leg up when it concerning technology…Hey, here's an idea…He bet those Crimson Axis scientist could whip up some nice gears, with the power of Ironbloods beer and anime on their side-

"…Wait, Prinz, you can hover?" William still decided to ask her.

"Don't sweat the small details kommandant. It's good to see you here with reinforcement" Prinz said to William.

"Yeah, gather around for resupply girls. If you still could fight however, join the others immediately as they will need your help…Vestal, we're counting on you" William said to Vestal.

"You got it commander~, alright girls come here and let me inspect you. Stock up with ammo from those boxes we brought over there if you need to" Vestal said out loud.

The commission team that remains on the platform approached them, Shoukaku walked toward Zuikaku before she grabbed her. Shoukaku meticulously inspected Zuikaku's whole body to see if she took any damage while the person herself looked flagsberated, after making sure that there's no major injuries other than some slight tear on her clothes or scratch Shoukaku smiled at Zuikaku.

"Nee-sama!" Zuikaku said with slight blush on her cheeks.

"Does your body hurt anywhere?" Shoukaku still asked Zuikaku.

"Mou nee-sama, you're worrying too much as I'm fine! Just some scratch, no problem!" Zuikaku said then sighed.

"Good to see you alright Zuikaku, now get yourself checked out by Vestal-san just to be sure" Shoukaku said to Zuikaku while smiling.

"Kommandant, we're advancing on the enemy fleet! Requesting support!" Z23 said to him through radio.

"Got it, they're on the way…Battleships, advance slowly and support the girls but don't go too far from the oil rigs…Tirpitz, you're in charge for the battleship team" William ordered the girls.

"Jawohl kommandant, I won't let you down! Follow me, we'll show these Sirens why they should fear our guns!" Tirpitz said as she jumped down from the oil rig.

Several others followed her closely, Warspite, Hood, King George V, Nevada, Kongou and Hiei jumped down while deploying their riggings. Immediately after touching down on the water surface all of them started to lock on their targets, it didn't took long before shells started flying on the air toward the advancing Siren ships.

"…Situation hasn't changed, their first wave of cruisers and destroyers are advancing with steady pace. Johnson, status?" William asked Johnson on the radio.

"We're deploying and reinforcing the facilities! So far, it's clear except for the incoming shells from those ships!" Johnson said on the radio.

"Alright! Have your jets maintain air superiority on our perimeter!" William said to Johnson on the radio.

"Got it! Could you and the girls silence those guns? They're getting quite accurate!" Johnson said to William on the radio.

"Some of our cruiser and destroyers are meeting them, we'll draw their attention momentarily!" William said to Johnson on the radio.

…William looked at the advancing ships, they will soon reached the boundary for the established defensive perimeter and he saw that the destroyers and cruisers group are advancing with weapons firing. Okay, the girls are quite experienced as every one of them he brought today know how to fight. Micromanaging them wouldn't do much good unless absolutely needed, he'll let them handle this with their own techniques.

"Shikikan-sama, what are our orders?" Shoukaku asked William.

"Shoukaku, Zuikaku, Enterprise, Illustrious, all of you focus on weakening those Siren battleships and carriers. Let our fighters jets handle the air defense, circle your planes around their formation and strike them from the sides. Enterprise, you're in charge leading the strike" William ordered the carrier group.

"Yes sir! Alright, let's go!" Enterprise said and the carriers immediately went to deploy their planes.

"What are my orders, kommandant?" Prinz asked William.

"Stay here for now, Prinz. I want your opinion on this matter" William said to Prinz.

"My, what would you like to know?" Prinz asked William.

"You said that whenever The Sirens pulled off this kind of maneuver, there's someone leading them" William asked Prinz.

"Ja and I stand by that statement. It's around here somewhere kommandant, if we killed it then this battle would be over easily…But, they're quite elusive" Prinz said to William.

…Here's a question, where would they be? Not many place that they could use to hide on open seas or their fleet formation. So, they must be hiding somewhere…The islands? Most likely but it would take a lot of effort to search for a Siren leader in the middle of all this. Ruling them out for now, William started thinking on where it could possibly use as temporary command center…Bitch, how could he forget about that fifth oil rig? The first structure to fall to their hands, surely they thought that it's important enough that The Sirens were willing to capture it instead destroying it…He doubt they cared about fossil fuel.

"…What about that fifth oil rig? Could it be there?" William asked Prinz.

"Maybe…You're not thinking of going there, aren't you?" Prinz asked William with raised eyebrows.

"I honestly want to see their leader" William said while shrugging.

"So you can capture it?" Prinz asked William while staring at his face.

"That's a possibility…But for now, we'll see how this goes first" William said as he took out his binocular from his rear pouch.

The destroyer group being led by Z23 were making a straight pass toward Sirens ships. Z23, Javelin, Ayanami, Laffey, Carabiniere, Fletcher, Aulick and Sims were advancing while firing their cannons to help softening their target. Well, William didn't brought Glowworm here and some were wondering why he didn't…Apparently, he haven't heard of her ability and fondness to ram her target and boy that's a lot of damage potential. Z23 make sure to remember about telling William regarding the destroyer's capabilities so he could optimize their fleet composition better, surely that would help later in the future.

"Nimi, why are we keep charging!? We're way pass the defense line!" Javelin asked Z23.

"We'll launch our torpedoes in close range, those cruisers won't be able to dodge it! We'll retreat back to the perimeter after we unload a barrage!" Z23 said to Javelin.

"…They're firing at us" Laffey monotonously said while pointing dozens of yellow shells heading toward them.

"Spread out and pick your targets! Don't hesitate!" Z23 said out loud.

The destroyers immediately dispersed from their formation while avoiding shells as they started picking their targets, most of them handled Sirens destroyers by their guns while closing on the cruisers. Carabiniere closed in on one of Sirens heavy cruiser while being under relentless fire from its cannons, she readied her musket and torpedo launchers. Several rounds almost hit her but instead of jumping she dashed forward, she aimed her musket straight toward the middle of the cruiser.

"…Lock on!" Carabiniere said out loud.

With that, she squeezed the trigger. The round impacted the hull, making a large hole on it before Carabiniere launched and shoved a torpedo straight through the hull. Safe to say, the explosion immediately tore the cruiser into two. Javelin who was nearby had her mouth hanging for a bit while holding her javelin after witnessing how fast Carabiniere took down a cruiser, she looked at the sinking cruiser beside her while realizing that she might…need a faster way in the future. Maybe throwing her javelin at it?

"Whoa, nice hit Carabiniere!" Javelin said to Carabiniere.

"Um, yeah, thank you-" Carabiniere said to Javelin.

"Torpedoes incoming!" Ayanami warned on the radio.

Both Javelin and Carabiniere set their stance on alert as they try to figure out where would the torpedoes come from, then they saw trails heading toward them and both decided to bail out as quickly as they could toward the defense line while avoiding the torpedoes that were launched by several of the surviving destroyers…Not too far away from the close quarter slaughterfest, Belfast was busy firing her main cannons to help the destroyer group by destroying any Siren ships that still somehow survived their facetorp tactic.

"Belfast! Some of their cruisers is approaching the rig number four, Brooklyn, Helena and I are heading over there!" St. Louis said to Belfast on the radio.

"Understood, intercept them before they could deal damage to the oil rigs" Belfast said to St. Louis on the radio.

Despite their devastating interception, it seems the number were too great for them to intercept all at once. Belfast looked toward the fourth oil rig and saw small battle group of cruisers approaching it alongside Brooklyn, Helena and St. Louis firing at those ships, she saw no other Siren ships they could intercept within range. However, one battle group tries to sneak past their destroyers by skirting an island. Too bad, the head maid spotted them and they're in for a world of hurt.

"Ms. Zara, please follow me. We will hit that small group over there" Belfast said to Zara.

"Si, lead the way Ms. Belfast" Zara said to Belfast.

Both of them started cruising toward the battle group who hasn't detected them yet, along the way they witnessed several F16 jets stuck in a dogfight with Siren jets. Despite possessing missiles, the pilots knew this would be long and drawn out battle with no chance to resupply their ammo quickly. So, to make sure they could stay fighting as long as possible, they prefer engaging those jets with their machine guns. It was a chaotic to be sure, even Belfast and Zara had to dodge some of the destroyed or downed jets on their way.

They heard another sounds coming from behind and that's when they saw several squadrons of Seafang and Avenger aircraft flew past them, those planes went through the area despite the intense dogfight happening between them and The Sirens. Those planes are carrier based, from Royal Navy and Eagle Union.

"That's Madam Illustrious and Madam Enterprise planes, they're heading straight for Sirens main fleet over there" Belfast said out loud.

"I don't think they could cause significant damage just by relying on planes alone, should we help them?" Zara asked Belfast.

"No, our order is clear and we should follow it through for now…I'm sure Master William is the one who ordered them to do that, maybe he's trying to formulate a counter strategy for those numerous battleships and carriers" Belfast said while looking at Zara.

"…I see" Zara nodded her head.

…Zara just arrived two days ago, that commander is still a stranger to her. She admitted that the man got some guts as he doesn't seemed to be scared to fought a ship girl directly, most soldier back home shy away from training with them because the difference in strength. Rumor has it that the man was a frontline soldier before becoming a commander of their base, he's also only been in command for less than a month…How great is he? Some say they didn't know him that well, some said he's a friendly man while some said he's a capable commanding officer.

She doesn't have a problem with him commanding her, though she's curious about him. But that's where she need to put an effort if she want to know him, The Royal Navy girls were the one who met or talk with him the most. Not that he didn't hang out or talk with the ship girls from other nations, it's just that everyday there's a guarantee that one girl from Royal Navy could be found on his office doing god knows what…Oh well, maybe she should give it a shot tomorrow? The more she know about him, the easier for her to work with him-

"Incoming!" Belfast said to Zara.

"Get behind me Ms. Belfast!" Zara said to Belfast.

Belfast doesn't argue as she got behind Zara, dozens of bright yellow colored shells are flying towards them in single salvo. Zara smirked a bit as she deployed blue colored energy shields in front of her that intercepted all of the shells, Tenri shield is always reliable in situation like that and she heavily abused this ability to took some damage that could hurt her comrades in some moments. Belfast witnessed that the shells either exploded in contact or bounced away from the shield…Her ability is almost the same as Prinz, Belfast noted.

"Thank you for your assistance" Belfast said to Zara.

"No problem" Zara said as they continue their advance.

"…Dear enemies, this is going to be a little bit painful!" Belfast said while smirking.

With that, the head maid herself joined the fray. It's been a while since she sortied to the frontline and perhaps flexing in front of the newcomer would be a good warm up, Belfast skillfully glided around avoiding Siren's cannon fire while taking a note on how many are they and their positioning. When she confirmed the fact that there's only five cruisers on this group, she deployed her smokescreen which blinded The Siren ships.

Approaching from their side, she emerged while rapidly firing her main cannons equipped with High Explosives Shell and that burned Sirens ship upon contact. Simultaneously, she launched torpedo barrage which sunk two cruisers due to the devastating hit her torpedo caused. The three others that's still burning started moving to escape from her, all but in naught as Belfast smirked while aiming her gun barrels individually. Then, she launched all-out assault move which involved all of her main guns being fired.

Now that put the final nail on the coffin for the three remaining cruisers as they start sinking after they got too many holes to plug on their body, Zara was watching as she could only unleashed several shots before the head maid took down five of them like it's breakfast for her. She had to admit, Belfast was quite strong and agile as well…At least Zara haven't waste ammo that much and she could always go for the next prey, assuming Belfast won't take the next one for herself too.

"…Little bit painful she said, that's clearly an overkill" Zara said to herself.

"This is Brooklyn, the battle group is eliminated over here" Brooklyn said on the radio.

"Same here. The first wave is eliminated, master" Belfast reported on the radio.

"Excellent work ladies, stay alert and keep the perimeter secure" William said to Belfast on the radio.

"By your command, master" Belfast replied on the radio.

"Hood, return to my position" William said on the radio.

"Yes milord" Hood responded on the radio.

Hood turned around and she head back toward the third oil rig, she jumped high from the surface of the water all the way to the top platform of the oil rig where William, Prinz and Vestal stood. Landing gracefully on the platform without causing too much sound, Hood smiled as she walked to the waiting William and Prinz. Both of them looked like they just discussed something when Hood landed, but she couldn't figure out what were they discussed about nor the outcome as their face remain neutral…

"…What do you think of that first wave, Hood?" William asked Hood, that might what he discussed with Prinz…

"I think it's a plan that went wrong. It is clear with the fact those ships moving in with assumption that they would be enough to take the oil rigs, that until we deploy and throw a wrench on their plans…They are also reconsolidating. Look, those that remains on the backline are trying to put a formation" Hood said her honest opinion about the skirmish.

William see through his binocular to see that the ships on Sirens main fleet were all grouping in tight and close formation, that's complemented by firing their Anti-Aircraft Pulse Laser Cannons toward the planes that were launched by the carriers…Typical text book tactics in the face of buzzing agile enemies, group close together and fired at anything that moves within you line of sight…William's done it before too, but just now he saw the grander example of that tactics.

"They're responding as I expected, harassment from four carriers would require intense AA cover. They're trying to fill the skies with as many projectile as they could fire…" William said out loud.

"Commander, our strike is ineffective! Most of our planes were shot down within a minute!" Enterprise reported on the radio.

"What do you see in that one minute?" William asked Enterprise on the radio.

"The formation is consisted of mass produced Siren ships, nothing abnormal about them!" Enterprise reported to William on the radio.

"…Alright, pull back and keep watch for any Siren jets or ships that's trying to pass through our defensive perimeter for now" William said on the radio after contemplating for a bit.

"Yes sir!" Enterprise responded on the radio.

…No Siren leader are present among that formation? Then he's right with his assumption that they could be on the islands or that captured oil rig…Either way, he'll put his money on that oil rig. What's the reason? First, the rig fall with no one ever being reported made it out. They could be captured for interrogation or…other purposes he don't know yet. Second, that place was the closest to their formation so if their leader had to appear on the frontline, that place could easily be covered by the advancing Siren main fleet…

"Johnson, any fireteam you could spare?" William asked Johnson on the radio.

"I got a squad ready for tasking, what's the plan?" Johnson asked back on the radio.

"We need to investigate that rig number five…Head to rig number three and pick me up, I'll be going there myself" William informed Johnson on the radio.

"…You're a bold one Blaze. How do you plan on going in without getting shot down? That rig has a small group of cruisers guarding it" Johnson asked William on the radio.

"Don't worry, my carriers are more than enough for them" William confidently answered on the radio.

"Oh yes, Miss Grey Ghost is with us…Very well, An Osprey will be there in five minutes" Johnson said on the radio.

"Copy that" William said on the radio.

"…Kommandant, if you're going to that oil rig then I suggest bring at least two of us to help you. In a case where you'll encounter one of those Sirens leaders, you will need us to fight them effectively" Prinz said to William.

Prinz had much experience with The Sirens so William would want to take her advice regarding them, if Prinz recommended that he might need ship girls to fight them then he'll take that advice because he don't want to lose his life fighting so soon…He know practically nothing about them, being careful with his approach might have its merits.

"Good suggestion…Sheffield, Takao, I need you two back on my position. We're going on that fifth oil rig" William said on the radio.

"Yes master" "As you command, shikikan" Sheffield and Takao answered on the radio.

"Prinz, you rested enough yet?" William asked Prinz.

"What do you need me for, kommandant?" Prinz asked William.

"Join the other cruisers, they'll need you down there" William said to Prinz.

"Very well then~" Prinz said as she started hovering down to the battlefield.

"…Hood, you will have operational command until I return. Keep the defensive line intact and respond accordingly to any attempt of encirclement" William said to Hood.

William have full trust that Hood is more than capable to take over temporary command in his absence, so far she have proven to be a great secretary, possessing good insight and she's knowledgeable in the art of war as far as he know. He felt he could rely on her for anything, not that he will slack off and leave everything to her as he didn't have the heart to do that…He's just grateful that she's his secretary and this would be a great chance to see how well she'll do.

"Of course milord…But before that, a question if I may" Hood asked William with serious face.

"What is it?" William asked Hood back.

"Milord, if you do encounter a siren leader…What do you plan on doing?" Hood asked William.

"I would probably try to capture them" William answered as he stared at the battlefield in front of him.

"…Do you believe you could do it?" Hood asked William in wonder.

"…I still don't know how powerful they are, but I plan to find out directly. Even if capture attempt ended in failure, there would still something I could learn from the encounter itself" William honestly said to Hood.

He's willing to head in himself to confirm the information they have all this time and all for the sake of research, know your enemy and you win half the battle. These Sirens is enshrouded in thick veil of mystery, there's so many things they didn't know. Lena said to him during his arrival to that base, Azur Lane still doesn't know about the leader of The Sirens and Crimson Axis who ever got in contact with them were hit by a bad case of memory wipe somehow…This would be the determining step, the information they got from Sirens leader would be strategic enough to determine their next move…

"So you're saying you will head for the unknown, diving head first?" Hood asked William.

"Putting it bluntly, yes" William answered while looking at Hood.

"…Reckless" Hood said to William, oh god she's frowning!

William winced a bit when he saw her frown, Hood doesn't do that often but when she did that it's clear with the fact that she disliked something! William sighed a bit and scratched his head in confusion on how to reason with Hood for this 'honestly' not-so-brilliant plan, but Hood is reasonable woman so William would make damn sure he'll try his best to convince her.

"Sometimes, being too careful wouldn't give you the result you want. But I'm still willing to take some precautions, that's why I agreed to bring Sheffield and Takao with me…I'll be fine, Hood" William said in the most convincing manner he could muster…

"…Then, allow me to request this…If it gets too dangerous, please retreat from engaging" Oh it worked? That request seemed simple enough…

"…Don't worry, I know where to draw the line" William said while smiling confidently.

"…I'll trust you on that, milord" Hood said to William while smiling softly.

Several minutes later, Takao and Sheffield arrived alongside the Osprey that's going to bring them over to the fifth oil rig. After witnessing William, Takao and Sheffield boarding the Osprey, Hood assumed temporary command by letting Azur Lane forces know on the radio. Hood used the binocular that William gave her for safekeeping and scanned the dark horizon for any sort of movement…Yeah, night battle is quite bothersome but luckily Siren mass produced ships got those red glows on their body so it should be easy to identify them from range. Yeah, at eight kilometers it's possible but right now they're still around thirty kilometers away from their position! Add to the fact this took place at night, it's even freaking harder!

To counteract that, Hood posted the destroyer group beyond their defensive line for scouting purpose. Their radar signature is small, they're really agile and pack mean bites in close range but other than that, they're good scouts when the carriers is occupied. This time, Enterprise accompanied William, Shoukaku and Zuikaku had to recon the other side of the isles to make sure none of those ships trying to infiltrate through their flanks while Illustrious remain on standby so she could move in when required to.

"Reporting in Ms. Secretary…A Siren battle group is approaching, numerous cruisers and several battleships broke off from the main formation and heading toward here!" Javelin said on the radio.

"Understood Ms. Javelin, now prepare for contact by heading back to our defensive line so our battleships could cover you…Madam Warspite, I trust you could help thinning their numbers?" Hood asked Warspite on the radio.

"Already got them on my sight, leave them to me…Belli Dura Despicio!" Warspite said as she fired her cannons.

Warspite fired her main guns, reloaded then fired again as quickly as she could. She's the ship that held the record of furthest confirmed hit on a moving target, this would be nothing more than another training exercise to snipe her enemy with her cannons. Her shells hit the battleships, but since they're quite durable her attack only served to weaken their battle group before they're entering the other battleships range.

"They're entering range. All battleships, fire!" Tirpitz said when Siren ships entered their cannon range.

"…Why did they keep advancing through this route? Surely they know that this is our kill zone" Kongou asked out loud on the radio.

"Ms. Kongou is right…Something is off. Illustrious, I need you to send a reconnaissance squadron to the back of our perimeter. There's a possibility they're trying to infiltrate through our rear, those ships might be their diversion" Hood said to Illustrious beside her.

"Understood, I'll do what I can" Illustrious said as she jumped down from the oil rig.

Expect all possibility on the battlefield, it's more complex than chess game but the principle to take your enemy down by carefully positioning your units, moving accordingly and reacting to your enemy's movement are still the same. William told her that few days after he was assigned to their base, even the most well planned operation could go wrong anytime and Hood agreed with him on that matter. Don't ever underestimate an enemy, no matter how weak or small they are.

"…Huh? Is that-"

Hood heard George V said something on the radio, that's when she saw several glimmering round things on the horizon. Hood used her binocular and she felt her stomach tied in a knot at the sight of dozens of portals which Siren mass produced ships came through, those ships landed on the sea and immediately joined in formation with Siren's main fleet. Hood pursed her pink lips, this battle might just got prolonged and she didn't like it.

"Portals! Siren portals!" George informed everyone on the radio.

"They're sending reinforcement. All units, defend your position!" Hood said on the radio.

.

Near oil rig number five, several Siren cruisers desperately firing their AA guns as Enterprise skillfully launched her planes to bomb them to smithereens. The group were too busy to handle the buzzing Enterprise's planes that they don't have unoccupied AA guns to prevent one V-22 Osprey to land on the oil rig top platform, the pilots got massive balls to dive in under cluster AA fire chaos to unload their passengers. The rear hatch opened, two ropes thrown down to the platform and a squad of marine were set to deploy.

"Go! Go! Go!" The squad leader shouted.

Marines descending toward the platform in orderly manners, finding suitable walls or stuff as a place to cover their descending teammates. After the marines were on the platform Takao and Sheffield follow suit by jumping directly without the rope, they landed on the platform followed by William who descended through the rope. Waving his left hand in circular motion, the pilot get the message that they're all on the ground so they bailed out followed by several AA fire from the sinking cruisers.

"Sergeant" William said to the squad leader.

"Sir?" The sergeant asked William.

"Split the squad into two, we're sweeping this rig for clues" William said to the sergeant.

"Got it sir. Corporal Martin! Take Fireteam Beta with you and go to entrance A!" The sergeant said to one of his men.

"Yessir! Alright you lots! On me!" Martin said as several marines followed him.

"Sheffield, accompany them will you?" William asked Sheffield.

"Yes master" Sheffield said while taking out her handguns then joined the marines.

"Ms. Sheffield, isn't it? Glad you're with us" Martin said to Sheffield.

Sheffield nod her head as a sign of affirmation to them, the marines that Corporal Martin led entered through service stairs entrance. William nodded his head toward the sergeant who alongside his men entered through the primary entryway for the platform, William held his M14EBR on alert while Takao kept her hand on her katana. The rig is silent, there's no sound of oil drills or machinery as all they could heard is the sound of occasional waves crashing on the rig or the sound of distant explosions coming from the battle.

They went through several rooms and corridors, it were completely deserted as if it was abandoned. But the thing is, there are no reports of someone coming out of this fifth oil rig by the time it was attacked…After few minutes exploring the rig, William, Takao and the marines stumbled upon the mess hall which was deserted too. There's no sign of human life anywhere except for the trace of daily items such as cold drinks, half eaten food, several hard hats that were on the table or on the floor…William went closer to the food and inspected it, it's cold and that means it's been here awhile.

…Prinz reported the attack only few hours ago, safe to say its dinner time by the time they got attacked. But there are no bodies around, no trace of conflict, no blood splatter or any indication there's been an attack and this honestly worried William to no end. Where are the workers? Are they captured? If so, then where are they? Why would Siren capture them? There's a lot of speculation going on his head, but without actual proof it's nothing more than a hypothesis now…what he need is an evidence.

The sergeant and two of his men entered the kitchen area, the three of them noticed something smells like a rotten fish in the kitchen. Doubt it's an actual fish that have gone bad, but they still need to find the source. Searching through the kitchen, they found the fact that the large freezer room is opened. The sergeant nodded his head to the two soldiers as they raised their M4A1 carbines and pointed it toward the opened freezer…The three of them collected themselves before turning on their helmet attached flashlight and both entered the freezer with finger on the trigger.

They found that most of the meat were still there, but what they saw next was a sight that's enough to churn their stomach. In corner of the freezer, two men were plastered into the wall while encased in black flesh like structure. There's a black round flesh like thing that's attached on their chest and there's black vines sprouting from that round mass all over their body, limbs, covering their faces and attached to the wall. The sergeant pursed his lips to prevent blanching at the sight and the smell combined, he went out of the freezer and saw William.

"Sir, got something you'll want to look at" The sergeant said to William.

William nodded his head and went over to him while being followed by Takao, both of them then entered the fridge…The sight was enough to make even a veteran like William to feel disturbed, the smell was enough to make him throw up if not for the fact his stomach were currently empty because he got no chance for dinner. Takao widened her eyes at the sight, this isn't the first time for her to run into Siren's activity but this one disturbed her the most…

"…Are they the workers?" William asked the sergeant.

"Yeah…What's…with them? Their skin is awfully pale" The sergeant said out loud.

"Well they're a corpse now, of course their skin would be pale, sarge" One of his soldier said to the sergeant.

"No, this pale is…unnatural, almost white even. And those black vines too…No doubt about it, this is Siren's work sir" The other soldier said while looking at them.

Getting closer look, William almost recoiled at how awful those white corpses smelled…Can anyone guessed what they're seeing here? Most people would immediately assumed whatever that black fleshy thing is something you won't want to hold directly, William is basically looking at an alien life form right now! He didn't doubt that something like this is all bad news on field or paper…Regardless of his assumption, they will need to further investigate on what's that thing's…purpose. William looked toward the man who made his observation, he's the combat medic of the squad.

"Can you inspect it and maybe get a sample of it?" William asked the medic.

"I'll need few minutes sir, don't exactly comfortable doing this without HAZMAT suit too" The medic replied to William.

"You'll have them. Theo, you stay here with doc. Find and join us when you're done" The sergeant said to both of his men.

"Sir" The marine called Theo said to the sergeant.

Deciding he had enough of the smell and the sight, William tapped Takao's right shoulder as he walked out of the freezer followed by her and the sergeant. Making sure every part of the mess hall was checked, they proceed to their next destination. Now that they have a confirmation that The Sirens are here, all of them become even more alert than ever…William approached the sergeant while walking and asked in low tone.

"Have you encounter one of Sirens infantry, sergeant?" William asked the sergeant.

"I haven't, but I heard the stories. Some soldiers who survived against them only have one advice, be ready for anything" The sergeant said to William.

"…That's unsettling" William said while frowning.

"Yeah, most that survived got PTSD too…I don't want to imagine what they've gone through, but here I am with big chance to face the same thing as those soldiers" The sergeant said while shrugging.

"Scared?" William asked while cocking his eyebrows.

"Would be a lie if I said no sir" The sergeant looked at William with serious gaze.

…Who wouldn't fear the unknown, really? The sergeant have every right to be scared, venturing into unknown territory and not knowing who you will fight…Walking in steady pace with weapons in hand, they went through another corridor without encountering anyone. Everyone's getting antsy now, they knew The Siren is here but if they didn't even try to engage them then that only means one thing. If it goes too well, that situation in accordance to basic rules of infantry combat…William, Takao and the marines are surely walking into ambush.

"Sarge, Martin here. We're on the storage area and we got nothing, it's deserted" Martin reported on the radio.

"Really? We found two bodies, stuck in some kind of black vines or something" The sergeant said to Martin on the radio.

"Could there be survivors on lower floors?" Martin asked the sergeant on the radio.

"Perhaps…Let's sweep this rig carefully, there's a sign that the Siren's been here" The sergeant said to Martin on the radio.

"Copy that" Martin responded on the radio.

They arrived at another storage area after the medic and Theo joined them but this time the sight was even more horrendous as there's dozens of the worker being strapped on the wall with the same black mass, even Takao was mortified enough by the sight and smell that she hesitated to enter the room. The fishy smell was overwhelming that some of the marines covered their nose even though they wore balaclava, William couldn't help himself to blanch because boy he made some serious mistake when he thought he wouldn't need a gas mask!

"…More corpses in same black vines. What does those Sirens want with us?" The sergeant asked out loud.

"Takao, have you ever see something like this?" William asked Takao.

"This would be the first time for me too, I always fought them in the open seas, shikikan" Takao said while frowning deeply.

"I see…Hey private, point your helmet cam to that thing" William said to one of the soldier.

"Sir" The private said as she went closer to one of the corpses.

"We'll need that for references" William said as he started scanning the area.

It's confirmed that The Sirens are up to something with this, the scene he saw now reminded him of Xenomorph's nest on Aliens franchise…Braving himself to went closer, he studied the black mass carefully…It's moving, pulsating even, what are the chances that this thing were used to 'harvest' humans biological mass? Now William find the disappearance make sense if this are what The Sirens been doing, those people on the coast residences, those people on the convoy he found destroyed few days ago…This could be their fate…

"Wait! He's moving!" One of the soldiers exclaimed.

"He's still alive!? Hurry!" The sergeant said out loud.

They found one of them who was strapped still moving albeit weakly, they could heard low groaning too and that's when they decided to pull the poor sod from the wall. Two marines took out their combat knife and cut the veins that were connected to the wall, after setting the body down one of them decided to cut the veins covering the person's face. Cutting it in one swift motion, it came loose while spurting some kind of liquid.

The man they found was completely lack in color, his face was pure white and his breathing was too slow…He slowly opened his eyes, one of them was colored bright yellow and the pupil resembled reptilian one. Everyone who saw what happened to him was left bewildered, what did that thing do to him? Mutated him? They could fairly certain with the fact that this is unnatural!

"Yuck! What's this yellow liquid!?" One of the soldier who got hit by the liquid exclaimed.

"I got you! Hey, can you hear me?" The sergeant asked the man.

"…R…N" The man said in low tone.

"…Huh?" The sergeant asked again.

"…run…they will…possess you" The man said to the sergeant in low tone.

"What do you mean by that?" The sergeant could be seen clearly confused with all of this.

…Possessed…Those black things…could it be that those black things will possessed them regardless them being alive or not? Well that's-. William train of thoughts came to halt as something rammed him from the side, carried him along with it, smashed through a metal door and thrown him into the wall. Luckily, William was a battle hardened bastard who was quick to react whenever something hit him so he's able to resist the impact. It still painful enough for him to groan and temporarily stunned him, who wouldn't when they got thrown to a wall harshly?

"Shikikan!" Takao shouted at the sudden attack.

"Contact!" A marine shouted.

"It's an ambush! Open fire!" The sergeant barked his orders.

William senses came back to him and he took a quick look at the one who attacked him, it's almost as big as him and it's a black scaly creature. It possessed round head complimented with sharp row of teeth, bright yellow eyes with reptilian pupils and it screamed at William whose eyes immediately went open in full alert…That scream sounded more like screeching but what the fuck is that thing?! It pinned William to the wall with its two muscular black scaly arms, the man was not amused in the slightest.

"Bloody hell! Get off me you bellend!" William barked at the creature.

At the same time, William used both of his feet to kick the creature away from him as it stumbled backwards. William and the creature came face to face, the creature roared as its throw a punch toward William which he avoided before sending a knee to its gut. But his attack doesn't fazed it that much, the creature grabbed him and thrown him to the wall again. This time however, William was prepared as he immediately recovered from being thrown, unsheathed his machete and dashed forward with a swinging blade.

The creature caught his hand however and William had to think fast to free himself, unfortunately he didn't have the chance as the creature swing its arm toward him. Dodging a grip to his neck, William took out his revolver with his left hand, aimed toward its right eye and squeezed the trigger. The gun erupted, the bullet hit the creature which definitely wounding it, William felt the grip on his right hand loosen so he reset his stance before jumping as high as he could while performing horizontal swing with his machete.

Needless to say, the blade tore through the creature's flesh and William managed to almost split the creature's neck completely. That seemed to be a fatal damage as the creature stopped making any kind of movement before falling to the ground lifelessly, yellow liquid kind of blood spurted out from the wound and some splatter hit him…William exhaled in relief as he got out from the small room he was brought in while sheathing his machete, he heard gunfire and saw that the marines were firing at something on the corridor.

"We heard gunshots! What's your status sir!?" Martin asked on the radio.

"We've been engaged! The target got away!" The sergeant said on the radio.

"Let's pursue it!" One of the marine said out loud.

"Negative corporal! We don't want to be separated here!" The sergeant said to him.

"Roger that!" The marine responded to the sergeant.

"Shikikan, are you alright?" Takao asked William.

Takao approached from William's side after sheathing her katana, inspecting William from his head to feet she found him to be fine with only some blood splatter on his clothes. But there's no way someone would be fine after a fiasco with that creature, Takao was quite shocked when she didn't detected anything when entering the room…Five creature came from the dark ceiling, jumped down and immediately took William with it while the other four tried to kill them. Keyword 'tried' because Takao personally slayed two of them, the other one fell after intense gunfire and the other escaped to the corridor.

"Yeah, I'm fine. That was a bit shocking" William said to Takao while smiling.

"What's that sound?" One marine asked out loud.

"More of them!?" Another marine responded.

"Defensive position, now!" The sergeant ordered.

The marines went back inside the room which only have two entrance, their front and their rear so the marines formed two lines facing each side with their guns drawn. William took his fallen M14EBR when he was rammed by that thing before, make sure it's stay in one piece before he joined the lines that was facing the front entrance. Takao also immediately get to the line that guarded their rear, she unsheathed her katana and set her stance.

"Takao, only deal with them when they got too close, got it?" William said to Takao.

"Hai, shikikan!" Takao responded.

"Incoming!" The sergeant said out loud.

They heard numerous running step sound coming from their rear and their front, it didn't took long for those black scaly creature to came toward the group and this time there are around a dozen of them while screeching. William and the marines have no qualms in firing their weapons on fully automatic firing mode, gunfire once again resounded on the room as everyone fought whatever creature they are. Some got too close to the rear line which Takao immediately slashed by her katana, the rear line fare better because their frontline could only rely on their guns.

William wouldn't advise a normal human taking this creatures on close quarter combat, their strength is quite impressive and quite agile despite its size. He heard the light sound of the magazine's spring and that means he's about to run out of bullets to shoot, William quickly reached for a fresh fully loaded magazine and reloaded his M14EBR under two seconds. Then he resumed aiming at one of the creature that came towards him straight in the head, squeezing the trigger of his rifle and William downed one of them after he lodged six 7.62mm rounds on its head.

Few marines fired their M4A1 relentlessly while stepping back slowly, avoiding the creatures strong limbs from ever grabbing them and snapping their neck or limbs. Full auto fire and two magazines later, there's around twelve of those creature that laid dead on the floor spewing yellow blood from their body…Most of the marines were relieved when they found that their weapon could still kill these things, one of the marines after making sure they stay dead then yelled.

"Clear!" The marine yelled out loud.

"Anyone hurt!?" The sergeant asked everyone.

"Yeah me! Gonna need some time!" A private said while holding his left leg.

One of the private got hit by the creature's arm after failing to evade it's attack on time, he tried to stand up after being helped by another private. William, Takao and the sergeant then approached one of the dead creature and take a careful look at it…Round head, slanted eyes with yellow irises complemented with reptilian pupils, black scaly muscly body. It's the same exact creature that attacked William before, these are The Siren's infantry?

"…These things, what are they?" Takao asked out loud.

"Black scaly humanoid…Are they The Sirens?" The sergeant also asked.

"Perhaps, looks like it's their foot soldiers…We need to keep moving, you alright private?" William asked the private.

"…All good now sir" The private responded.

"Good, let's move!" William said to everyone.

"Sir, this is Martin. We've reached the junction for the office and living quarter area, we'll wait here" Martin reported on the radio.

"Roger that, be there ASAP!" The sergeant said on the radio.

"Contact!" One of the private shouted.

They could hear screams and rapid footsteps all around them, everyone who carried firearms decided to reload when they heard those sounds because they would want to face these things with full ammo on their magazine. Two privates who were outside on the corridor spotted lots of them were running toward their position, in response they immediately fired his M4A1.

"Yikes! There's another dozen of them! Keep this up and we'll run out of ammo!" The other private said to them.

"Takao! Clear the way through!" William said to Takao.

"Hai!" Takao said as she drew her katana.

"Follow her closely! Take care of them on her sides!" William barked his orders.

Takao blazed forward swinging her katana and chopped one of the creature clean into two on its torso, she followed by stabbing the creature on the chest then swung the katana upwards. She set her stance as one of them tries to grab Takao but she performed upward diagonal slash toward the creature before spinning and performed downward diagonal slash, all of that under ten seconds and she basically already murdered four of them without breaking a sweat.

"Swift death unto evil!" Takao yelled as she swung her katana.

The creature who was her target get decapitated, she raised her katana and performed overhead swing and that also cut the next creature's head. Two others charged toward her at the same time, they would get close if not for the fact William and the marines relentlessly fired their weapons to Takao's side. She's grateful for the help, she only needs to focus herself to face the enemies in front of her. Unfortunately, not all of their enemy came from the front as few of them jumped from above or approached from the back.

"Man down! Man down!" A shout was heard from one of the marines.

After an intense one minute fight, there were two of them left on their backside. One of the creature punched a marine on the head to the wall, the marine immediately went motionless with a cracking sound and he fell to the floor. That creature was able to grabbed another marine while the other one took the marine near it and effortlessly bite a huge chunk off of her neck before tossing her aside to the wall, that creature was immediately gunned down but another one couldn't…that's because it grabbed and hold the marine in front of him.

"I-I-I don't want to die! Help me!" The marine said in fearful tone.

"Stay still!" William shouted to the marine as he aimed his M14EBR.

Takao was faster than William as she jumped to the creature's rear side, she slashed downwards which created a huge scar on its back. The creature screamed and let go of the marine, as soon as Takao confirmed the creature released the marine she thrust her katana forward and stabbed the creature on its chest. The creature screamed as it's dying before it fell to the floor, which to make sure its dead few marines fired their guns to its head.

"Hah hah hah…Thanks miss, that was way too close!" The marine said to Takao.

"You're welcome" Takao replied while smiling and helped the marine stand.

"How bad?" The sergeant asked the medic.

"…Both of them were gone" The medic said while frowning.

"Fuck! Martin, status!?" The sergeant asked Martin.

…There were no response but they could hear gunfire, which means Martin and the others were also attacked. They readied their weapons once again, because the sounds of fighting getting closer and closer as seconds went by.

"Martin!? What's the situation, over!?" The sergeant asked Martin.

"We've been engaged! Lots of them! We're pulling back to your position!" Martin said on the radio.

"…They got Sheffield with them and they couldn't hold their position? This is bad" William said to Takao.

"I agree. Should we go ahead?" Takao asked William.

"Wait, I need to confirm something…Sheffield, do you read me? What happened?" William contacted Sheffield on the radio.

"Master, I'm currently retreating alongside the other soldiers. We found one of the siren ship girls, it's pursuing us" Sheffield said on the radio.

"Pursuing?" William asked out loud.

If even ship girls couldn't handle it, then that means it was bad on another level. William nodded toward the sergeant who immediately ordered two of the marines to plant C4 explosive device on the floor and walls on the corridors, they will ambush The Sirens this time. Martin could pin point their location on their digital tactical map for rendezvous, the sergeant looked at that map and saw that Martin and the others indeed headed toward them…Perfect.

Martin and the rest of the marines' shows up with Sheffield, no pleasantries or greetings thrown at each other as they immediately hide behind William and the others who already got their gun pointed at the direction they came from. They saw large horde of those black scaly creatures, none of them fired their guns as they waited for those creatures to come in range. When they do, the sergeant triggered the C4s with a remote and it detonated…The detonation of the C4s were enough to wreck the corridor they were on, creating a huge wall on the wall that exposed them to the outside while killing the horde all at once…

"Holy shit it worked!" One private said out loud.

Their victory was short lived however as something came out unscathed behind the horde, a girl with white hair, yellow eyes, carrying a rigging like a ship girl but it's black and more futuristic in nature…The girl deployed her rigging which extended itself to form multiple mechanical limbs on it with cannons on each end. One thing only came to mind when they saw those cannons, they are fucked. The cannons started firing energy bolts which exploded everything it touches, everyone who witnessed it immediately tried to take cover.

"Scatter!" The sergeant shouted.

"Pull back! Call the Osprey!" William said to the sergeant.

"Romeo Six! This is Charlie Three! We need immediate evac! How copy over!?" The sergeant asked on the radio.

"Understood, we're making our way to the rig now" The Osprey pilot responded on the radio.

"Sergeant, take your men and evac now!" William said to the sergeant.

"What about you sir!?" The sergeant asked William.

"Don't worry about me! We'll handle this, go!" William said to the sergeant.

"Shit! Good luck sir! We're retreating!" The sergeant shouted.

The marines that are alive immediately pulled back while firing several burst from their weapons to that girl, but the bullets didn't do anything except for scratching the paint on her rigging. The girl stare emotionlessly at the retreating marines, her attention was taken with two ship girl in front of her who deployed their rigging and unsheathed their katana and handguns. William inserted a fresh magazine on his M14EBR, cocked the gun and aimed toward that girl.

"Sheffield, Takao, let's get em!" William said to both of them.

"Wakarimashita!" "Yes master!" Takao and Sheffield said then charged ahead.

"Enterprise, you're still there?" William asked Enterprise on the radio.

"Yes commander, what do you need me for?" Enterprise asked William on the radio.

"Fighter fire support, danger close. Reference, that girl with white hair and black rigging in front of us!" William informed Enterprise on the radio.

Around three hundred meters away from the rig, Enterprise prepared her bow and drawn its string as she searched for the intended target. She spotted The Siren ship girl and she aimed towards it, Takao and Sheffield are currently fighting the girl while constantly avoiding her cannon shots. Enterprise further drawn the bow string, she made sure she correctly aimed it and then released the hold.

"Launched!" Enterprise reported on the radio.

"Takao, Sheffield! Get back!" William shouted to the two.

Hearing William's order, Takao performed last slash attack to distract the ship girl then followed by Sheffield pinning her down in place with barrage of bullets. Enterprise launched arrow turned into a F4F Wildcat plane and it launched several rockets alongside machinegun fire toward the ship girl, she flinched and was about to back away but she's too late as the plane rammed the ship girl in question before exploding.

"That was Enterprise-san plane!" Takao said out loud.

"Yeah, is it dead?" William asked out loud too.

"Not yet it seems" Takao said while pointing at the ship girl who pushed the wreckage off of her.

"…Oi! You want to tell us why you're doing this!?" William asked her.

That thing was quite strong! She got rammed by one of Enterprise plane, a fucking plane and it still could stand up despite suffering some kind of damage to her rigging! She kept staring at William, Takao and Sheffield emotionlessly…Hell, creepy, why did she do that? So many questions yet so little clues to answer them!

"…Looks like it can't talk" William said then sighed.

"More like refused to talk, I know they could speak. I've heard one of them myself before" Sheffield said to William.

"I see. Any other girls in close proximity?" William asked both of them.

"Ayanami-chan and Carabiniere-san is fairly close" Takao said to William.

"Brilliant. Ayanami, Carabiniere, its Commander William Blaze. Approach my position and be ready to fight a Siren" William ordered on the radio.

"Si comandante!" "Hai, we're going now!" Carabiniere and Ayanami said on the radio.

"Enterprise, on my command, destroy the platform that Siren is on" William said to Enterprise on radio.

"Yes commander…On your word" Enterprise responded on the radio.

William raised his M14EBR and fired at the ship girl in singlet shot, he aimed for the girl's head to try and land a bullet on her but it didn't work. Why? Her riggings upper limbs covered her face! Damnit, William wasn't sure that this rifle could do anything against her. Sheffield stepped forward as she aimed her handguns at her, firing several burst and the bullets managed to make that ship girl flinch. William saw that she was held on her intended place, perfect!

"…Now!" William said on the radio.

Enterprise launched another plane armed with bombs, the plane flew overhead and immediately dropped the payload on the ship girl. Taking immediate cover, William, Sheffield and Takao avoided the explosion resulted from the bomb explosion…William was about to check on The Siren before he heard cracking sounds, he realized that the floor was also rendered unstable from the C4 explosion now fragile enough to fall apart and that's just what it did. William fell through as the floor underneath him collapsed, fortunately William managed to hold on to the steel beam near him.

"Ah shite!" William cussed as he stared at the dark sea surface.

"Shikikan!" Takao shouted toward William.

Takao jumped toward him and grabbed William, he fell to the sea while screaming while being carried by Takao like a sack of potatoes. Takao landed on the water with William on her shoulder, the man was panting at the sheer thrill of what he just experienced. Sheffield followed along and also landed smoothly on the water, she went in front of them to check on The Siren ship girl.

"Whoa! That was exhilarating! You're alright Takao? Wait, you're carrying me!" William said to Takao.

"Yes, don't worry I'm quite capable to carry heavy things too!" Takao said while smiling a bit.

"I weight more than one hundred kilograms and you could land on the water smoothly?!" William asked with cocked eyebrows.

Energy bolts started flying toward them, Takao and Sheffield immediately maneuvered to dodge those flying hazard. William was being thrown around on Takao's shoulder, this won't do as him being carried like this by Takao hindered her combat capabilities and that's the last thing he wanted to do on this situation!

"That thing is relentless!" Takao said while gritting her teeth.

"Takao, drop me! You can't fight if you're carrying me!" William said to Takao.

"But-" Takao said in protest.

"Hey, I can swim. Don't worry!" William reassured her by smiling confidently.

"Hai shikikan!" Takao said to William.

And just like that, avoiding the next energy bolt she jumped and dropped William at the same time to the cold night sea. William immediately swim to the surface with half closed eyes, couldn't she dropped him more nicely? Then he remembered that there's not much he could do when he's on the water, that until he saw an Osprey flying over his head.

"Sir, this is Romeo Six. Do you need a pickup?" The pilot contacted William on the radio.

"Yeah. That sounds good!" William responded on the radio.

"Alright, we're coming in low and fast. Be ready" The pilot said to William on the radio.

"Be careful of that Siren, it could shoot you down in one shot!" William said to the pilot on the radio.

"We know the risk sir" The pilot responded on the radio.

The Osprey circled around as it's lowering its altitude just to five meters above the sea surface, a rope was thrown at him and William quickly grabbed it. After being pulled upwards, William rested on near the side hatch as the machine gunner on the door rained The Siren ship girl with lead coming from the door Gattling gun. William saw that Carabiniere and Ayanami have arrived on the scene, well that's comforting because he got five ship girls that will gangbang that Siren.

"Lock on!" Carabiniere said on the radio.

Launching torpedoes, the resulting salvo resulted in the ship girl had to avoid it and that put her in a kill zone. That's because now she's surrounded on all side by Azur Lane ship girls, no matter how you look at it this would the determining move to kill that ship girl. Carabiniere aimed her musket toward the ship girl and fired, the ship girl dodged it narrowly but that caused her to lose her balance.

"Ms. Takao!" Carabiniere said on the radio.

Takao moved in with a drawn katana, she's gliding forward while firing her cannons. The ship girl rushed forward to meet Takao straight on, Takao smiled in amusement, raised her katana high and performed downward swing which successfully tore two limbs of her rigging. The Siren ship girl aimed her cannons toward Takao who side stepped to the right and launched a torpedo at it, the hit caused a big explosion of water.

"Ayanami-chan!" Takao said on the radio.

Ayanami's turn as she dashed forward while firing her main gun and unleashing her torpedoes, the round impacted the ship girl but unfortunately her torpedo salvo missed because the girl still have enough agility to dodge. Little did she know that was what Ayanami's been aiming for as she dashed forward with her large sword, she swung diagonally and she managed to tore several of its arms rendering her port side vulnerable.

"Sheffield-san!" Ayanami said on the radio.

Sheffield stepped in while rapidly firing her handguns, firing so quickly that her handguns almost spewed bullet with the same rate as a machine gun. After suffering so much damage and added with the bullet barrages that half blinded her with explosions, the ship girl used her remaining limb cannons on her starboard side to try and fire at Sheffield. That's her mistake, as Sheffield purposely maneuver around her to make sure her blind spot was exposed.

"Madam Enterprise" Sheffield said on the radio.

"It's over!" Enterprise declared on the radio.

Enterprise released several arrows and those arrows transformed into a squadron of Avenger aircraft, the numerous aircraft relentlessly dropped their bombs on the ship girl. Multiple explosions followed by cannon fire by the others resounded for ten full seconds, after they were done with her they couldn't see any trace of the previous ship girl except for the remains of her rig which slowly sinking to the depth of the ocean.

…William sat on the side of the Osprey with mouth hanging, he just realized the full display of the ship girl's capabilities all under twenty seconds! Each of them were nimble, small target to hit and pack the same punch as a real ship…Holy shit, no wonder their identities were kept secret and the fact that they saw limited combat activity as they're not being deployed directly to fight on the frontline where regular division often murdered each other…William was about to contacted them, telling them a job well done before a portal suddenly opened in the place where that Siren ship girl was sunk.

"What the-" William said out loud.

"Here it comes!" Enterprise said on the radio.

"There's another one!" Takao said on the radio.

What appeared before them was a girl with long white hair, bright yellow eyes, petite stature, wearing black ship girl rig with yellow outlining complimented with tentacles and having cat ears like head band on her head…She appeared out of the portal and everyone immediately put her under gun point, she didn't show any attempt of hostile action as she stood there while observing her surroundings…Then, she smiled as if she just discovered something amusing.

"Hee…looks like I made the right decision to target these facilities" The Siren said out loud.

"You" Sheffield said while narrowing her eyes.

"Oh my, have we met?" The Siren asked Sheffield while smirking.

"Who's she?" Takao asked Sheffield.

"One of the Sirens that was plotting with Akagi and Kaga in the past" Sheffield said to Takao.

"Then that means…she's-" Takao widened her eyes.

"Hmm, I guess we have…Now, where is he?" The Siren asked them.

"What do you mean?" Enterprise asked The Siren.

"The man you called 'Commander' of course…I'm dying to meet him" The Siren asked while grinning.

"Why would you want to meet him? We wouldn't let you!" Carabiniere said while pointing her gun at her.

"Ah, but I mean no harm. I simply wish to talk…But since you offered to entertain me…" The Siren said while smirking…

William's spine tingled when he saw that The Siren stared at him from below, the ship girls are all prepared to attack. William have two choices to make, stood his ground and try to kill that girl or bail out while he can to prevent himself from being captured…Not going to lie, William got a bad feeling about that Siren and he really don't want to be captured by her and…Shit, he better retreat for now.

"…Pilot, bail us out" William said to the pilot on the radio.

"Sir?" The pilot asked William on the radio.

"…I got a bad feeling about this one" William said to the pilot.

"Girls…Bring him to me" The Siren said while smirking then she snapped her fingers.

Multiple portals appeared near their location, from those portals multiple Siren ship girls descended and readied their rigging. The sight was even enough to cause Enterprise to flinch in nervousness, one Siren could be hard to kill but now there's few more of them? William was right regarding his guts, this won't end well if they choose to attack that Siren. One of them looked like exactly The Siren that they just killed…The fight immediately commenced as Azur Lane ship girls fought with those Sirens, the sky were also littered with AA fire and the Osprey pilot had to do his utmost to dodge the projectiles.

"Anomaly in front of us, few of those portals!" The pilot reported on the radio.

"We're trapped?!" The sergeant asked on the radio.

"Incoming! Shit that's fuckton of AA!" One private said on the radio.

"Is that the previous Siren we kill? So, they are-" William said-

BOOM!

The cockpit of the V-22 Osprey they rode was blown to pieces from an accurate AA fire from one of Siren's ship girl below, the aircraft immediately went out of control and the passengers struggled to find anything they could hold on to. The aircraft rapidly losing altitude before it crash landed on the ocean while burning, the impact momentarily stopped the battle as Siren ship girls immediately headed for the crash site…Enterprise, Takao, Ayanami, Sheffield and Carabiniere stared with disbelieve written in their eyes. Their commander is aboard that aircraft, which were shot down and swarmed by The Sirens…

"COMANDANTE!" "SHIKIKAN!" "COMMANDER!" Carabiniere, Takao and Enterprise shouted in alarm.

* * *

**OOF! That's going to hurt a lot! Yeah, as I foresaw this whole battle would span for two chapters…Well, I have completed some part of it and I'll try to upload the continuity as fast as I can. Thanks for the review, follow and favorite dear readers, stay tuned for the continuation.**

**Aaron : Thank you for your kind words, I'm sure hope to continue this in the long future too. Yeah, my bad, I was careless in that matter so thanks for reminding me.**

**Until next time!**

**\- Dasmara**


	8. Battle of Terania Part 2

The Siren is relentless in their aggression, they keep appearing out of thin air and some even spawned inside their defensive perimeter. That caused the ship girls had to adjust their positioning and maneuver themselves to properly defend their objectives, seriously how many of those mass produced ships these aliens have? Hood used the binocular to properly look at the ongoing fight, she then saw several of those ships going around their sides.

"Ms. Shoukaku, Ms. Zuikaku, one battle group bearing 275 trying to flank us. Please take care of them" Hood said on the radio.

"You got it! Let's go, nee-sama!" Zuikaku said to Shoukaku on the radio.

…It's been more than fifteen minutes and there's no communication from William, Hood believed that William is capable handling himself on any combat situation but since he fought The Siren she's quite worried…Hood thought that Takao and Sheffield are more than enough as combat specialist who accompanied him, Takao specialized in close quarter combat while Sheffield is more proficient with ranged combat. He knew what he's doing when he selected the two of them, Hood should trust them that they could handle themselves out there…

"Ms. Hood! The destroyers is out of ammo, we'll need to resupply!" Z23 reported on the radio.

"I see. Ms. Nimi, oil rig number three is our resupply base so head here and rearm!" Hood said to Z23 on the radio.

"Understood ma'am!" Z23 said to Hood on the radio.

"Bel, I need you to cover for the destroyers while they're rearming! Spread out and make sure we covered enough water so none of them could pass through!" Hood ordered to Belfast on the radio.

"But Madam Hood, wouldn't that significantly reduced our overall firepower?" Belfast asked on the radio.

"We will make do with battleships barrages and fighter escorts, we will see which last longer…them or our ammunitions" Hood said to Belfast on the radio.

"Understood madam" Belfast said on the radio.

The fight has gone long enough that their destroyers started running out of ammo, Hood looked at the wristwatch on her left hand…They've been on the fight for forty minutes, Hood would need a way to end this fight but since this is defensive operation she couldn't send too many ship girls out of their defensive line. The destroyers could perform a raid at the enemy fleet supported by battleships and carriers, withering their fleet before finishing them off with encirclement…

It didn't take long for the destroyers to arrive at the third oil rig that they converted as field command center, the destroyers were in sorry state as they've took damage to their riggings and several part of their clothes were torn. Hood greeted them with a smile, the destroyers approached Vestal as she begun inspecting the destroyers for their damages. Few who took only several grazing hit were immediately cleared by Vestal, Javelin approached Vestal then said.

"Vestal-san, Laffey received a torpedo back there. Please inspect her" Javelin said to Vestal.

"Oh dear, Laffey let me inspect your rigging" Vestal said while approaching Laffey.

"Laffey is a-okay, Ms. Vestal" Laffey said to Vestal.

"You're a-okay if I say so!" Vestal said with stern smile on her face.

Hood smiled at the sight, she then looked at the destroyers as they're rearming themselves or being subjected to field repair by Vestal. Hood saw then realized that there's two destroyers missing from the group, Ayanami and Carabiniere. Where did the two of them go? The other destroyers seemingly didn't noticed that two of their comrades were gone.

"…Wait, Ms. Carabiniere and Ms. Ayanami is missing" Hood said out loud.

"Oh, both of them were requested by Herr Kommandant to help him. Apparently, they're fighting a Siren right now" Z23 said to Hood.

"A Siren? So, Ms. Prinz was right" Hood said with a hand on her chin.

William was on point too when he deduced that The Siren would be there, but in the end he had to request reinforcement to fight them…What did they fought there? If Hood had to guess, those that they faced would be Siren ship girls. Hood had few experiences when it concerned those things, she encountered several of them and they're quite powerful. She clasped her fingers together, may they be alright and successfully fought The Sirens so they can return…hopefully unharmed.

"Incoming fighter jets!" Tirpitz said on the radio.

"AA guns! Now!" Hood said on the radio.

Every ship girls who were present nearby immediately fired their AA guns, Siren jets multiple squadrons in size swarmed in from the newly arrived mass produced carriers. Missiles, bullets, all flew toward the ship girls who had to dodge while gunning at the jets. George gritted her teeth as her AA firing nonstop toward the jet swarm, she managed to down four out of five jets and she finished the last one with concentrated fire. The jet was damaged, flying with flames on its body before it maneuvered and slammed the third oil rig.

"They're ramming our oil rigs!?" George said in surprised tone on the radio.

"No! Attention everyone! Do not let The Siren jets get away! They're doing suicidal attack on our facilities!" Hood said on the radio.

"Sheesh! How many of those things they got?!" Nevada asked on the radio as she's firing her cannons.

"Yes, there's no end to them!" Kongou said on the radio while keep firing her AA guns.

"The more the merrier they said, but this is too much" Prinz said on the radio.

Everyone's busy fighting the jets that most of them lose their focus on the waterborne threats, Brooklyn, St. Louis and Helena were busy firing at the incoming ships. When the nearby ships were sunk because of their relentless fire, they saw that the large fleet has disappeared. The three of them cocked their eyebrows in confusion, how is that possible!? It makes sense if they used smokescreen, but they didn't!

"Wait, they disappeared?" Brooklyn asked out loud.

"No, they're jumping inside our perimeter!" Helena said with her eyes widened.

"Oh you've got to be kidding! That's cheating!" Cleveland said on the radio.

Helena could said that because there's portals opening inside their defensive perimeter and Siren's ships pouring in while firing their weapons, Brooklyn, Helena and St. Louis immediately turned around and started firing their cannons again. Cleveland gritted her teeth as she's fired her AA guns while aiming her cannons toward the enemy ships at the same time, damn that take some serious concentration! The cruiser group had to break their line because their enemies were now inside the perimeter, they turned tail as they started chasing after the enemy's main fleet.

"Everyone defend yourselves! How are you ladies doing with your resupply?" Hood asked the destroyers.

"We'll need few more minutes, ma'am!" Z23 said to Hood.

"Do it as fast as you can!" Hood said to Z23.

BANK!

Another Siren jet crashed on the rig, the jet further weakened the structure of the oil rig by hitting the supporting column that was previously already hit. The platform shook and everyone grabbed on to something for stability, they certainly don't want to be here when another jet hit this platform.

"Another hit!" Z23 said out loud.

"This platform won't hold on much longer! I suggest we evacuate soon, Ms. Hood!" Vestal said to Hood.

"Agreed!" Hood said to Vestal.

"…Wait, that's-" Warspite said on the radio.

"Torpedo salvo! Hood, get out of there!" George said to Hood on the radio.

Several Siren Destroyers appeared near them and didn't waste any time launching their torpedoes, the torpedoes hit the struts of the oil rigs and the entire platform shook heavily. The damage was catastrophic, the destroyers were finished with their rearmament and immediately jumped off the oil rig. Hood and Vestal jumped off the last, they landed on the water and immediately cleared the area alongside the other ship girls.

"Run! Get away from oil rig three!" Tirpitz said on the radio.

"It's collapsing!" Vestal said as she gliding as fast as she can.

"We lost an oil rig! Commander Johnson, one of the oil rig has fallen. Be ready for immediate enemy contact!" Hood said to Johnson on the radio.

"Damnit! Alright, thanks for the update Ms. Hood!" Johnson said on the radio.

"Dear Manjuus, please return to our base and refill the helicopter cargo bay with ammunition…We will need a lot more if we hoped to continue the fight" Hood said to The Manjuus on the radio.

She heard chirps on the radio and the helicopter they rode break off from their patrol route and head straight back to base…They lost their ammo supply when oil rig three was destroyed, they won't be getting out of this battle intact if they have to fight without supplies. Now that the main fleet is inside the perimeter, this would be the decisive fight. Short and determining, it seems everyone knew the deal as Azur Lane ship girls surrounded the entire main fleet and attacked it from all sides.

"Look at those ships heading for the islands, what are those?" Warspite asked on the radio.

"I don't know but we shouldn't let them touch the beaches! Fire at those boats!" Tirpitz said on the radio.

"…How chaotic" Hood commented as she glided toward the next oil rig.

"Its battlefield, what do you expect Ms. Hood?" Vestal said with bitter smile beside her.

"Right…Illustrious, what's your situation?" Hood asked Illustrious on the radio.

"Currently I'm heading back to your position, our rear line is secured" Illustrious said on the radio.

"Excellent-" Hood answered on the radio.

"Look at the fifth oil rig! It's just exploded!" Cleveland said on the radio.

Almost all stares turned toward the fifth oil rig which exploded and started to crumble down toward the sea, Hood widened her eyes at the prospect of William alongside Takao and Sheffield being caught in the explosion. Hood frantically reached for her radio, she then contacted William and the others who were involved on that fifth oil rig.

"What's going on!? Lord William, do you read me? Lord William!?" Hood asked on the radio.

.

…He can't breath, he can't see…William shook himself awakened as he's submerged within the crashed Osprey and he got no time to lose, he pried open the rear hatch of The Osprey. He's submerged and desperately need oxygen, the hatch opened and William quickly headed for the surface with bright orange light…Breaking the surface of the water, William took in the deepest breath he ever took on his life, damn it felt good to fill his lungs with air…even though there's hint of smoke on it.

When he looked around though, his eyes widened because around him there were few ship girls and none of them from Azur Lane side. He's about to dived in to escape were it not for something slithering around his throat, his eyes widened as it constricted upon his neck and lifted him up. William was faced with the previous girl who came out of the portal, staring at him while smirking and the tentacles on her riggings making sure he's choked.

"…Hmm, a normal man but quite large. Muscles are well built, there's sign of old and new injuries…At a glance, you looked like the perfect human male specimen. Perhaps, turning you into one of our soldier would be very beneficial" The girl said while smiling menacingly.

William tried to freed himself from the black tentacle firm grasp, when he realized that his hands won't do enough he grabbed on his machete from his back, unsheathed it and swung it down upon the tentacle. That failed however as another tentacle grabbed on his right hand, William didn't give up as he tried to use his left hand which was quickly grasped by another black tentacle.

"Oh, and persistent too. You will make a fine addition to our forces…But wait, did they called you Commander? Are you perhaps their leader on this timeline?" The girl asked William.

Grunting to freed himself, William opted to start kicking the tentacles but his feet were quickly bounded by the remaining tentacles. Desperation could be seen in his azure colored right eye, his limbs were locked and he starved for air as his face started to redden and the veins on his face could be seen surfacing due to the intense pressure he's in. Any seconds now and he could die due to asphyxiation, he's powerless against her.

"What's that? I can't hear you? Am I choking you too hard?" The girl said as she lighten the tentacle grasp on his neck.

William gasped for air, he coughed as his body tried to regulate itself to breathe normally. He felt himself breathing normally so he looked at the girl, she's staring at him with clear amusement on her yellow eyes. William narrowed his eyes before he tried to budge his hands away to no avail, what the hell is this thing made of?!

CRACK!

"GRAAAHHH!" William shouted loudly.

That tentacle just snapped his lower right arm by yanking and squeezing it tightly, the pain was unbearable and William deduced that his bones were probably either cracked or splintered by now. The machete that he carried fell to the sea…Motherfucker that hurts a lot! William gritted his teeth while enduring the painful sensation, he need to stay focus and quickly thought for a way out…Or maybe, this is his chance…He got one of their leader here, he should seek info while he could.

"I suppose that's better hmm? Say something now?" The girl asked William.

"Hah…Hah…Hah…Piss off!" William growled while saying that.

"Ah, the bold type. Even when he's choked, twisted and restrained, he still able to talk in this manner…Interesting" The girl said while smirking.

"…What do you want?!" William asked the girl.

"What do I want? I'm but simply an Observer, I watch things unfold…maybe add little twist to it, to keep it interesting" The girl replied while smiling.

…Observer? Is that some kind of rank? It's a position to be sure within whatever class system that The Siren has, but what does it signified? She appeared to be the commander of these Siren ship girls, could she be in the same position as he is? No, although it's possible, the position of the observer could signify something else…Is she a scientist? Was her duty is to observe how the war between the two of them goes? But if she mentioned her meddling to keep things interesting, does that mean she just wanted to be entertained?

"You're saying…all of this is…just for your entertainment?!" William asked the girl.

"Oh dear of course not. This is not for the sake of entertainment, it's for the sake of evolution" The girl answered William's question.

"Your evolution or our evolution!?" William said…he's been given a clue.

"It could go both ways to be honest" The girl replied while shrugging.

"…You're forcing us to adapt to your threat! What do you aim to achieve with that? An evolution, with all this effort? You surely have bigger things planned!" William said in accusing tone.

War and evolution, those two things on the same sentence doesn't sound good in the slightest…William could deduce with the fact that The Sirens wanted humanity to evolve more quickly than their natural progression allow them to, what's the greatest way to force one to adapt and evolve? Why yes, threaten to kill them of course. Look at their current world, look at what the higher ups planned on doing, Siren's plan is working and there's nothing humanity could do to stop it…If they want to survive, they got no choice but to adapt.

It's not that he isn't confident that humanity couldn't adapt, we've proven Mother Nature wrong for thousands of years despite several close calls. But if the instigator isn't Mother Nature but another species which could be more intelligent and technologically advanced than them, safe to say their entire future is now a blank canvas…There are two painters for the future of humanity's picture, humanity and Sirens. Who's the one who will be able to complete the paintings? That remains to be seen. Will the humanity let Sirens control their future evolution or say fuck that we make our own road?

"…Hahahahahahaha, you're an interesting one! Long have we fought with you, countless of 'commander' surfaced to meet us…But none of them were exactly like you, sure few are close enough…But you're the first one that I've sensed to be…different" Now what the hell is this bollocks!?

"You're not making any sense, stop talking in riddles! Guh!" William said before he grunted, the tentacle on his left leg was tightening.

"Now don't make me snap your leg…I'm sure to be their commander you must possess some degree of intellect…Answer my question, your answer will determine your fate" The girl said while smiling menacingly.

…He got no choice in this matter don't he? He couldn't do anything as long as he's under this girl's mercy, maybe he should play along for now and try to lure time for his ship girls to reach this place. William looked to his right side without moving his head, it seemed there's a battle raging over there between them…Damnit.

"War" The girl asked.

"…A form of negotiation" William answered.

"Rules" The girl asked.

"…An instrument for order" William answered.

"Children" The girl asked.

"…A hope for the future" William answered.

"Death" The girl asked.

"…An end of a journey" William answered.

"…Miracle" The girl asked.

"…Something impossible to happen" William answered.

"Yet your people believed in a miracle and look where that brought you, the cubes" The girl asked William.

"No…Those are no miracles, those are a field of knowledge…that we haven't properly master yet" William answered with straight face.

The Wisdom Cubes! Some (Majority) people believed that the cubes is a miracle item, even some called it The Pandora Box with the unlimited potential those cubes had. The Sirens one way or another knew about this, could they be using the same technology? If William had to guess, they are. Also, those boxes origins were unknown as William himself didn't know how they were produced except for the High Command.

Despite William's attempt to coax information from Lucas, the man reasoned that not even William should know about how and where the cubes came to this world…All he could get was the fact that High Command would give him if he needs it…Sketchy, but he'll let that slide for now because that was a top secret that only people within the top military leadership alongside some scientist working in secret knew about…

"…I see now. Ah, to think this provocation yield a result different than our prediction! It seems, you could open many paths of outcomes…You're not a singularity by any means, but you have a potential to make different choices than your other self…" The girl said while grinning.

"What are you talking about!?" William asked the girl.

"In due time, I'm sure you will understand…Now off you go. We will meet again, if you survive this one" The girl said to William.

Without any other warning, the girl folded her tentacles before throwing William off somewhere to the sea. He hit the water hard, his right arm was unresponsive and his left leg so he strived hard to get to the surface. Something pulled him up by the collar of his clothes and he saw the one who did, Takao was the one who pulled him up while Enterprise aimed her bow toward the ship girl.

"…Takao? Enterprise?" William asked out loud.

"To think the both of you are here…Ufufufufu, Code G and T would loathe this sight. Now, until we meet again, Commander" The girl said while smiling meaningfully.

"Oh no you don't!" Enterprise declared.

Enterprise released her bow strings and the arrow blitzed through the air toward the girl who summoned a portal out of nowhere, she entered it and the arrow missed. William realized that something's warm dripping on his left side of the face, he went and touch it to see blood…Oh, now he just realized that he might banged his head during the crash…The other ship girls also joined him, they were frowning upon seeing his condition.

"Tch, I missed!" Enterprise said while frowning.

"…It's one thing after another. So many information she dumped on me" William muttered to himself.

"They're not letting up shikikan, we should retreat" Takao suggested to William.

"Alright, we'll retreat from this place for now…Ayanami, Carabiniere, you head back first and make sure our path is clear" William said to the two girls.

They saluted at him and immediately glided back toward their defensive perimeter…This served as an important lesson to him, he can't face an enemy ship girl directly. He might need some method to combat them if he's forced to but William thought that he shouldn't engaged them if he encounter one in the future for now, not that he can do it in near future too seeing his dysfunctional left leg and his crippled right arm…

"…Could you please escort me back to the oil rigs?" William asked Takao.

"Will do, hold on" Takao said to William.

Takao tried to lift him up and William grunted in pain, Takao realized that he's hurt badly somewhere decided to immediately inspect her commander. His right arm were bent on the odd direction and his left leg was flailing as if it's been unhinged…William sensed that Takao was staring at him then looked at her, she frowned and tried to position him better on her arms and decided that piggybacking him would do the best.

"Shikikan, tell me if it hurts. We'll need to get you patched up" Takao said to William.

"Don't worry it's nothing fatal, though you're right that I need medical check-up...Enterprise, we need to go for now" William said to Enterprise.

"Yes commander! Takao go ahead of me, I will cover us with my bow!" Enterprise said to Takao.

They alongside Sheffield who was being quiet glided back toward their defensive line, along the way William witnessed that Siren's ship managed to get inside their defensive perimeter. How did that happened? But he scratched that thought for now because he had to hang on to Takao, she's gliding swiftly while evading several stray cannon rounds or pulse laser shot. William heard his radio producing static sounds before he heard someone's voice, it's Hood.

"Lord William! Are you alright!? We have tried contacting you for a while now, everyone near the fifth oil rig were disconnected from our radio channel!" Hood asked William on the radio.

"They probably used some kind of jammer, we're on our way back to you" William said to Hood on the radio.

"Then head toward oil rig two, oil rig three was destroyed by a close range torpedo salvo, there's nothing we could do" Hood said to William on the radio.

"I see…Johnson, you there?" William asked Johnson on the radio.

"Commander, you're alive! We lost contact with Romeo Six and Charlie Three! What happened!?" Johnson asked William on the radio.

"…We were shot down, I'm not sure if there's any survivor beside me…I'm sorry Johnson" William said with hesitant tone on the radio.

"…Copy that, we'll send Search and Rescue boat over there once the situation with these Sirens are resolved" Johnson said to William on the radio.

Arriving at oil rig number two, Enterprise remained on the water surface while providing whatever assistance she could against the main Siren's fleet alongside Sheffield who rejoined the fight. Takao stopped before setting her stance, she was making sure that William is secure so he won't fall off of her when she jumped to the top platform.

"Shikikan, hold on tight!" Takao said to William.

Takao propelled herself upwards, both her and William landed smoothly on top of the platform. Hood and Vestal smiled upon seeing them, that smile however turned into deep frown when both of them saw William's condition. Takao helped William walked while Hood also went forward and grabbed his left arm and shouldered him, Vestal went to nearby desk and clean its top.

"Oh commander look at you! Sit down over here!" Vestal said to William.

"…I'm glad to see you return despite your injuries, milord" Hood said to William.

Glad? Maybe, but her expression said she knew this is going to happen and that she's clearly dissatisfied with the outcome…Yeah, William got no comeback for that seeing Hood did warned him about this. Perhaps he should just…keep quiet and answer what's necessary? Sound like a plan. William sat on the table as Vestal inspected his injuries, he stared at Hood while offering his most convincing smile…He's going to face a scolding, might as well tried to disarm the one who will scold him.

"Yeah…good to be back Hood…how's the fight?" William said to Hood while smiling.

"…Not doing so well. We lost two oil rigs already and The Sirens are not giving up-" Hood said to William.

CRACK!

"OUCH! Vestal, that hurt!" William said to Vestal while frowning.

"There. Fixed it, next is your right shoulder. Hmm…this might hurt a bit" Vestal ignored William as she touched his right shoulder and-

CRACK!

"Argh! Oh man, a bit!?" William asked Vestal while gritting his teeth now.

"Now don't be such a child commander, you're in luck that your left leg is only dislocated! Your right arm was dislocated too but your lower arm would need to be examined with CT-scan! As for your head, you're lucky it's only a small wound! I will advise you to rest after this battle, you will need time to recover and working would only slow your recovery down! I will personally strapped you to bed if you ignore doctor's orders, commander" Vestal barraged him with her diagnoses.

And he could felt that Vestal wasn't joking about that threat in the end, William wasn't the one who'll let anyone threaten him but…Vestal was doing this for his own good, he himself knew and told that working after this fiasco would only slow down his recovery and he don't want to be confined on bed rest for possibly a week! He should be glad that among his subordinates there's people who genuinely cared for his wellbeing, even he assumed that Hood will side with Vestal no matter what…

"Right…Thanks Vestal" William said to Vestal while smiling.

"You're still going even though this is the possible outcome of you going to the frontline? You know you don't fight a human anymore, right?" Hood asked William with hands on her hips…

"Eh, job hazard. I know what I'm heading into" William gave her a wry smile.

"I guess nothing could change your mind about this?" Tread lightly William fucking blaze, minefield ahead…

"…Because of this, now I understand more about these Sirens. Powerful, manipulative and cunning…they're a foe who should not to be trifled with. If a mere observer is that powerful, what happened if their whole civilization invaded us…or even their champions?" William asked Hood…come on, take the bait…

William admitted it, he's bad at mind games and especially when it involved woman who's his opponent. But this subtle psychological skirmish with Hood, he had to win it because he don't want to get told off in front of Vestal and Takao, he preferred it if she did that back at base. Oh, why did William assumed that Hood would told him off about his blunder tonight? Well of course, she's his secretary, it's also her job to make sure he's doing his job well and after being with her for a while…William knew she's one tough lady who's not afraid to go against her commanding officer, even if she didn't looked like one.

"…Considering if they have one…It could be our end" Hood said as she looked to the side…Oh, god still shown mercy on him.

"Precisely. We need to quickly research a better way to handle their threats…But for now, let's focus on this battle. This is Commander William Blaze, ladies, I'm assuming command back from Hood. Status report" William said on the radio.

"Destroyer group here kommandant, we are raiding Sirens main fleet!" Z23 said to William on radio.

"Cruiser group here master, we are heavily engaged with The Sirens vanguard" Belfast reported on the radio.

"Battleship group here, we're still providing fire support!" Tirpitz said to William on radio.

"Copy all…Shoukaku, Zuikaku, Illustrious, what's your status?" William asked the carriers.

"Zuikaku and I were currently making our way back to the defensive perimeter, shikikan. We are previously engaged with one of those Siren ship girls" Shoukaku answered on the radio.

"Illustrious here, I've just arrived near your position milord. Going to assist the battleships now" Illustrious reported on the radio.

"Alright, everyone have checked in. Stand by for further orders" William said on the radio.

…William sensed something wrong, yeah his right temple was throbbing, he started to feel the pain on his lower right arm and god he felt nauseous. That's what you get when you survived an airplane crash, molested by tentacles then thrown to the ocean…That just sounded like a generic doujin plot, hell William sure that story exist somewhere within the internet.

"Vestal…Morphine please" William said while grimacing.

"Sure" Vestal said to William.

Vestal summoned small injection from a small bag she carried with her, she went to William's neck right side and injected morphine on him to numb the pain. Waiting for a bit to get the drug's working, William then slowly felt that the pain eased up and he could perform normally again. Though, he refrained from using his right hand because he know something is wrong there and he preferred not to damage it more than it already did.

"Ah…felt better now. When my adrenaline burst was done, the pain is quite excruciating" William said to Vestal.

"What happened to you? How did you receive these wounds?" Vestal asked William.

"Oh, shikikan was captured by a Siren leader. He was ensnared by her tentacles then thrown away to the sea…" Takao said that out loud.

…William stared at Takao before looking at Hood who was cocking her eyebrows and Vestal who facepalmed, the man got no choice but to sighed with the fact that he didn't need a reminder of what happened to him and he learned his lesson already. Maybe he should ask the science department if they have anything that could possibly combat these Sirens ship girls or leader directly, if they didn't have one then they could always make one.

"…At least I'm alive, so please stop staring at me like that and let's put that under the bridge for now" William said with half opened eyes.

"…If you say so. Anyway, what should we do?" Hood asked William.

"Now we wait until The Sirens make their next move. We got our defenses set up, it's either them or us" William said as he stood up.

Staring at the battlefield in front of him, he noticed that they already thinned the numbers of Siren's ship on their main fleet, but at a cost losing two oil rigs and damn that will significantly impacted the oil production this facility has. William was contemplating when he heard his phone ringing, it's Lena…Shit, William did told her of what was going on but didn't he said that he'll handle this? Maybe she just want to check up on him. William pressed to answer her call and Lena's face appeared on the screen, oh video chat.

"Hood, tell me if there's a situation that require my attention…Lena, what is it?" William answered her call.

"Will, I require situational report on the battle" Lena said to William.

"Don't you have an entire Azur Lane Battle Network to do that?" William asked Lena.

"Well apparently battle network live situation projection couldn't show us everything, there's a limit in what can we see from satellite broadcast. Details, I need it and fast" Lena said to William.

…Right, satellite positioning and the giant camera strapped on it would still has its drawbacks. For example, repositioning them would take a while and safe to say after the war there's not many of them left around Earth's geosynchronous orbit. There's a reason why William didn't use any sort of holographic projector to see the real time overlay map of today's battle, the satellite in the area was currently inoperable so their function is limited to communication relay only.

"Okay…For the opening, I think it's safe to say with the fact that these Sirens were led by someone that called herself Observant. But I think she's also under the command of something else…" William said to Lena.

"How did you know that?" Lena asked while scrutinized eyes.

"…Close quarter face to face encounter under the romantic envelope of black tentacles?" William said while grinning awkwardly.

"Hah…you were captured, why am I surprised? This is not the first time you pulled this trick" Lena said after facepalming and sighing at the same time.

"In my defense, I didn't staged it this time…She's extremely powerful, even I assume that our ship girls would have a hard time if they have to fight her. Their ship girls also made their appearance through the same portal we've encountered, they're as powerful as ours too…More bad news, The Sirens possess a humanoid species that may serve as their infantry. The image and brief video you've shown me indicate nothing of such other than brief flashes of pulse lasers, something which neither Azur Lane nor Crimson Axis has within our arsenal" William said to Lena.

That's exactly why, none of them could get any proof other than eyewitness account which are quite unreliable since none of the reports stayed consistent. But William got to experience that directly and he survived the encounter without being traumatized, plus he got more ace in the hole than a cheater on a game of black jack. William made sure that the small attachment at the size of pinky strapped on his combat goggles left side was still there, it's a small combat camera that has enough memory to record for two days straight…This footage would go viral within Azur Lane soon.

"You faced them in close quarters, what's your take on it?" Lena asked William with narrowed eyes.

"Don't let any of our infantry get too close to it, their strength is abnormal and capable cracking skulls or bones easily. Fortunately, our guns still work against them but…It'll take few more bullets to down them even with headshots, I had to put six 7.62mm against one's head before it died" William said to Lena with serious gaze.

"Well normal human would've died six times over, damnit. Will, giving our soldiers more ammo wouldn't solve it in the long run, what do you suggest?" Lena asked William.

"Get a new and more powerful gun" William answered while shrugging, heck it's obvious.

"Easier to said than done…But, let's talk about that later. Anything else?" Lena asked William while frowning.

"Oh yeah, I found something that could correlate with the disappearance cases. Our civilians were…captured and cocooned by black biological vines, anyone who we found being attached with those black vines undergoes changes such as snow white skin and uh, yellow reptilian eyes…Basic assumption? Either they're being used as biological material source for Siren or they were converted into something else…your pick?" William asked Lena while frowning.

"I'll go with them being converted into something else, this sound like something you would read in your spare time" Lena said to William while smiling somberly.

"Yeah, but seeing it directly is more disturbing, smell's awful too…Unfortunately, we can't collect direct evidence as the fifth oil rig was now at the bottom of the sea" William said to Lena.

"I see…Thanks Will, at least now I got something to report. I need you to hand any kind of evidence and report as soon as you could, if we have to act fast then those reports will have to reach us faster" Lena said to William.

"Right, I'll do that" William said while nodding his head.

"See you later Will" Lena said while smiling before the video call was ended.

Lena got what she need, the holographic screen on her desk disappeared…Lena sighed again, she had been quiet about it but she clearly know that William was injured during the engagement. Deep down inside she's glad that he survived but she's exasperated with the fact that he's being reckless about it, then she rethink that they're the one who gave him this task and they leave the method to accomplish the task up to him so of course this would be the end result…She massaged her left temple, this could get him killed one of these days…

Pursing her lips, Lena reached for the office phone and dialed the numbers she wanted…She waited a bit and the call went unanswered. She tried again and this time it was answered by the person on the other side of the phone, there's loud sounds of machinery as the person told Lena to wait for a bit so she could find quieter place. Finally, the person talked to Lena after waiting for half a minute.

"Yes Lena?" It was Diana Blaze.

"Mrs. Diana, I might need your help" Lena said to Diana.

"Oh dear, is there a problem? How can I help?" Diana asked Lena with concerned tone.

"I need something built, remember that thing you're prototyping for deployment within this decade?" Lena asked Diana.

"…Darling, that thing is still nothing but a blueprint. Even that still needs a lot of configuration, it will take time. Month's perhaps, that's only to complete the blueprint" Diana said to Lena then sighed.

"Yes I know that, that's why I'm relocating emergency funds from Gremlin Initiative, you're going to need it for the resources and man power" Lena said to Diana in serious tone.

"Dear heavens that's a lot of money! Why do you insist that this thing is built as soon as possible, Lena?" Diana asked with shocked tone.

"…I got a feeling we're going to need it in the near future" Lena simply said while grimacing.

Back on Terania, William grimaced at the sight he's seeing. The battle still raged ahead of him, but with Siren ship girls retreating Azur Lane shall not holding back against these ships inside their own perimeter. The concentrated fire successfully withered the ship's formation, one by one fell under their intense gunfire and torpedo salvos. The carriers are having easier time as they continuously bombing Siren's ships who can't move an inch without losing one of them, William noted that those ships weren't trying to pull back…They're pushing up against them…Oil rig two was being rushed by those ships.

"Oh god, they're coming here!" William said out loud.

"Hold on!" Takao said to William.

"We're getting off-" William didn't finished his sentence.

William was being grabbed by Takao as they alongside Hood and Vestal jumped off the second oil rig. The place they were on soon bombarded by pulse lasers and shells, William knew that they're aiming to cripple Azur Lane's base capabilities by trying to starve them for oil...So what to do next? Their only active rigs that's going last would be oil rig one and four, splitting the defensive force to defend those rigs or focused on eliminating these ships as fast they could?

Landing on the surface of the water, William had to rely on Takao who's giving him a piggyback. Hood was firing at the nearby ships while Vestal used her AA guns to prevent their jets from getting close to their position, but there's not many of them left…But things could change anytime because The Sirens could just sent another reinforcement from their portals, there's no telling how many ships have they prepared for this battle alone.

"Milord, should we go to rig one?" Hood asked William.

"Yeah, let's go there" William said to Hood.

"Blaze, this is Johnson. I've taken the liberty to call our second strike force, they're on route" Johnson said to William on the radio.

"Roger that Johnson, tell them to immediately attack those ships" William said to Johnson on the radio.

"Sure thing" Johnson said to William on the radio.

"Incoming!" Hood said out loud.

A Siren jet squadron found them and diving toward them while firing their weapons, the missile barrages forced them to dodged and maneuvered their way so quickly that William was having a tough time holding on just with his left hand. Then, a bomb dropped in front of Takao and the shockwave thrown her back alongside William…The man fell to the sea once more, he swim to the water's surface and saw that the jets were focusing on them…Wait…

William saw that oil rig two was still there, only the part where they were on was targeted…The Sirens are trying to kill him! Now William realized that those ships were following him, he was right as those ships are closing on him in the distance…William started to rack his brains, how is he going to use this to his advantage? He need a way…Ah, that's it…Someone pulled him out of the water once more, this time it's Hood who shouldered him on his left side.

"Milord, we best get going" Hood said to William.

"Those ships are trying to specifically kill me, Hood" William said to Hood.

"Are you certain about that?" Hood asked William while slightly frowning.

"Positive. There's a small island over there, let's see if my theory was correct…If these ships were automated, then we could use that to our advantage" William said to Hood.

"Understood milord" Hood said as they started cruising.

"Attention all ship girls on this channel. Head to grid H7 on your tactical map, we're going to lure these ships over there. Circle them around and finish them off!" William said on the radio.

"Kommandant, how are you going to do that?" Prinz asked William on the radio.

"I have a plan. Let's see if it works well" William simply replied on the radio.

"Understood master. Ladies, you've heard our commander!" Belfast said on the radio.

"Battleships, we got a target to rain with lead. Onwards!" Tirpitz said on the radio.

"Let's go everyone!" Z23 said on the radio.

Cruising to the island while being rained by shells, but eventually they succeeded in reaching a small island just few hundred meters in diameter. Hood, Vestal and Takao disengaged their riggings while William let go of himself from Hood, then they started running away from the beach as the ships behind them chased while firing their guns at them.

"This is like beach assault on Normandy but being hit by friendly support fire by accident! That's why you recon the water's depth level before commencing shelling while deploying your troops!" William said to himself as he's running.

"That sounded awfully specific!" Takao said beside William while running.

"Because I witnessed that happened back then!" William said while keep running.

Entering the forested area, the shelling didn't stop as The Sirens keep firing at their general direction. After entering deep enough on the forest, William didn't hear anymore falling shells or pulse lasers being fired at them…Finally, the group stop to catch their breath. Hood who still grabbed on the binocular then used it to look at the beach area, she gasped at what she's seeing…

"Milord…" Hood said in low tone.

"Yeah, what is it Hood?" William asked Hood.

Hood doesn't say anymore but she gave the binocular toward William, he took it and looked through it to the beach area and safe to say he freeze upon what he saw. Dozens of those creatures he saw back on that oil rig were there, how they got here was a mystery but he know that those creatures were currently following their footsteps on the sands…Goddamnit, William thought this would be over simply with Siren's fleet destroyed. Sighing, he noted that there's only two effective combatant on this group…

"We got no choice but to fight, we're taking the initiative…Hood, Takao, I want you two to obliterate anything within forward cone ninety degrees angle from our position" William said to both of them.

"We're going to fire blindly? Milord, that's reckless, we could hit our friends" Hood said to William.

"I know, keep your guns a little low from the horizon. That should prevent your shells from flying too high and perhaps hit those Siren ships on the beach" William said to Hood while smiling a bit.

"I can take care of them shikikan, my blade is ready" Takao said to William as she unsheathed her katana.

"I can't risk that approach, there's too many of them. If we let them get too close, we're dead…Fire barrage for a minute, then we're relocating" William said to Takao.

"…Understood" "Yes milord" Takao and Hood said to William.

They summoned their riggings again and this time they immediately unleashed bullet hell toward the direction William told them to fire, the creatures were soon greeted by shells on their location. Sands flew upwards as the shell exploded, trees exploded or fell down due to intense shots, the creatures screeched as they were being decimated and all the while Hood and Takao relentlessly fired their cannons blindly. When one minute has passed, what's left in front of them was a decimated forest, deformed beach area and dead black creatures with yellow blood spilling out of them…

"It worked" Hood said out loud.

"Good effect on target, let's move" William said to them.

But William forget that there's Siren jets in the air and it still hunting him, when they fired at those creatures they had to reveal their position and with the forest were gone he's an easy target. One jet dived toward the group, Vestal, Hood and Takao noticed and immediately fired their AA guns. That successfully forced the jet to pull up and leave, but before they could cheer in relief they saw something fall toward them. An unguided bomb, dropping down in full speed.

"SHIT! TAKE COVER!" William shouted as he dived to the ground.

BOOM!

.

…William groaned as he opened his eyes, his vision was blurry so he couldn't make out anything he was seeing…He then listened for the sounds around him, he heard low humming of a machine…He try to feel the air, it's cold enough…but he didn't smell anything other than sterilized room, wait those things only used on medical facilities. William opened his eyes and his vision was steadier than before, he looked at the white ceiling above him. He sat up despite the soreness of his body and inspected his surrounding, oh he got mixed feeling about what he saw.

He's undoubtedly back at their base, within the infirmary no less. He was on the bed, dressed on white shirt and black boxer, his left hand had IV attached on it and his right hand was on sling with a cast on it…heh, guess it's broken in the end. He felt wrappings around his head, possibly bandaged for his head trauma. He touched his left eye with his left hand, he didn't felt his eye patch there…William tried to move his legs, it's still working so yeah…He managed to survived with light injuries, this much William would still call light…

"You're awake" He heard voice from his left side.

"…Lena?" William asked as he turned to the left.

Sat beside him was Lena, she dressed on her uniform with a book on her hand. Lena smiled as she put the book down on the nightstand beside her…William sighed as he rested back on the bed, he felt at ease knowing that he's back on the base and Lena is here. Well, except if he dreamt any of this and he's actually dead on that island with his limbs torn and severed head…Shaking his head to clear those thoughts away, William looked at Lena once more.

"Don't worry, I'm no hallucination Will…How do you feel? Any pains?" Lena asked William, as if she read his mind.

"Should be, but I guess the painkiller is in overdrive or something…What happened? Did we won?" William asked Lena.

"I'm pleased to say, we are. Casualties among our forces is light while we dealt heavy blow to Siren's fleet, losing that many ships won't be good for them…We lost two oil rigs back on Terania, that will slow down production but not on critical levels-" Lena said to William while smiling.

"The girls, how are they?" William asked Lena without letting her finish.

"They're unharmed, save for minor cuts or bruises which already healed by now thanks to Ms. Vestal" Lena said to William.

Sighing in relief, William felt his body at ease with the news that everyone is alright. Does that mean Hood, Takao and Vestal survived the bomb better than him? Obviously…The ship girls could take more hits than just a bomb, they could even take cannon fire without being injured too much in the process. He looked at the window in front of him, he heard faint commotion of girls doing their daily activity…

"You're quite worried about them" Lena noted to William.

"Of course I am…If they're healthy, then that's good" William said out loud.

"…You're being reckless back there, Will" Lena said to William.

"Hood, you, why does everyone call that move reckless?" William asked Lena with cocked eyebrows.

"Because you choose to face The Sirens as infantry. I and by extension the girls, have no qualms when you fought humans but Sirens are another thing. You're one of the best we have that was certain, but not even that is enough when facing them. You should've stayed on the helicopter like the previous engagement which was far better than facing them directly on foot, in my opinion" Lena said with seriously gazing at him.

"Why? Because I'm a normal human?" William asked in snarky tone.

"Precisely because you're a NORMAL human…You need to remember your position Will, by rank you're supposed to be commanding from the rear even on the frontline. You were given special privilege if you face human combatants, not The Sirens…Please remember that, your life was even more invaluable than your time back on Task Force Nimbus" Lena said while frowning.

Yeah, frankly speaking Lena was right regarding that. William supposed to stay within a vehicle or stay in the back commanding the girls when facing a Siren from now on, as long there's no such thing that could enhance his combat capabilities then he should play it safe at the moment…It doesn't suit him, he worked best when commanding directly in the front…But yeah, he thought that he had to adapt with the situation because there's no way he'll let himself get killed anytime soon.

"Hah…Alright, I'll think it over" William said to Lena after sighing.

"I know you'll understand…Look, the girls were worried about you. For the past three days they've been constantly checking up on you, heck, even they took turns in staying here" Lena said while smiling.

"Three days huh…" William said…He's been unconscious that long.

"Hood already took care of any paperwork for you, that woman was quite dedicated to her job…Oh, look to your right" Lena said to William.

He felt bad about leaving all the paperwork to Hood, maybe he should reward her later…William looked to his right and saw several wrappings in various sizes. There's various cards attached on it too with writings of get well soon on it, there's their names too on the card…William smiled as he took one with his left hand, it's from Ayanami that wrote 'Get well soon shikikan, we miss you – Ayanami'…Aww, he's touched to say the least.

"Those get well soon gifts? They were from the girls who participated on the battle, they said that your strategy gave them the upper hand" Lena said to William.

"Well, I didn't do much to be honest" William said with bitter smile on his face.

"…If you say so, Will" Lena said while smiling slightly.

They heard a door opened and both Lena and William turned their heads toward the only entrance to the room, there stood three girls talking which stopped when they saw William looking back at them. William sat up as if to greet them, he then offered them his smile. He knew they were fine but seeing it directly beats being told about it every time…

"Hood, Belfast, Enterprise" William said to them while smiling.

"Milord, it is good to see you awake!" Hood said while smiling widely.

"Good morning master, I'm pleased to see you regained your consciousness" Belfast said while bowing her head while smiling.

"Commander, how do you feel?" Enterprise asked William while smiling.

"I'm fine, don't worry. Good to see you girls are fine" William said as he straighten his posture.

"Mrs. Lena, I'm here with the food you requested" Belfast said to Lena.

"Ah, breakfast, finally" Lena said as she clasped her hand.

Indeed, Belfast came in while carrying a tray with her. Lena took the plate with her as William put the gift back to stack on his right side, he heard Lena started to eat as she could be heard savoring the food in delight as if she hadn't ate for days.

"Wait, how long you've been here?" William asked Lena without looking.

"Just arrived here at dawn, work keep me for a bit from visiting you but here I am now" Lena said to William.

"Hmph, French toast for breakfast always got you raring in the morning" William said without looking at Lena.

"You know me so well" Lena said in soft tone.

"What can I say, we've spend ten years with each other" William said to Lena while looking at her.

…But that info put the time on halt for the three other girls on the room, that's the first time they heard about that piece of information. If Lena and William have known each other for ten years, then that means they already know each other even before their time working together…If William is currently twenty six years old, then that means they known each other since high school…

"…Ten years?" Hood asked Lena.

"Oh, I haven't told you? Will and I met for the first time back in high school" Lena said to Hood while smirking.

"""Eh?!""" Hood, Belfast and Enterprise said out loud.

"…Damn, I'm getting hungry watching you eat. Smells good too" William said to Lena while frowning.

"Why, you want this? Do you want me to feed you?" Lena asked William while smirking and showing the piece of toast on her fork.

"Stop teasing me woman and do share it if you want to!" William said while scowling.

"Fufu, too bad!" Lena said then ate the toast on her fork.

"Aww, really? That's low blow! I'm hungry!" William said to Lena while frowning.

"Don't worry master, I already prepared another meal for you. I shall grab it from the pantry" Belfast said while smiling.

"And that's why I didn't share it" Lena said while shrugging.

"How did you know I'll be awake today?" William asked Belfast with his eyes widened.

"Just call it Maid's Intuition" Belfast said as she leave the room.

"…She's scary sometimes" William muttered to himself.

Belfast came back around two minutes later carrying a tray with a bowl of hot chicken porridge on it, damn the smell alone already got William's mouth to salivating and his stomach growl as it demanded to be feed. William looked down then looked at Belfast whose smiling smugly while staring at him with half opened eyes when she heard his stomach growling…Man, that sadistic stare was-. No no no, stay focus! He was about to reach for the bowl when he realized…Yeah, his right hand busted and he's not left handed…

"So…who wants to feed him?" Lena suddenly asked out loud.

"I'm not some pet, Lena! Context!" William said while frowning a bit.

"You're the one who makes it weird! Because I have to prepare for my presentation, I will have to sit this one out" Lena said as she put the empty plate on the nightstand.

"Presentation?" William cocked his eyebrows.

"You and Lucas talked about it already, I'm sure you know of what I'm going to be presenting today didn't you?" Lena asked William with hands on her hip.

…Oh yeah, that aspect about ship girl's biology. Guess Lucas finally told her that and asked her to be the one who will present this knowledge to the ship girls? If anyone asked why was she's the chosen one? First, she's a fellow woman. Second, she already knew several of the ship girls on this base so she's a familiar face. Third, she did know a lot of things regarding biology, she basically aced her biology class back at school.

"Ah…yeah, I just remembered that" William said to Lena.

"Next time, do give me a head's up will you?" Lena said to William while staring with half closed eyes.

"Next time for sure" William said while cringing, he knew she's a bit mad regarding the secrecy.

"As his trusted leader of the first fleet, I'll be the one to feed him" Enterprise suddenly said out loud.

"As his maid who served him, I believe it's my duty to see to my master's health" Belfast said with calm tone out loud.

"As his personal secretary, nursing him back to health should be handled by me" Hood said out loud while smiling.

"Great, it's on" Lena clapped her hands once as she stood up.

"You're doing this on purpose!" William said to Lena with exasperated look.

"I did, consider it a little payback. Good luck Will~" Lena said, waving and leaving the room at the same time.

"For what?! Oh you conniving-" The door was shut by Lena.

"Who are you going to choose milord? Belfast, Enterprise or me?" Hood asked William while smiling.

"…Damn you Lena…Fine, if comes to this then I choose-" William said with serious face.

…Lena exited the infirmary building while smiling amusedly at the carnage she just put William into, that's what he got for making her worry. Walking away from the building she stumbled upon a blonde wearing Ironblood's clothes, that person she saw is Bismarck herself and she's heading to the infirmary. She carried a bag with her which Lena deduced that must be some kind of get well soon gift to her commander, Lena approached Bismarck as she finally noticed her.

"Ah, Admiral Lena" Bismarck said to Lena.

"Ms. Bismarck" Lena said while smiling.

"I heard some commotion, is he awake?" Bismarck asked Lena.

"Yes he did and he'll be fine" Lena said as she smiled at Bismarck.

"I see…that's relieving" Bismarck also smiled upon hearing the news.

"Is there something you need with him?" Lena asked Bismarck.

"No, I just want to check on him but if he's currently occupied then I could do so later" Bismarck said to Lena.

"Walk with me then, I could use the company" Lena said then started walking.

Bismarck thought for a bit and she surely don't want to interrupt her commander right now if he's busy, she opted to walk with Lena for a while…Bismarck have only talk to Lena once when they were having breakfast on her first visit to this base, Lena and her engaged in long talks about many things regarding Azur Lane and Crimson Axis…Bismarck found that Lena is a lot more relatable sometimes in her ways of warfare, she didn't expect that from someone within Azur Lane.

"…I heard that you're here to give us a presentation. I saw the list of attendee, why was it consisted mostly by leaders and…ahem, mature ladies?" Bismarck asked Lena.

"Why do you think?" Lena asked back with a smile on her face.

"Does your presentation contains knowledge that the little girls shouldn't have?" Bismarck said her assumption.

"At moment? Yes, you could say that…But spoiling it to you here wouldn't be good, so you have to attend that presentation if you're interested" Lena said to Bismarck.

"I'm planning to, Admiral" Bismarck said while slightly smiling.

"Great, the more the merrier" Lena said while looking at Bismarck.

"The entire base were shocked when we learned that kommandant was the only one who were severely injured during the battle, most of us believed that he's strong enough to face The Sirens" Bismarck said out loud.

Yes, that's when the illusion is shattered. Back then, they witnessed that William is capable fighting Zuikaku directly but they didn't account that it's just a training and both of them holding back from killing each other…Out there, The Sirens gave zero fucks about it and that's how he got injured. Bismarck heard that he survived encounters against their infantries but succumb to their vehicles firepower…

"…He's a normal human Ms. Bismarck, there's nothing a normal human can do when he had to fought enemy ships or jets without any enhancement…He fought their infantries well, winning one on one duel with them easily. But that's as far as he could go against them, he would never be able to fight a ship or a jet like you girls do" Lena said with a little frown on her lips.

"I understand that…The previous battle shown us another example that there's a limit a normal human can do in this fight against them, it only strengthen our resolve to fight them…at least within The Ironbloods" Bismarck said to Lena.

"Is that so, then that's good…Plans already being made to counteract these disadvantages but it'll take time, so you girls have to fight on a bit longer with little support" Lena said to Bismarck.

"Ja…It seems that would be the case" Bismarck said while nodding her head.

The stroll they took brought them to Akashi's shop where the little green girl with cat ears could be seen manning the store, she looked bored and her ears perked up when she saw Lena and Bismarck walking in front of the store. Lena herself stopped a bit when she saw Akashi, she got inside the shop and looked around for a bit…Akashi herself got a prediction on what she wanted to buy, but better asked it to confirm her suspicion.

"Oh, why if it isn't The Admiral. Looking for anything to buy nya?" Akashi asked Lena.

"Ms. Akashi, not at the moment…But just in case, do you have any gift wraps?" Lena asked Akashi.

"Of course I do nya, those were hot deals for two days seeing many girls want to give shikikan a get well soon gift. Do you also want to give one nya?" Akashi asked Lena, she was right.

"Later when he's not so occupied, I'll be here to buy that later on the afternoon" Lena said while smiling a bit.

"Alright if you say so nya, I'll reserve one for ya" Akashi said to Lena.

"Thanks…Oh, I left my phone back there. Let's grab it a bit" Lena said to Bismarck.

"Sure. Later Akashi" Bismarck said to Akashi.

"Hai Bismwack-sama" Akashi said to Bismarck.

Lena and Bismarck head back to the infirmary and opened the door, the sight was enough to make the two of them stunned. There on the bed was William which currently bare chested, being wiped by wet towel which was held by Belfast on his right side. Enterprise sat near his feet massaging it alternating between his thighs and lower legs, she massaged it with enough strength to even produce cracking sounds on some of his joints. Hood sat on his left side while holding a bowl of chicken porridge, she spoon fed him while smiling…the man himself looked as if he's in bliss, munching warm food while being cleaned and massaged all by three beautiful ladies.

The sight was unexpected by Lena, she had thought that William would've been troubled to choose between the three of them. But the bastard managed to turn the tables on her as he choose the three of them to take care of him, ingenious but dastardly maneuver that could only be pulled by those men who weren't beta male anime protagonist. Bismarck was left stunned and confused, is this what caused the ruckus she heard before?!

"…What the hell?!" Lena said out loud.

"Oh, hi Lena. You left something?" William asked as if nothing happened.

"My phone and how did it come to this?!" Lena asked William while folding her arms.

"You didn't specify that they could only feed me, I'm using all the resources given to provide myself with comfort…as it turns out, they agreed with me. See? A good commander must prevent infighting between his subordinates, just like you said once~" William said while grinning smugly.

And he used her own words against her, for fuck sake Will. Lena remembered that during the early days when Task Force Nimbus being operational there's often disagreement or even rowdy fights between them, because they're basically elite task force that were joint together from multiple branch and nations of course it'll result to that. Lena who at the time still held the rank Rear Admiral advised William with that words he just used against her, technically that could also be applied on this situation.

"…Well played you greedy motherfucker" Lena said while scowling.

"Ooh, Lena, you cuss like a sailor!" William looked shocked.

"Basic training did wonders to me Will" Lena said while grinning.

"Sometimes I forget that you're no longer that innocent shy girl carrying laptop everywhere during high school, how time flies" William said to Lena while grinning.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, and you no longer that geek I found hidden on the deepest corner of library with that dorky glasses on you, how time flies~" Lena said back after rolling her eyes and smiling.

"Touché" William said while smiling wryly.

"You two are like old married couple" Bismarck commented from behind.

"Ah Ms. Bismarck, good morning. Taking a stroll with the admiral?" William asked Bismarck.

"She want to come here, but seeing you're busy she opted to wait" Lena said, Bismarck nodded in affirmation.

"I see…Well in any case, how's the preparation?" William asked Lena.

"Yeah I'm ready now, I'll be waiting for go time on the auditorium" Lena said as she took her phone on the nightstand.

"Good, break a leg" William said while nodding his head.

"Breaking my leg then. Later~" Lena said while waving then exited the room.

The atmosphere was tensed for few seconds after Bismarck said those words, Hood, Enterprise and Belfast knew that the topic was something either William nor Lena wanted to talk about and Bismarck who doesn't know about it make that remark. All four of them noticed that when Bismarck said that both William and Lena flinched at the same time which must've had some impact on them…Regardless of that, the two of them purposely avoided the topic with William asking Bismarck that question and Lena follows along, both of them are in sync even without communicating directly with each other.

"Kommandant. Are you fine with Ironblood's beer as your get well soon gift?" Bismarck asked William while showing the bag on her hand.

"You know, Ironblood's beer is the kicker you need when you got to cut loose. But I'm not sure Vestal would appreciate her patient drinking" William said while cringing at the thought.

"I think it's fine" Enterprise said to them.

"Oh yeah, she's your caretaker Enterprise so you would know her the best-" William said that to Enterprise.

"As long she didn't found out" Enterprise said while looking to the side…

"…I take that back. But oh well, what is life without risk eh? Belfast, could you please grab several glasses? Let's drink it together" William said to Belfast.

"Understood master" Belfast said as she finished wiping him with wet towel.

"Milord, this is the last one. Open wide~" Hood said while smiling.

William opened his mouth and Hood feed him the last bit of the chicken porridge, ah this is bliss. His body is clean, his legs felt better and his stomach is full so it's all right in the world currently. Never he had thought that he would ended up like this in the past, guess he'll have to appreciate what happened to him despite the headache and bodily harm the past events gave him…Bismarck thought of him as a hardened veteran who got the best and the worst out of the previous war, seeing him capable acting like teenager such as now bewildered her to be honest.

"There, now your tummy has something in it" Hood said as she put the bowl down on the nightstand.

"Thanks Hood" William said to Hood.

"…I see you like being pampered like this, kommandant" Bismarck said, unsure what to make of the sight.

"What can I say? There's no straight men disliked being pampered by three beautiful girls, Ms. Bismarck" William said while smiling.

"…I guess that might be the case" Bismarck said while shrugging.

.

…Back at Azur Lane Central Headquarters, Lucas or known as Azur Lane High Commander was seated on relaxed position on his office chair with his feet on top of his desk. Listening to Sabaton, he was enjoying the music while drinking a bottle of Jack Daniels. Ah, now that he didn't have paperwork duty for the first time in weeks he could finally relax a bit before having to go meet Crimson Axis Chairman who planned to visit the headquarters at noon. That, until his phone ring and he knew it means trouble.

"Ye-" Lucas didn't get a chance to say hello.

"Lucas! I agreed with the fact to be the one presenting this to the girls, but are you seriously going to put this material as one of the things I have to told them?!" Lena was livid at him to say the least.

"It's the truth Lena, that's the main point of doing all of this in the first place!" Lucas said as he put his feet down.

"But, you can't be serious about this plan aren't you? This is unheard off before!" Lena was half shouting by this time.

"I've talked with William about the possibility, he doesn't seem to mind" Lucas said in easygoing manner.

"…He didn't?" Lena was taken aback by the news.

"He didn't. He's a visionaire, he knew we're going with this route sooner or later. But to do that, it will take time and the necessary effort. Doing this would cemented the relationships between him and the girls" Lucas reasoned with Lena.

"…Hah…I know this will happen somewhat, but isn't this too early? What if it fails?" Lena asked Lucas.

"…If you felt so, then feel free to omit that part from the rest of your presentation today" Lucas said after sighing.

"Huh, you gave me the liberty to do that?" Lena asked Lucas in confused tone.

"It's your presentation, you're free to do so…But take heed Lena, if this experimentation succeeded then you'll have no choice but to explain that part to them too" Lucas said as he looked to the ceiling.

"…I understand. But seeing the situation now, I won't talk about this" Lena said in firm tone.

"Very well then…You're the one directly responsible with the base development alongside William, I'll let you two handle it. But I hope my directive is clear?" Lucas asked Lena also in firm tone.

"Crystal" Lena simply said to Lucas.

"Good. Now do your best" Lucas said while smiling a bit.

"Thank you sir" Lena said to Lucas.

Lucas ended the call, he huffed in exasperation at the difficulty in managing international armed forces especially the special division filled with ship girls…Seeing that he won't accomplish anything and the fact that his tranquility was disturbed by that phone call, Lucas stood up from his seat as he looked outside to admire the fortress known as Azur Lane Central Headquarters. Lucas hardened his gaze as he looked back to his phone and saw a message came from the Research and Development division, alongside the message attached a blueprint which he immediately opened…

"…They work fast huh? I guess this would mean a green light for phase one of Plan Bellator Luminis" Lucas said while smiling in satisfaction.

* * *

**Boi, that's a wrap for now. Thank you for the follow, favorite and review dear readers I never get bored saying that since that means a lot to me…Anyway, that's a wrap for the battle, a bit shorter than the previous one but oh well I have to cut it short due to several reasons. Hopefully the next one could come out soon, been a busy with real life stuff so hope that won't hinder me from writing.**

**Until next time**

**\- Dasmara**


	9. Pandora Box?

…Helena McAllen, you survived a war, you successfully led some of the best men in the history of Azur Lane military during the said war, you prevent a flanking maneuver through the north-pole where Eagle Union is vulnerable or the war might end with Azur Lane losing the fight…She did all that so a fucking presentation shouldn't make her nervous this much, but alas that was the case as Lena thought that way but still had to sit down and collected herself when she saw the ship girls slowly filling the auditorium style room on the campus academy.

Considered to be the youngest admiral in the history, she shouldn't have problems with this as she even went toe to toe arguing with a general almost thirty years her senior in the past…Alright, Lena decided to steel herself which resulted some girls who sat in front of her whimpered and shrunk on their seat. When Lena saw that, she immediately broke into apologetic smile and looked to the side because she forgot that her stern face could rivaled William's own.

"Admiral Lena, a word if I may" Lena looked to the side and saw Wales.

"Yes Ms. Wales, is there something you need?" Lena asked Wales.

"Would the presentation take long? We would like to conduct a training exercise as soon as the presentation was done" Wales asked Lena.

"I don't think it would take that long, but we'll see…Looks like everyone are here, we can begin immediately" Lena said to Wales.

Bismarck, Enterprise, Hood and Belfast arrived on the room and they're the last attendee missing. As soon as they sat down, Lena walked toward the podium and faced the girls…Okay, she will have to do this but how should she act? Like her usual self or her professional demeanor? When in doubt, wing it. Might as well mixed in both of her demeanor…Lena called it, Casual Professionalism.

"Morning ladies. For those of you who don't know me yet, my name is Helena McAllen and I'm Commander William's superior and supervisor. Since I don't want you to confuse me with Ms. Helena over there, please call me Lena from now on…Today, I'm here to present you the knowledge regarding our lab analysis result regarding your physiology. Please listen well, this is very important" Lena said out loud.

She presented the graph and pictures regarding the difference between ship girls and normal human, she didn't go too far into detail but not shallow enough to warrant a question. Basically, ship girls have the same structure as normal humans but they are tougher in some aspect such as they could use one hundred percent human body's strength. Normal human could only use around thirty or forty percent of their natural body strength to avoid injuries, this failsafe is there to keep us from killing ourselves accidentally.

Ship girls doesn't have this restriction and their body is tough enough to handle that power so that explained their strength, reflexes and somehow it was further enhanced whenever they equipped their rigging. How did they avoid laser beam? How they were tough enough to survive bombs and torpedoes that would sink normal ships? Basically, when they equipped their rigging they're even stronger than their usual self. But, their immune system is the same as normal human…So they could still get sick if they're exposed to disease, illness or having bad lifestyle.

Also, they heal physical wound faster than average human. But that doesn't reflect on their psychological state, mind is fragile things and not even scientific data could gauge it correctly. Lena knew each and everyone have their own limits, their own ways of thinking and ship girls are no exception. That's why there's so many personality within this base, sure some fights happened now and then but that didn't cause any kind of huge conflict…How they have come far since the war two years ago.

"Alright, the next part is…Oh…Well, before we start this last part of the presentation I have a question to ask. How babies are made?" Lena bluntly asked everyone.

The question caught the audience off guard, some thought hard on the question, some looked clueless and some obviously know how but choose not to answer Lena's question…Just from this scene alone, Lena could identify those who were knowledgeable regarding the matters of reproduction and those who were innocent. Lena saw someone raised their hand on the audience seat, it was Enterprise who raised her hand.

"Yes Ms. Enterprise?" Lena asked Enterprise.

"Babies are made when you kissed, right?" Enterprise answered in confident tone.

"…You're not completely wrong theoretically speaking but I can't believe you're that innocent! Ms. Vestal, did you not teach her how babies are made?!" Lena asked Vestal with cocked eyebrows.

"…I admit I've been a bit neglecting to explain that…part" Vestal said while looking to the side while sheepishly grinning.

"Hah…Alright, anyone else? Yes Ms. Zuikaku?" Lena asked Zuikaku.

"They came from a special flower that you planted when you wished to have one!" Zuikaku said out loud.

"No it doesn't work like that Ms. Zuikaku…Ugh god, anyone else?!" Lena asked again to the audience.

"Didn't they came suddenly if you wished hard enough? Usually on a basket on your front door?" Someone said out loud.

"No that's not how-. Oh my dear fucking god, these girls are that innocent!" Lena said as she looked at them in shock.

She just remembered that they didn't grow up like a normal human! Sex education was not something they received since they don't even went to school before they arrived on this base! Lena found herself in a dire state, she need to explain reproduction process to completely innocent girls without making them misunderstood on how it is supposed to be done…Oh god, she need to be a demon on this one. Now she understand how difficult it is for her home room teacher to teach sex education back on high school, her teacher have the necessary video at the time…Lena doesn't and that thing is quite hard to find…

"…Fine, who knows what sex is!?" Lena asked out loud to the audience.

Several hands raised upwards on the audience seats, let's see who…Belfast, Edinburgh, Prinz, Sheffield, Hood, Illustrious, St. Louis, Brooklyn, Vestal, Ranger, Langley, Shoukaku, Akashi, Atago, King George V, Prince of Wales, Lexington, Bismarck, Z23, Koln, Konigsberg, Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, Graf Zeppelin, Zara, Carabiniere…Less than fifty percent of today's audience?! Looks like Lena indeed have to do this in surefire way.

"…Why am I not surprised?" Lena sighed as she facepalmed.

"Admiral Lena, I think it would be better for you to explain from the start" Bismarck suggested to Lena.

"Very well then…Do I connected to this base's Wi-Fi? Good, don't want to get charged for this one" Lena said as she went back to her laptop.

What method could kill two birds with one AA cannon fire for this problem she's facing now? Exactly, show the harsh truth. Lena won't sugar coat this presentation, surgical, on point, no bullshit given is how she faced her battles and unfortunately she considered this presentation as one…So she went to her browser app, opened a site which got several girls to widen their eyes and then clicked on a video.

"I want you girls to take a look at this video and watch this until its finish before I will get to my main point" Lena said while her face looking serious.

Most of the audience were excited to watch something, the rest who knows what this is about have mixed reaction. Those like Bismarck, Belfast, Hood, Sheffield and Shoukaku have their best poker face plastered. Those like Vestal, Carabiniere, Brooklyn, Illustrious, Koln, Prince of Wales and King George V have their cheeks reddening by the minute. The rest? They either looked intrigued or grinning, go figure out who they are.

The movie only runs for fifteen minutes, that's standard for this kind of clip. What is this? It's porn for god sake! Lena purposely opened a porn site just to prove her point…she could be extreme sometimes. The movie started and it's the collaboration one between Eagle Union and Sakura Empire, the plot is very simple one. There's this teacher who teach a lone male student for his supplementary class, she dressed with that business like teacher outfit with the vest, pencil skirt, heels…One thing though, her boobs is massive.

"…Hey isn't this just a short movie?" Javelin asked on the audience seat.

"Is this soap opera?" Myokou asked on the audience seat.

"No, looks like a regular drama" Haruna said on the audience seat.

"Wait, isn't that Hitomi Tanaka and Johnny Sins? How the-" Aoba said on the audience seat.

"Shush! Be quiet!" Someone said on the audience seat.

One thing led to another, the student dropped his eraser and the teacher picked it up. She leaned down and in process give him a view of her cleavage. He crotch grown a big bulge, the teacher noticed, some conversation happened before suddenly the teacher got on his crotch and started opening the zip on the student's pants…by now most of the audience were too engrossed on the movie with blushing cheeks which only intensify when they saw a big meaty stick on screen, their blush grew when they saw what the female teacher did with her mouth to that stick while cocking it like she cocked a pump action shotgun…repeatedly.

Then finally most of them got their face completely red as they witnessed what happened next, the teacher took off her clothes, used her two buoys to squeezed the stick between it, the male student then took the teacher's body, laid her above the table before doing some 'bumping' with her. Moaning and meat slapping sounds filled the auditorium room, Lena herself still wearing her firm mask as she witnessed and gauge the reaction of her audience…She would've said 'amused' as her reaction but some part of her felt guilt at destroying someone's innocence. Oh well, better sooner than later, this is important for them too. The 'climax' of the video happened and then the video ended, Lena exited the browser app and she stared back at the audience who were-

"…Holy mother of-" Baltimore said with gaping mouth and red cheeks.

"Awawawawawawa!" Queen Elizabeth face was completely red as she closed her eyes.

"T-T-T-That was l-l-lewd!" Warspite said beside Queen Elizabeth with flaming cheeks.

"…Oh my god, that was…" Enterprise said with her whole face being red.

"N-N-N-Nee-sama! W-What did we just watch?!" Zuikaku asked Shoukaku with massive blush on her.

"That's how babies are made, Zuikaku. Looks like that book you read is wrong after all~" Shoukaku said while smiling at Zuikaku.

"My, the actress is quite talented isn't she?" Prinz commented while smiling smugly.

"Yes I think so. Oh dear, Helena, are you okay?" St. Louis asked Helena who sat beside her.

"L-Lou…I feel…dizzy" Helena said as she hid her face on St. Louis left shoulder.

"Whoa big sis Cleveland, your whole face is red!" Columbia said out loud.

"Oh shut up!" Cleveland said with her whole face being flaming red.

"Sis? You missed half the show you know?" Rodney said to Nelson.

"Rodney! How can you be so calm when watching…t-that!?" Nelson asked with bright red face and in outraged tone.

"It is a necessary knowledge sis. Come on, that wasn't so bad you know?" Rodney reasoned while smiling so innocently…

"Oh…so you can use your breast to do that" Zara commented while looking at her breast.

"Nagato-sama?!" Souryuu asked Nagato who leaned on her.

"A-Allow me to…rest a bit" Nagato said as she leaned with red cheeks.

"H-H-How shameless!" Takao said out loud while blushing.

"Oh nee-sama, that was a pretty mediocre one you know? BDSM however, that's…ufufufufufu" Atago said before giggling to herself.

"Laffey, did you see that!? That was-" Javelin said to Laffey.

"Laffey is asleep Javelin" Ayanami said to Javelin.

"W-Well…I think that get the point across good enough" Z23 said while looking to the side with red cheeks.

"Somebody please get me a glass of water! Cygnet passed out!" Kent said out loud.

"…Holy shit" Phoenix said with widened eyes.

"Tirpitz?" Bismarck asked to Tirpitz who sat beside her.

"D-Don't worry about me schwester Bismarck, I'll b-be fine in a bit…" Tirpitz said while covering her face with her cap.

"K-Kongou nee-sama?" Haruna asked Kongou who was unresponsive.

"…I think she will need some time to recover" Hiei said to Haruna.

Chaos was one of the way to describe the situation on the auditorium right now, the girls were noisy due to the outrageous video they just watched. There are those who remained composed as they weren't really bothered by what they saw, especially Sheffield who still managed to keep her poker face all the way to the end of the video. Lena then did several tweaks on the presentation file with images needed from the browser, time to continue despite more than half of the audience being traumatized by this shock and awe tactics.

"Apologize for the blunt method but I believe mere power point presentation won't cut that thickness of innocence level, I need to show you the real deal…That activity you just witnessed is called sex, that's how you make babies ladies. Now…I will explain in theory how that works" Lena said out loud to the audience.

So begins the average sex education class, now that the girls have directly witnessed the act as observation it's time to learn the theory. Lena expertly named the organs, what it's function, how impregnation works and even went so far to provide picture example on x-ray view on how it works internally…Yikes, this is what Lena was known for and how she managed to climb up the ranks so quickly. Precision and lethality, she spare no quarter in explaining all of this and won't bother using subtlety in her explanation…Now, it's question time!

"W-W-Will that hurt?" Cleveland asked Lena while blushing and stammering.

"For the first time, yes. But it shouldn't be long before the pain to subside, you will then feel…pleasure" Lena said to Cleveland while smiling.

"Do you have experience with…sex, Mrs. Lena?" Warspite asked Lena.

"Yes" Lena simply answered.

"Do you have a child?" Zuikaku asked Lena.

"Not yet and that's because there's various ways to have sex without having to make babies" Lena explained to Zuikaku.

That sent another news flash to the girls who just learned about this, you can do sex as more than reproductive means? You could do that for pleasure only? Most of them saw how enjoyable it is for the actress despite all the act there's some hint of genuine pleasure on her face. Most of them fell silent as each of their minds run wild with this new…fantasy.

"You girls could also do this, but there's a bad news…Our research result said that you girls would be extremely hard to get pregnant, chance of fertilization would be under zero point eight percent so that means if you do get pregnant that could be considered a miracle…There's some difference located on your DNA strain and normal human DNA strain, while being so close in resemblance the compatibility isn't so well…" Lena said in matter of fact tone while frowning a bit.

And that one sent brain crash for the girls who already understand about this topic, all of them wore shocked look on their face. Hey, one would do that when they were told that they are probably infertile so it's within reason to see their faces like that. Lena felt bad, she honestly did not want them to be aware of this unless required to…But hiding the truth from them also felt wrong, Lena personally felt grateful toward them for what they did. The least she want to do is to lie to them…

"…We can't have child?" Wales asked Lena out loud.

"You could but, it will take so much effort with the chance being that miniscule…it's extremely hard, not impossible" Lena clarified her statement to the girls.

"This applies to all of ship girls?" Bismarck said out loud.

"Yes...the difference between us in physical were indistinguishable, but that's where our main difference located. I'm sorry to be the one bringing this demoralizing news…But don't worry, we're working on it" Lena quickly said to them.

"Working on what?" George asked Lena.

"To mitigate this problem of course…William and I only want the best for you girls, all of you have sacrificed much to combat The Sirens and I respected all of you for that. It is why I would do my best to help you" Lena said while smiling widely.

That's her most honest feelings regarding ship girls, they would probably be on their last stand, most of the earth conquered, their citizens wiped off and they would be fighting a hopeless slaughter by The Sirens if they didn't exist. Thanks to them, humanity still have fighting chance…Lena decided to wrap up the presentation despite there's few slides she skipped over and yes, that's about the DNA sequence modification that William decided to participate. Lena felt that the experiment itself is still on theoretical phase…better not leak something that she can't promise.

"So until there's more news regarding this development, that would be all regarding this presentation…If you got anymore question, feel free to ask" Lena asked the girls.

"You said you did it before…Is your first time with…Commander William?" Enterprise asked Lena with red cheeks.

"…You could say that" Lena answered while shrugging, the audience gasped.

"Was he…good?" Prinz asked Lena.

"…Yeah" Lena nodded her head, the audience murmured among themselves.

"…Was he that big Lena-sama?" Atago asked Lena while smiling.

"Bigger than that I believe" Lena answered while smirking.

"I could vouch for Madam Lena's testament" Belfast suddenly spoke out loud.

"""""Bel?!""""" More than few girls said that and the whole audience room fell silent.

"I saw it myself after all" Belfast continued while smiling smugly.

…That info was the only requirement before the whole room filled with ship girls asking questions, more comments on what just happened or general chaos as they started talking among themselves regarding the new knowledge they got. Lena smiled before it turned into a deep frown…She gave way too much info to these girls and that could be bad in lots of ways…Lena apologized to William in advance inside her thought, he's going to be the one handling this mess…

"Oh dear…I might just opened The Pandora Box" Lena muttered to herself.

.

…Few days went by and everything was back to normal, the ship girls were going on their daily activities and duties but something was amiss…Whenever they meet with their commander there's this sense of…curiosity, for the lack of better word. Some who met him even subtly glanced at his groin for some reason, some also get bolder in their interaction with him but still at manageable level fortunately. William was so confused that he asked Lena on the phone call few days after the presentation regarding what the hell did she said at that time? Needless to say, William facepalmed and sighed then dropped his head on the table.

"Lena…your methods may work on the battlefield-" William said to Lena.

"And it worked extremely well on this matter too in my opinion" Lena quickly argued to William.

"I'm having my crotch stared at! That's not comforting!" William said with half opened eyes twitching in annoyance.

"Well now you could experience being seen like that as you go on your daily activities, that's how most woman felt" Lena said with cheeky tone.

"I get it so let's not turn this into gender talk or something…Either way, good job on providing them with that knowledge. Can't say I'm accepting with the fallout, but what done is done. But for the next time Lena, try to be little 'subtle' in your approach?" William asked Lena.

Not that William ever had problems with Lena's strategy or methods in dealing with the enemy, but sometimes there are better ways in handling a problem especially since she's handling their fellow allies…It's subtle but William noticed it, Lena wasn't the same Lena that he left for prison two years ago. Sure, people do change but what caused her to be this…inflexible? She's not like this in the past, she could still use softer approach when dealing with her own allies…could handling Sirens for two years started influencing her action outside combat?

Honestly he didn't saw other reason than that, but he could talk about it later and he really don't want to talk about something personal like this over a phone call. Maybe when she visited here again, then he could discuss several things with her including this subtle change that only William noticed now…Flipping over the stamped paper on his desk, William return his focus on the phone call.

"Right I'll do that, thanks…So, any change with the girls?" Lena asked William.

"Thanks to your little presentation method, most of them lose their innocence instantly on that day. You know, some of them were a bit shy before but now they couldn't talk to me without stuttering once…This will need some time to resolve" William said as he leaned on his seat.

"You can't blame me when they're that innocent regarding the matter of baby making. I had to do it since it's for the better in the long run, believe me" Lena reasoned with William.

…Yeah but couldn't you do it without messing too much with their psychology? Look, not one girl he spoke to since that presentation shown that they are NOT affected! Even Belfast, Hood or Prinz! One became more openly enjoying his troubled look, one started flirting openly sometimes and one started to tease him even further! Not to mention, Enterprise couldn't even looked at him in the eye without blushing! William felt himself returning back to school when they're just done with sex education, ah Déjà vu! I've been to this place before! Riding on the streets and I knew it's my time to go!

"Now that they're aware what sex is, you need to be more careful" Lena said to William in serious tone.

"What? You think there's a chance of me being gang raped on my room in the middle of the night?" William asked in sarcastic tone.

"It's possible" Lena said to William in matter-of-fact tone

"That's not helping…" William thought of the possibility, it got above thirty percent according to him and he didn't exactly comfortable with it.

"I'm just doing my job, Will. I can't manipulate results like I want to…Beside, why do I hear you disappointed with that possibility? Won't that make you happy having fun with so many girls at once?!" Lena asked in confused tone.

"You accusation was outrageous Lena! I prefer consensual thank you very much!" William basically raised his voice in annoyance.

"Huh, good to know…Anyway, I got to do some paperwork right now. Later" Lena said to William suddenly.

"Yeah later" William said as he ended the call.

Looking at the phone screen, he have been talking to her for ten minutes…sighing then scratching his head, William thought that he haven't returned to one hundred percent yet. No, he's not talking about his busted right arm but his overall stamina in whole. He still get tired pretty easily even though the battle was a week ago, Vestal did cleared him for daily activities outside the infirmary as long he 'take it easy and no strenuous activity'…Yeah, he won't be participating in any kind of combat soon. Crimson Cleanser would have to wait-

"Commander? Are you inside?" Someone said on the office door.

"It's open" William simply responded.

The door opened and a woman walk inside, it's Enterprise and William closely observed her. Her stares returned as usual, there's this bit of professionalism air around her and her body language were firm and proper…Good, it seems she already cooled down regarding the events few days ago. William stopped leaning on his seat, he offered a small smile on his face.

"What do you need, Enterprise?" William asked Enterprise.

"Just want to relay a message to you sir. Our task force on the North Pole have completed their objectives and now en-route back to this base, they brought one Northern Union ship girl with them" Enterprise reported to William.

"Brilliant news, what's their ETA?" William asked Enterprise.

"They should arrive before dusk sir, using aerial transport" Enterprise said to William.

Nice, the commission for Northern Union Operation finally completed and William expect a very grateful reward coming in from Northern Union…But maybe it's not in the form of resources or finance since Enterprise mentioned one thing, there's a new ship girl joining them and she hails from the north. Could she be the reward for completing the operation? William isn't sure since the official report would be handed to him directly by the returning girls. Just wait and see then…

"…And who's this ship girl that was sent along with them?" William asked Enterprise.

"I believe Hornet mentioned her name. Oh yeah, Avrora. Pallada-class Light Cruiser" Enterprise said to William.

"First time I heard about her…Alright, thank you Enterprise. Is there anything else?" William asked Enterprise.

"…May I be excused from duty for the afternoon, sir?" …Now this is new, she didn't take a chance to do a patrol?

"Reason?" William asked Enterprise, this is unusual.

"…I would like to be the welcoming committee that pick them up on the airport, sir" …Ah, now he get it.

"…Alright, report to Brooklyn as soon as possible. I believe this would concern her job as our diplomat" William said while smiling at Enterprise.

"Thank you sir!" Enterprise pulled off a wide smile…oh how cute!

Enterprise energetically exited through the door after throwing a salute at William, passing Zara who's about to enter the office. Shrugging lightly, Zara proceed to enter William's office and closed the door. She walked forward to see William staring at her while sipping on his lukewarm black tea on a tea cup which was on his table with a tea pot, Zara sat in the chair in front of William's table and crossed her legs.

"She seemed happy" Zara said to William.

"She's about to meet her sister after one month without contact, of course she is" William said to Zara.

"Oh…I see you're already working comandante, are you sure it's fine for you to do this?" Zara asked William while smiling.

"Just the light load should be fine, Hood already chewed me off when I showed up here with my uniform this morning. I got off the hook with this, quite the experience…" William said as he smiled wryly.

Did Hood really do that? No, it's more like civilized argument between the two of them and Hood finally relented after he told her that he could handle the light paperwork that won't involve signatures…She couldn't refuse since there's assload of work piling up and she alone couldn't handle it well without doing overtime, not to mention the base have been a bit busy with monthly maintenance for this week so she got not much time to rest or anyone she could ask for manpower help. Now that he's here though, Hood went to see Queen Elizabeth since apparently she summoned her back on the dorm. She left while basically saying 'Behave yourself' then left with her elegant smile…Sheesh, he regret not taking a picture.

"Hard to believe she could get angry, wasn't she a woman who always have to remain 'elegant' at all times as trademark of 'Royal Navy'?" Zara asked while smirking a bit.

"She may didn't shout at me, but the implication is clear Ms. Zara…Anyway, is there something you need?" William asked Zara.

"I feel like bothering you for a bit" Zara said while smiling smugly.

"Huh, what do you have in mind?" William asked in amused tone.

"Let's just talk, I want to get to know you" Zara said as she leaned on the table.

"Oh yeah, we haven't really talk much since your arrival huh…Alright, I could spare few moments for you" William said to Zara.

So he stopped working, took another tea cup and poured some black tea for Zara and refilled his cup…William didn't have much experience with Sardegna Empire except for few operation during the failed Sardegna Empire invasion. What did he do exactly? Deep behind enemy lines reconnaissance and sabotage, that's it. Task Force Nimbus was then recalled to help Dragon Empery in slowing down Sakura Empire's invasion, one which earned him a title Nimbus Knight in the following weeks into the operation.

Zara have made it clear to herself to talk with her commander during the battle a week ago, she couldn't do it immediately seeing that he was injured and lose consciousness for three days. When he woke up, he was busy handling everyone so she couldn't get him to talk privately. When she heard his office bustling with activity and there's a masculine voice inside the room, that's when she know she should take her shot.

"You're a Royal Navy's citizen, right?" Zara asked William.

"Yeah, you could tell from my accent already" William said to Zara, though rarely he spoke in Eagle Union's accent…Michael's influence, no doubt.

"How's the life on your hometown?" Zara asked then sipped on her tea.

"Quite peaceful actually, a town by the southern coast. It's a small town, not many exciting things happened there so life is kind of dull. Though the people were nice and while it's small at least it got everything…For eighteen years I lived on that town, not that many story to tell" William said while smiling a bit in nostalgia…

That small town which Lena and he grew up, William wondered how it's doing nowadays. Did that bakery where he would spend his afternoon with few slices of apple pie doing well? How about the library near the town square? Or the park near the river where he often enjoyed going to during his breaks? Man he's quite curious, maybe he should visit it when he have a chance in the future…How about their house? William is here, his mother is on the central headquarters and his sister is on the capital…So who stayed on it now?

"Then you decided to join the military, why is that? The town you lived in is so peaceful that you could get a civilian job there, right?" Zara asked William.

"Simply said, my father is my inspiration. His family line were all in the military, I'm simply continuing the family tradition" William said to Zara, that's the closest to the truth.

"Hee is that so…I think you would do well as a model, but the fight we have few days ago cemented that you would make a great commander" Zara said to William while smiling.

…Frankly speaking, she have the same opinion as his mother at first. You see, William could probably hit off as a model, actor or even an author if he wished to but man, he's stubborn enough to be insistent regarding his choice to join the military. He wasn't sure what Zara meant with him being a good commander since he couldn't be the judge of himself. What is the definition of good commander? One who get the job done? Who keep his or her men alive? Who did what was necessary for the sake of their country? There's a lot of definition of good commander, so when one said you are one…Then there would be some clarification needed. William really wondered what kind of 'good' on Zara's eyes.

"…I haven't done much to be honest, most of you girls handle the threat so effectively that you don't really need any direction" William said while smiling to Zara.

"Perhaps. But we won because you lured them to that little island, they're so focused on you that they almost ignored us for some reason. That showed you have what it takes to turn a disadvantage to you into an advantage for the entire unit, you even willing to be under fire for the sake of winning and gaining information for us…Not many commander went that far" Zara said while smiling back.

"You held me in such regard. Even though I only gave simple instruction and orders during the last fight?" William asked Zara while cocking his eyebrows.

"Not every battle won because of complex maneuver or strategies comandante, many were won even with simple strategy but implemented at the right time. Don't belittle yourself, a good commander is the one who can react then adapt and you did well few days ago…I personally thought you've done a good job" Zara said as she sipped on her tea.

Such wisdom! William himself felt enlightened with that simple words, not every battle was won with complex strategies. In his opinion, Zara was right about it and he will surely remember that sentence from now on…Then William realized that according to Zara he react and adapt well few days ago, that's due to experience since he's often thrown into sudden clusterfuck and he had to survive alongside his men. He's used to think under stress, that's how he made it so far…Regardless, he felt good receiving such praise from a new comer.

"Well…thank you" William said while smiling gratefully.

"Just stating my opinion…Hmm. This tea is quite good" Zara commented on the tea.

"Belfast do brew the best black tea" William said as he sipped his.

"I see" Zara responded while smiling.

"Ms. Zara-" William said to Zara.

"Just call me Zara will you? I don't mind" But Zara said so…

"…If you say so, Zara. Anyway, try this chocolate muffin, you won't regret it" William said to Zara.

"Well then…Uhm! Delicious!" Zara took the muffin and bite on it.

"Right?" William asked while smiling.

That chocolate muffin on the plate was served to him by Belfast who for some reason couldn't brought him lunch for today, she said something happened back on the dorm so she could only brought this pastry that intended for dessert alongside an apology for the situation. William said it's fine since he could always ate on the canteen later but as it turns out, he don't really have that much appetite for today…Strange, he usually could gorge lots of food easily.

It's delicious though, he know his stomach want more but his mouth won't cooperate for now…Wait, William might need to eat some real food as he's been eating too many sweets lately so maybe that's the reason? It's the gifts he received as get well soon gift, most of them were sweets…He need to check on his sugar intake, diabetes is a bitch and he's not exactly young anymore. What? Twenty six is young? Well you wouldn't be saying that as you noticed your body performance started dropping nearing thirties where you go from prime athlete to 'I'm too old for this bullsh-

""Ah…""

The door to William's office was knocked and opened, someone walked in and it's Warspite…Both Zara and Warspite stared at each other and William could only winced at the uneasiness growing within the room. Everyone within The Royal Navy knew both of them had some kind of history, safe to say they're on edge with each other. Back during Battle of Terania both of them ignored each other unless it's absolutely required for them to talk, William might want to ease the tension between the two of them but maybe later…He still got job to do.

"Good day Ms. Zara" Warspite said to Zara…oh well, it's a start.

"Good day Ms. Warspite" Zara said to Warspite while smiling a bit.

"What is it Lady Warspite?" William asked Warspite.

"Commander, Hood asked me to deliver this to you. She currently had to console her majesty alongside the others so she won't be available for a bit" Warspite said as she put small stack of papers on top of the table.

"…How many times does this make today?" William asked with half opened eyes.

"Third, it's getting old actually" Warspite said then sighed.

…William have been hearing some kind of mess happening on Royal Navy's dorm and that's the reason why most of the Royal Navy ship girls were currently absent today. Queen Elizabeth herself is experiencing some kind of mood swing since morning, William wasn't sure what the exact reason was but Belfast subtly told him to 'not' interfere…William thought he'd heed her warning and leave the queen's situation to her, he don't want to get involved and possibly complicated the mess.

"Well…Nothing we can do, just don't pour gasoline on the fire with her situation" William said while frowning.

"I believe your intervention would resolve this matter quickly, commander" Warspite asked while folding her arms.

"I'm not ready to lose another arm in short notice, I'll leave this to you ladies" William said with half opened eyes and frowning.

William started reading the paper…This is about the base maintenance that's currently underway, let's see here. Canteen is all good, shops is all good and their garages have additional SUV brought in…nice? Okay, the armory have been restocked so ammo is all good, academy have been checked and no need for improvement at the moment, dorms…Hmm, looks like every dorms are doing well and the construction project for Sardegna Empire's dorm is almost complete. Briefly reading it, everything checked out and William put the papers on a new pile.

"…All in order, thank you. Give Hood my thanks and tell her to meet me after she's done" William said to Warspite.

"As you command, milord. Excuse me" Warspite said as she bowed a bit.

Warspite then left the room after giving brief nod at Zara who return the gesture, William felt everything were done for today so what to do left? Oh yeah, lunch with a complete dish…Would it be bad for him to sneak outside base, went to fast food chain and have some bit of Eagle Union's freedom of burger with-. Nah, he don't think he could drive with his condition and he felt he shouldn't left the base today for there are ship girls arriving after completing their commission. The least he want to do would be absent by the time they arrived…that's not a good first impression.

"…Well, I think it's time for me to head back" Zara said to William as she stood up.

"Alright then" William nodded his head watching Zara leave.

"…Can I come by again?" Zara stopped by the door, she stared at him with a smug smile.

"As long you're not interrupting me during busy time" William answered while shrugging and smiling slightly.

"Bene…Arrividerci, comandante" Zara said to William while waving and closed the door.

.

…Hood sighed as she walked on the halls of Royal Navy's dorm, she lightly massaged her head at the ordeal she had to face today. Queen Elizabeth could be quite unreasonable sometimes and today she happened to be handling her since morning, oh Hood need to rest a bit before she return to William's office. She was walking when she felt herself losing her balance and she leaned on the nearby wall, her eyes widened in confusion…How could she suddenly lose her own balance like that? She heard light gasp and looked behind her, Hood saw Belfast walking fast toward her with concerned look.

"Madam Hood?" Belfast asked Hood in worried tone.

"Oh, it's you Belfast" Hood managed to smile weakly.

"Do you need help?" Belfast asked Hood and touched her left shoulder.

"Yes…I think I have a headache" Hood said to Belfast.

Belfast took Hood's left arm and sling it around her shoulder and started helping Hood walk, both being ship girls carrying Hood like this wasn't a problem at all for Belfast. The head maid keeping an eye on Hood in case she require additional help, this is the first time Belfast saw Hood not looking good since she got blasted by Bismarck in the past…

"Is her majesty done with her mood swings?" Belfast asked Hood.

"For now…Huh, it's one of those days…Um, Bel, I need to meet with Lord William" Hood said when she realized they're not heading for the administration building.

"Surely he will understand regarding your current situation Madam Hood, I will guide you to infirmary…" Belfast said to Hood while smiling a bit.

"It's alright Bel-" Hood tried to argue while smiling.

"No it's not. You've been working hard for the past week Hood, you need to rest. Please, I'm asking you as your friend not as the head maid" Belfast said to Hood with furrowed eyebrows.

Hood widened her eyes, well Belfast was known for her attention to detail after all so of course she would noticed that Hood been pulling overtime these past few days. Hood smiled as she realized that being stubborn wouldn't do her any good, its clear something is wrong with her body right now and having it checked would be in everyone's best interest.

"…Understood" Hood said while smiling weakly.

"Brilliant. I will take over your supposed task from master later, but first we head for the infirmary" Belfast said while smiling a bit in satisfaction.

Reaching the infirmary, Belfast opened the door and that got Vestal's attention who sat behind her desk while looking at her smartphone. It's her break time, might as well browse for some cute clothes while at it. That's until Vestal looked up to saw Belfast and Hood, she immediately put her phone down as she went to them.

"…Ms. Belfast? Ms. Hood? What's wrong?" Vestal asked to both of them.

"She's been working too hard and clearly in need to rest, please check her condition" Belfast said to Vestal.

"Ah, I see. Please lie down over there" Vestal said to Hood.

Laying down on the neat infirmary bed, Belfast took off Hood's hat and placed it on the night stand beside her. Vestal placed her hand on Hood's forehead, she then took a thermometer and snuck it under Hood's right armpit to measure her temperature. Vestal took out a stethoscope and Hood undo her belt a bit to allow access to her body, Vestal opened Hood's clothes a bit and used her stethoscope to check her…

"Hmm…you do have a light fever, you will remain here until you rested enough. I will get you some medicine in a moment. Ms. Belfast, please look after her for a bit" Vestal said to them both then left.

"…How embarrassing, I shouldn't be this careless" Hood said while smiling bitterly.

"Precisely. What happened Hood? Why did you push the limit for these past few days?" Belfast asked Hood.

"It's the secretary's duty. Lord William shouldn't be working for at least a week, I also figured everyone were busy with the monthly maintenance so I shouldn't be disturbing the other secretaries. I took all those workload, but handling her majesty have been a bit rough today and I got too tired" Hood said while looking at Belfast.

Yes, Hood was normally alright with her secretarial duty but she got too much on her plate today and that's why she got too tired in handling everything. She really didn't want William to work, that's why she reminded him sternly this morning but she eventually relented when Queen Elizabeth called her to help a bit. Then, that mood swing happened which caused most of the royal family member had to work in order to calm her down…even Wales and George still accompanying Elizabeth last time Hood saw them.

"…I see. Hood, I want you to rest for now. Please let me handle the rest for today" Belfast said to Hood.

"How about your duty with her majesty or your internal affairs duty?" Hood asked to Belfast with widened eyes.

"My big sister helped me a bit and I solved all the current problems for the week, I'm free for the afternoon" Belfast said while smiling confidently.

"…Alright Bel, just don't make the same mistake as I do" Hood said as she smiled at Belfast.

"I won't…Get well soon, Hood" Belfast said as she walked out of the room.

"Thank you, Bel" Hood said in gratitude.

Hood reequipped her clothes and rested her head in comfortable position above the pillow, she sighed a bit as she took the blanket and covered herself with it…Maybe because she's a bit sick right now, but it's really comforting being under the warm blanket within this air conditioned infirmary. She could try to sleep right now but Hood rarely ever took a nap, she's almost always busy during the day. Vestal returned to the infirmary, she carried a tray with several pills and a glass of water above it.

"Ms. Hood, here's your medicine. I take it you have lunch yet?" Vestal asked Hood.

"Oh, no I haven't. I was quite busy before" Hood answered, she really didn't eat anything since morning…

"My, no wonder you've fallen ill! Okay, put on this cold compress on your forehead. I will make something light for you to eat" Vestal said while frowning.

"Thank you, Ms. Vestal" Hood said while smiling.

"Don't worry about it" Vestal flashed her a smile.

Vestal exited the infirmary to head toward the pantry, she quickly get the ingredients to whip something up for Hood to eat…Hood used the sticky cold compress, applied it to her forehead and stared at the ceiling while she thought Belfast should have arrived on William's office by now. He would probably be surprised to know that Belfast would be the one reporting back instead of Hood, when he found out she's sick from Belfast…

"…Will he visit me if he knew I'm here?" Hood muttered to herself.

.

Enterprise walked toward Brooklyn inside the base garage who told a Manjuu to do something, the little bird saluted as it and its fellows walked toward the SUVs and performed several check on it. She heard footsteps behind her and saw Enterprise stood while looking at her, cocking her eyebrows in confusion Brooklyn decided to speak to Enterprise.

"I just told them to perform last minute check, don't want it to bog down when we have to pick them up from the airport" Brooklyn said while smiling.

"Who's driving?" Enterprise asked Brookyln.

"I would, the second car would be driven by Prinz" Brooklyn said to Enterprise.

"Prinz?" Enterprise asked Brooklyn and titled her head.

"I'm guessing you're here for the same reason as her? I understand, Hornet and Hipper would be happy to see you both" Brooklyn said while smiling a bit.

Yup, busted since the start. She missed Hornet, she missed Yorktown too and there's nothing more that make her happier than to be reunited with her sisters and ending this sickening war…Enterprise guess that Prinz is the same with Hipper, she might teased her a lot but deep down Enterprise knew she's a caring little sister nevertheless. The said person then appeared on the garage after walking back from the direction of the dorms, Enterprise looked back and saw her approaching.

"Oh, Ms. Grey Ghost is here" Prinz said to Enterprise.

"I didn't know you could drive, Prinz" Enterprise asked Prinz while smirking.

"You would be in awe when you found out I could race Brooklyn to the airport first, Enty" Prinz said while smirking back.

"Hohoho, is that so" Enterprise said while grinning a bit.

"I don't want to turn this pick up quest into a racing one, Prinz. You better drive safely" Brooklyn said in stern tone to Prinz.

"I can do that before we pick them up? Of course I'll behave when we head home" Prinz said while tilting her head to the right.

"If you get pulled over, I won't help you" Brooklyn simply said with half closed eyes.

"Hmph, boring~" Prinz pouted cutely.

"You know she's teasing you, Brooklyn?" Enterprise asked Brooklyn while smiling wryly.

"Knowing Prinz? There's always a possibility of it being serious, you could never know" Brooklyn said to Enterprise.

Brooklyn turned her head around when she heard a chirp, she saw the Manjuu gave her a thumbs up and she threw a car key toward Prinz who caught it effortlessly. Both get into the SUV, Enterprise get into the car that Brooklyn ride and they drove to the city's airport…So, a question appeared. Ship girls were military units, then why did they landed on civilian airports? Well the reason is because they are specialized unit that's not on regular division, landing on the military base next to theirs is plausible but High Command especially want to limit the contact between them and the regular division for unknown reason…Either way, the protocol is clear and they all thought it's better to follow it.

The drive to the airport was filled with light chatter between Brooklyn and Enterprise, Prinz was humming along with the song she set on the radio. At least there's no incident along the way, though traffic was a complete bitch since apparently few idol group is scheduled to perform on the downtown tonight…After driving in crawling speed for half an hour, they managed to reach the airport which were crowded by diehard fans waiting for the idol's arrival. Good, at least this way they won't be noticed. They arrived on the gate leading to the runway, two Military Police halt the cars and approached them.

"I'll do the talking" Brooklyn said to Enterprise.

"Even if I'm the one's driving, I'll let you handle the talk too" Enterprise said while smiling a bit.

"Hmph. I knew it" Brooklyn said while rolling her eyes.

The window to the driver seat was knocked twice, Brooklyn lowered the window to get a good look on the officer. He's fully armed, carrying M4 carbine, wearing bulletproof vest, Azur Lane marine blue camouflage, with ammo pouch on his back alongside wearing a helmet with letter MP on white paint on it…What's with this extra security? The last time Brooklyn saw these military police here they were not this equipped, probably they need to be extra careful with these many people on the airport. Crimson Cleanser could use this as an opportunity for terror attacks, a well placed C4 could've killed so many of the civilians…

"Afternoon ma'am, identification please?" The man asked Brooklyn.

"My name is Brooklyn, we are here to pick up the group boarding C-130 Cargo Plane from Northern Union" Brooklyn said while smiling professionally and handing him a small card.

"…Identification checks out, welcome ma'am. We've been expecting you, head over to the secluded military hangar to the left from here" The man said to Brooklyn and handed back her card.

"Thank you" Brooklyn said then closed the window.

They entered the airport and immediately headed for the military hangar the soldier mentioned before, it's not even five minutes from the gate. When they arrived there, there's a parked C-130 cargo plane…Well, it looks like the traffic jam had caused them to be late a bit. Parking the cars, the three of them got out of their cars to watch the plane slowly dropping it's rear hatch. Ship girls then came out of the plane, each carrying some kind of bag. They immediately recognized Brooklyn, Enterprise and Prinz waiting for them near the cars and the destroyers waved excitedly.

Enterprise was about to greet them before she was tackled on a bear hug by twin tailed blonde wearing cowboy hat, cape and black bikini. Yup, it's Hornet who did that and Enterprise couldn't help herself but to hug her back…It's great to know that Hornet is totally fine, Enterprise take a glimpse at her and she can't find any kind of scars on her.

"Welcome back, Hornet" Enterprise said while smiling widely.

"Yeah, I'm back sis! Phew it's good to be back here, how are ya doing?" Hornet asked Enterprise while grinning.

"As you can see, I'm fine" Enterprise answered Hornet.

"Glad to hear it! Oh, I got tons of stuff to say about my experience there. Seriously, not a day we don't get some action! I hope I get some time to rest, I don't feel like going into action for a while" Hornet said smiling wryly.

"Oh sure, we could exchange stories then. Few days ago we're also involved in a battle with The Siren" Enterprise said to Hornet.

"Maybe we could do that later tonight or tomorrow sis. I've been on a long flight since morning and I definitely need to hit the sack after this…Say, we have to report to this new commander too. What kind of man is he, sis?" Hornet asked Enterprise while holding her chin.

"I think it's best for you to judge him by yourself…One thing I could say for sure, he's not like the previous one" Enterprise said while smiling.

Not too far from there, another blonde was being crushed in a hug instead and reluctantly hugged back the person who did that. Admiral Hipper, Prinz sister couldn't believe herself that she missed this teasing, smug, irritating and cheeky little sister…But she couldn't help herself to miss the interaction between them, not that she'd admit it because she will shoot herself first before admitting it. She don't need to give Prinz more ammo to use, she already got enough as it is.

"Welcome back schwester, how's the trip?" Prinz asked while smirking a bit.

"Endless blue but just above the clouds, nothing new there" Hipper said while shrugging.

"That so…got any souvenir for me~?" Prinz asked while grinning.

"Ha? You honestly thought I'll brought you something?" Hipper asked with cocked eyebrows.

"Now don't be so mean to your little sister, I've been waiting for your return ever since the day you left…surely I got a reward for having to be patient? I haven't teased you for almost a month" Prinz asked while smirking widely now.

Hipper sighed as she reached for the duffel bag she carried, after rummaging it for a while she pulled out a bottle of vodka and handed it to Prinz while looking to the side with a cute pout. Prinz smiled as she took the bottle, her eyes shows amusement and a hint of fondness at the thought that Hipper do care for her despite how Prinz acted towards her. Checking the bottle, she made note to enjoy this brand of vodka tonight. Weather's prediction said it will be a cold one, might as well make full use of this good stuff.

"Aww, you do care" Prinz said in teasing tone.

"If you don't like it-" Hipper said with her hands on her hip.

"Nein, I love it…Danke, Hipper" Prinz said while smiling.

"W-Well, if you love it then fine! Just don't down it in one go!" Hipper said to Prinz.

After handling the destroyers, Brooklyn saw several others coming towards her. Honolulu came close to Brooklyn and she offered her a brief hug, Brooklyn saw Mikasa who wore a tired smile while carrying her duffel bag and Formidable who kept her composure and elegance as she walked toward Brooklyn. All of them made it out of the operation just fine, it's a great success and Brooklyn imagined this reinforcement would further enhanced their combat capability. Formidable stood in front of Brooklyn before she offered a curtsy at her, Brooklyn nod her head in acknowledgement.

"Ms. Brooklyn, we have returned from our task" Formidable said to Brooklyn.

"Yes, it's good to see everyone is alright Ms. Formidable. I understand the trip is quite tiring, but you ladies still have to report to Commander William Blaze after this" Brooklyn said to Formidable with apologetic smile.

"Its fine Ms. Brooklyn, I'm quite curious regarding this new commander as well" Formidable said to Brooklyn.

"How are things since we left for the front, Brooklyn-san?" Mikasa asked Brooklyn.

"Since you left, there's one attack to our base from a terrorist group, one skirmish with Siren's fleet and a battle on Isle of Terania. We have successfully prevail in all encounters, you could rest easy" Brooklyn said to Mikasa.

"That's comforting news. Anyway, where is she?" Mikasa asked as she looked behind.

Just as Mikasa said that, another person exited through the rear hatch of the cargo plane while carrying a big suitcase. A girl with twin braided white hair, looking around before she saw Brooklyn and the others then headed there. The girls is Avrora, the ship girl from Northern Union who followed them back to this base and Brooklyn noted that she doesn't look that exhausted…She could be excited about travelling to different place that she didn't feel as tired as the others?

"My, it's warmer here…Ah, are you Brooklyn? Privyet, my name is Avrora. I was sent here specifically to aid and reinforce Azur Lane ship girls on this region from Northern Union" Avrora said while smiling brightly.

"Yes, good afternoon Ms. Avrora. Thank you for coming all the way here, we are more than glad to have you here with us. You're the first Northern Union ship girl that come to this base, Ms. Avrora" Brooklyn said while smiling.

"Da, my comrades are rather…occupied at the moment, the fight with The Sirens is not over yet" Avrora said with wry smile.

"Right…Well, we could discuss the details back on the base with commander. Oh speaking of which, we might need bigger car" Brooklyn said to herself.

"Why did you only brought two cars with you, Brooklyn-san?" Mikasa asked Brooklyn.

"…I didn't account for everyone's baggage, this is purely my fault…But don't worry, I just thought up a solution for this" Brooklyn said to Mikasa.

Brooklyn forgot that they carried bags and she bet her chance on stuffing the destroyers on one SUV while the rest on the other, by calculation it should fit. But what about their baggage? That's why, she sighed in embarrassment regarding this miscalculation. Brooklyn pulled out her phone and searched for her contact list to find the name 'Commander Blaze' on the screen, she quickly pressed the dial button to call him…waiting for a bit, he finally answered the call.

"Commander, we got a bit of a problem. I request a permission to use the helicopter, there's been a bit of…miscalculation" Brooklyn said to William.

"I saw you left with two SUVs, you mean you couldn't fit so many of them inside those cars?" William asked Brooklyn.

"…Right, their baggage would be left behind if we follow the original plan" Brooklyn said in matter-of-fact tone.

"…I suppose. Alright, inform the people on the airport. I'll send the helo over there in a bit" William said to Brooklyn.

"Roger that sir, thank you" Brooklyn replied while smiling.

.

Ending the call with Brooklyn, William put his phone down as he looked at Belfast who's in front of him doing the rest of the work for today. William had heard about Hood, its good to know that she's dedicated but to think she would neglect taking care of herself…Honestly William felt bad, if he didn't get injured then perhaps Hood won't get sick due to that overtime. He made up his mind, he would visit Hood later after the work here is done.

"Master?" Belfast asked William.

"Yes?" William asked Belfast back.

"You're staring" Belfast said while smiling.

…Did he? That's when William realized that his head position while he was thinking could be interpreted as him staring at Belfast's cleavage, William immediately straightened his posture and stared at Belfast face instead. She actually knew with the fact that William didn't do it on purpose, but that doesn't mean she couldn't mess with him for a bit. How else the head maid could get her entertainment?

"Sorry, was thinking about something" William said to Belfast.

"Is it about Madam Hood?" Belfast asked William.

"You're not wrong" William said to Belfast.

"She will be fine after a short rest master, though I'd imagine she won't mind you visiting her" Belfast said while smiling.

"Yeah…Anyway, how many left?" William asked Belfast.

"Just this stack master, this should not take more than five minutes" Belfast said while smiling again.

"Alright" William simply replied.

William stood up, he walked over the large window behind him and saw that the large helicopter is still there. He took out his phone and messaged the special chat box for Manjuu command, he was given the privilege to use the room chat when he took command of the base. This room chat is where William could specify an instruction for Manjuu's manpower, only he and the secretaries possess this privilege to access the chat room and it's very useful whenever they need something done off their sight or receiving reports regarding status of a project.

He command that the helicopter be brought to the airport to pick up Brooklyn and the others, when he sent that he waited for around five seconds before a confirmation message appeared on it saying that The Manjuus received the order and executing them. William turned back his attention to the helipad and indeed he already saw several Manjuus over there preparing the helicopter to take off…William's right eye widened, he rubbed it several times to make sure what he's seeing is real. The helicopter soon operational and take off not long after, heading straight for the airport on the city.

…WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK?! How does that work!? William just sent the message and five seconds later those chickens appeared as soon as the confirmation message was sent to him!? Did they just magically appeared out of thin air like in those base building game?! The event he just saw is a witchcraft at the highest order, he started to wonder if this world is nothing but a game simulation designed by…No, he's getting too deep into this. Ignorance is bliss William, pretend like he never saw that happen!

"…Master, the paperwork is done" Belfast said to William.

"Excellent work Belfast. You're free to go, thank you for the help" William said while smiling.

"Are you sure you don't need anything else, milord?" Belfast asked William.

"…No, I'm fine for now. Though, are you free tonight?" William asked Belfast.

"Yes I am, master" William nodded his head at Belfast answer.

"Then please come to my room later" William said to Belfast.

"…Understood, master. I shall take my leave now" Belfast said while smiling.

Belfast performed a curtsy then left the office, she wondered on why did William requested her for tonight? So many predictions, even few that could be considered lewd crossed her mind but Belfast choose to ignore it for now. She'll find out what did he want with her tonight…William ate the last of the chocolate muffin, downed the rest of the black tea, grabbed his phone and then exited his office. Walking down the hall he looked outside to see that the sky is clear, but it's quite humid now…That could be a sign that tonight it's going to rain, what's with all this rain before summer?

Exiting the administration building, William greeted several ship girls who were walking past him. William saw that the girls were heading for the canteen, curiosity got the better of him and he walked there. When he arrived at the canteen, he saw the interior have been modified…There's a banner with 'Welcome Back!' written on it, tables are arranged in linear fashion, several ship girls busy decorating the walls or putting in utensils on the table…Wait, is this a welcome back party for those girls who went to Northern Union? Hiei noticed that William is at the front door, she then approached him.

"Ara, shikikan-sama" Hiei said to William while smiling.

"Ms. Hiei, I was not aware regarding this welcome back celebration" William said while staring at Hiei.

"I heard it's a tradition on this base, for those who have been away to be welcomed in this kind of celebration. Kongou nee-sama said so" Hiei explained to William.

"It's a good tradition because that could keep morale high, but please inform me before doing this next time alright?" William said to Hiei.

"Hai…This also serve as a welcoming party for the new ship girl arriving today" Hiei explained to WIlliam.

"Hmm? For A…Avrora, yes, this also served as her welcoming party? How did you girls find out so quickly about her?" William asked with pursed lips.

"You get bunch of girls a bit bored with a smartphone on one location, it's prone to happen they would form an information network" Hiei said while smiling meaningfully.

…That's not a stretch, I mean he was just notified few hours ago regarding the fact that this base would receive additional ship girls and now everyone could be assumed knew about this. Several other ship girls who noticed him then greeted him shortly before returning to their work, William nodded in respond before Hiei offered him something on a plate…Its Sakura Empire dish that's called Onigiri, taking one William didn't hesitate to took a bite immediately.

The fulfilling taste of rice, the right amount of spice and this one flavorful bite is really nice! William's eyes widened, the brief taste of the onigiri immediately reminded him that he want to eat something not sweet and fulfilling. His primal instinct awakened, his hunger demand to be sated and he devoured the onigiri in a heartbeat. He subtly looked at Hiei who stared a bit at him before she smiled and offered more, William didn't hesitate to take another one and started munching on it.

"…Uhm, this is really good Ms. Hiei! My compliments to the chef" William said while smiling.

"Ara, arigatou. I'm glad to know it's delicious…I made these for those girls working hard on setting this place, I'm now confident that they will enjoy these onigiris" Hiei said while staring at the working girls.

"My opinion value that much?" William asked while cocking his eyebrows.

"You're a foodie aren't you? Most girls said so" Hiei asked William.

Okay, it seems the news that he could eat so much have spread around the base ever since he downed that big ass portion back during his first combat with The Sirens. It's not a lie, he's a big eater for sure. How do you think he got this giant body? Nutrients and workout with a touch of genetics would do that to you, being a giant have its merits.

"Not at that level yet Ms. Hiei…Alright, can I come to this party?" William asked while smiling a bit.

"I was about to ask you before you arrived here first, shikikan. Of course you could come, you have to" Hiei said to William.

"Brilliant. I'll see you girls tonight then" William said while leaving the canteen.

"Hai" Hiei simply replied.

Leaving the canteen, William head to his original destination which is the infirmary. He regretted the fact that he need to be fully dressed on a day like this, he's already sweating…Arriving at the infirmary without any problem, William knocked on the door twice before opening it. He stepped in and saw Vestal seated behind her desk, she noticed the door was opened and saw William walked toward her before looking to the right. There he saw Hood, she's asleep on the bed.

"Afternoon Vestal" William greeted Vestal.

"Good afternoon commander, here to check up on Hood?" Vestal asked William.

"Yeah, I heard she's sick from Belfast. Diagnose for her?" William asked Vestal.

"Light exhaustion, sleep deprivation and apparently the lack of taking care of oneself. She's been a bit fixated on her work, she haven't eat much and don't get enough rest…She experienced slight fever, I've told her to rest for now and see if she gets better after a nap. I also gave her some medicine, she should be fine" Vestal said to William.

"Good to hear, it's nothing major at least" William said as he stared at Hood.

"...Sir, can you please watch the infirmary for a while? I have to pick up something back at the dorm" Vestal suddenly said to William.

"Yeah, I can do that" William said while nodding his head.

"Perfect. Be back soon" Vestal said to William.

Vestal exited the infirmary, William then find a stool, took it with him, placed it on the right bed side and sat there as he stared at Hood. Even when sleeping, she's a beautiful woman, one which William daresay even more beautiful than Lena which most people find attractive already. It's no doubt if he ever brought Hood with him back to his hometown, she would be instantly caught the attention of people there

…William dared himself to move his left hand, he lightly touched Hood's forehead to check on her temperature, sweeping of few strand of her golden blonde hair away in the process…Nothing odd about how warm she is, her body temperature seemed normal. Hood stirred on her sleep and William pulled his hand back. Come to think of it, this is the second time he saw Hood sleeping and-.

"…Touching a lady without her permission is rude, milord" William's heart rate spiked in one nanoseconds.

"…You're awake" William commented at Hood, he frowned a bit trying to calm his heartbeat down.

"I can't fall asleep, I have been trying for the past fifteen minutes" Hood said to William.

Hood opened her eyes, she stared at William with half lidded sea blue eyes while smiling sweetly at him…BOI! If god is love then that stare is the cupid! William felt his cheeks flushed and he looked to the side in embarrassment, man that stare was so unfair! Hood then giggled when she saw William did that, now she understand how Belfast feels when she did that to him. William can't believe that simple stare was so mesmerizing! If he didn't control himself, he felt like he'll stare too long and be rude to her…

"My, you're cheeks are lovely shade of red" Hood said to William.

"It's hot outside" William said to Hood with serious stare.

"But isn't this infirmary comfortably cold?" Hood asked in playful tone.

"I just got here, need some time before I could adjust" William replied smoothly.

Both of them know that's bullshit, but they play along with this little act. Hood had these strange feelings of…excitement? Relief? Happy? Inside her heart right now, William did care enough that he would visit her despite its only being a light fever. Hood felt herself getting better already, but she'll follow Vestal's orders before she cleared herself from the infirmary.

"…Our commission team from the North Pole is arriving now, I will debrief them myself later. There's also a welcome back party, a tradition on this base if I recall Hiei's words correctly later tonight to celebrate their return and the new girl's arrival" William explained to Hood.

"Ah…yes, that is true. We held those kind of celebration for the commission girls who have to go on mission for extended amount of time" Hood said to William.

"I want you to be there tonight" William said in matter-of-fact tone.

"My my, you want me to be there?" Hood asked William while smiling.

"Yeah, I need my trusty secretary who didn't get herself a break for these past week there. No work for tonight, I want you to rest and have fun"

Hood widened her eyes a bit before she eventually smiled, William knew how to get his message across very well. William don't feel like arguing with Hood and thus he sufficed with that simple sentence, both of them are grown adults…If William want to go to this celebration tonight, then he supposed he need to get his business with Belfast done as soon as possible tonight. Hood and William then stared at each other, William expected Hood to respond and she shall give him just that.

"…As you command, milord" Hood said while smiling widely.

* * *

**Aaron : I'm glad you enjoyed it. Yeah, thanks for the advice too!**

**Random citizen : Here you go! **

…**Packed up daily schedule hit hard so I don't have much time to write, I also apologize for not responding to your reviews because I just opened this site when I uploaded this. Nevertheless, thank you for the follow, favorite and the reviews everyone. Until situation return to normalcy, the updates for this story would be quite irregular…sorry about that in advance. So, this chapter's done, time to rest by reading that Hood's doujin for a bit (man it's hot!).**

**Until next time!**

**-Dasmara**


	10. Into the lion's den

The large helicopter that were driven by Manjuus touched down on the helipad above the canteen, one by one ship girls started pouring out of the rear hatch. Formidable stepped out and she smiled widely at the thought that she's back on the base, she really want to meet Illustrious now but her duty would only end after she reported back to Commander William. Avrora looked at the view of this base, she couldn't believe a place like an academy or institution like this are actually a military base. But since the placement for the weaponry and other military installation are underneath the ground or inside a building, the place didn't look like a military base at all.

Because it's nice to look at, Avrora smiled a bit when she compared to the previous base she was stationed which a military base that located on plain full of snow…Brooklyn led everyone down from the helipad, making their way toward the academy building where briefing or debriefing usually held for mission with few exceptions. Along the way, they noticed that the base is a bit barren, there's no ship girls currently on the courtyard or walking along the way…Perhaps they already returned to their dorms, the sun is almost set on the horizon after all.

Entering the academy, they met with Ranger who welcomed them back with a smile on her face. Then, she guided them to an entrance near the stairwell with double doors and Azur Lane logo painted on it. Ranger went to the panel on its left side before inputting keywords on it and the double door opened by itself, leading everyone inside they then greeted with a sight of the base's command center…The room was filled with computers, data servers, a large screen placed on the wall and several rooms with multiple function on it.

Stood in front of the screen while looking at it was William himself, monitoring the screen that shows the progress of current satellite network synchronization process to the command center while the Manjuus around doing technical works in front of a computer. Brooklyn, Enterprise and Prinz went back out as Ranger took over to lead the girls.

"Commander, the commission team have arrived" Ranger said to William.

"Ah…Welcome back ladies, let's head for the command center conference room. We could talk over there" William said as he led everyone.

They walked to the conference room which was just located to their left, the room is just like your ordinary conference room with large long tables with chairs and a screen in the wall. The table however was equipped with hologram projectors, this place would serve them well when High Command needs to use this place for their meeting…Not like they would often visited this place for meetings and the headquarters is much safer after all. Everyone sat down on their respective seat, William took the furthest seat in front of the screen which overlooked the others.

"Evening ladies, my name is William Blaze and I'm the current acting commander of this base. It's good to see everyone who went to fight near the North Pole managed to return safely, we also got a new ship girl with us so I consider this a well-executed mission...Ms. Hood had given me the necessary info regarding you girls, except for Avrora over there. Do you mind introducing yourself?" William asked Avrora.

"Not at all komandir…Privyet, I am Avrora, a light cruiser and the one who started a famous revolution in the past. Reporting in komandir, along with the light of dawn I shall bring you victory!" Avrora said with confident smile.

"Good to have you here then Avrora. Welcome to the base…Ms. Formidable, I believe you're the leader for the commission team over there?" William asked Formidable.

"Yes milord, that is true" Formidable answered while smiling.

"Then I would like you to give me the report of what's going on over there, I prefer to hear them straight from those involved" William said to Formidable.

"As you command" Formidable said as she raised herself from her seat.

Formidable went over to the console near William, she inserted a flash drive on it and messed around the screen for a bit before the holographic projector shows up with bunch of files on the display. This report was compiled just a day before they boarded the plane heading back to this base, it's a bunch of video and some data projection given to them by Northern Union regional command. Formidable opened the theater map filled with red arrows and dots, indicating enemy positions with blue dots and arrows indicating Azur Lane forces which were currently shown on the water.

"We are deployed almost on daily basis during the operation, milord. Sirens have entrenched position in the regions over here filled with small pockets of defensive emplacements…Sirens have two major base which were occupied by ship girls and armored vehicles, the push to secure the region have to go through these small nodes due to them covering the whole area with Anti Air emplacements. Plus, there's a strict order came from High Command that prohibited the use of strategic bombers on North Pole region for various reasons" Formidable explained to William.

Reasonable choice, William was sure that the environmental damage would be horrendous if they choose to carpet bombed the hell of The Sirens on ice plains like that. But limiting their offensive capabilities in the fight against The Sirens is the equivalent of killing themselves, that's why ship girls are needed and the fact that they could penetrate deep and use their powers in land is quite useful. Though, they're not as maneuverable when on land compared to them when they're on waters.

"So you opted with battleship barrage?" William presumed the other method for fire support.

"Precisely…Our first task is to secure a beachhead for the incoming Northern Union 4th Expedition Group which specialized in Artic Warfare, they're a large navy based forces deployed straight from St. Petersburg. We, the ship girls are the vanguard to clear the landing zone over here and establish a foothold while the landing party build our base of operation. It took days but it eventually succeeded, we have the beach as our staging area…The next few days were filled with back and forth skirmish between us and The Sirens armored vehicles, they're pretty relentless"

William watched the holographic map played out, back and forth skirmish between them happened so often near the base that William was surprised a fully functional base could be built in just few days while being constantly harassed by Siren's attack…William take a look on the vehicle that The Siren used, it looked like a tank with four legs. Spider Tanks? Really? That's not a new concept on any sci-fi verse he knew, but William guessed Sirens used it due to the flexibility in provided as universally accepted norm that legs are more flexible than treads in some cases.

"I see…What's the commission's team task after the initial invasion?" William asked Formidable.

"Our main task after that is to provide fire support for ground units or conducting naval combat ourselves against Siren's ship girls, that's when Ms. Avrora joined us. After weeks of fighting, we finally managed to secure a path for assault and we successfully captured their bases but…the casualties are quite heavy. We lost third of our forces during the final assault, but both of the base were captured and Siren's presence in the area were eliminated. Northern Union Regional Command deemed the operation as a success" Formidable explained to William.

William saw how the operation went, the constant attack from Azur Lane were used to pave way for their war machines to assault the two base…William personally never saw Siren's base before, but judging the round fortress like structure he saw on the hologram they used some kind of old medieval wall and cannon tactics. Useful, they also use this on Azur Lane Headquarters albeit in grander scale. William could see why they have troubles in attacking Siren's base, breaching the wall was hard and aerial deployment is almost impossible with that many AA guns along the walls top section.

"We returned here after the debriefing back there and Northern Union Regional Command decided to send Ms. Avrora to this base, she would be the representative and symbol of Northern Union dedication to fight The Sirens on this base, milord" Formidable said to William while smiling a bit.

"She proved herself in combat and strategy, shikikan-sama. She's the one who suggested the flanking maneuver to pave the way for the initial base assault and the one who personally lead the charge on the second one, she'll be a great addition to our fleet" Mikasa said to William while smiling.

Did she? William studied the final part of holographic simulation…small part of Azur Lane unit paved a way through the treacherous glacier to the north western part of the first base. It's an artillery unit that focused fired on one part of the base's wall, when the wall section crumbled Azur Lane army stormed the base through the gap. The second one fell to the same tactics and Avrora could be seen leading the charge inside…William smiled at what he saw, he might just get a ship girl that got complete guts to storm a Siren base inland despite her own disadvantage.

This also reminded him of what Lena said during his first time meeting the high command after being freed from The Deep End, she mentioned that the fight on land could be won with efforts but they are decimated on the seas…Siren's forces are imbalanced, but even so their land army is quite tough to beat if this operation cost third of their forces. Humanity could win the battles but the sacrifices they make would make them lose the war, William thought that the upgrade better be ready soon or they won't last long.

"I'm just doing my best for the sake of our survival and winning, Ms. Mikasa" Avrora said while smiling shyly.

"True, but surviving that whole battle without any casualties among ship girls you lead is still a notable achievement" Mikasa said to Avrora.

"The necessary data and combat recordings are all on this flash drive, milord. This is the report that we have compiled" Formidable said to William.

"I understand…Any other problems over there? Something that doesn't involved Sirens?" William asked the girls.

"There…might be one but I'm not sure" Mikasa said to William.

"Go on" William said to Mikasa while nodding his head.

"Why they didn't destroy the base, shikikan-sama? 4th Expedition Group was told to capture it instead destroying it" Mikasa asked William.

…As expected, that's the move they're going to pull in order to study and developed their own technology that could challenge The Siren's. Leveling the playing field would take some serious time and efforts, it would be best for them to have constant supply of samples. The base that they captured is like a treasure chest ripe with new knowledge and technology, Azur Lane got a leg up so it's jack in the pot motherfuckers…That should accelerate their progress in implementing Project Custos Terrae.

"High Command have plans that involved any Siren's technology they can capture, they will use it to improve our own technology" William said in matter-of-fact tone.

"I…see" Mikasa answered in unsure tone.

"…Well, I think we're done here. You ladies should head for the canteen, eat well and then go rest up. As recognition of your service, I will give you a week before you return to active service. Enjoy your day off…If you wish to discuss something with me, then feel free to drop by my office at working hours" William said while smiling.

The girls saluted or bowed before they left the command center, when they're out of earshot they started talking on how William was quite different than their previous commander and the fact that what Enterprise, Prinz and Brooklyn said were correct. William took the flash drive, stored it on his pocket and turned off the holographic projector…That's when he noticed someone is still here, he looked to the side and found Avrora still standing while looking at him.

"Ms. Avrora? You're not going?" William asked with cocked eyebrows.

"I still have questions about you, komandir" Avrora said to William.

"Ah is that so. Well its fine, but let's make this brief" William said, he don't want her to miss the welcoming party.

"…If you pardon me for being so blunt, does your arm got hurt because you went to the front? That you fight The Sirens directly?" Avrora asked William in curious tone.

"…Yes, that's true" William said while shrugging.

"I see…So what Ms. Enterprise and Ms. Prinz discussed was indeed true, you're quite brave komandir" Avrora commented to William.

"Add desperate to that, but…da, spasibo. Kak milo s tvoyey storony, Avrora" William said while smirking.

Avrora had her eyes widened and her mouth slightly opened in shock, she had no idea that William could speak Russian. She came to this base fully expecting that no one would understand her native language since she's the first Northern Union ship that would be stationed here, she never expected that the base commander could speak it…much less quite fluently too.

"You…know my mother tongue" Avrora said while smiling.

"I had a friend from Northern Union, learn a bit of it from him. Useful when I had to visit Moscow last time" William said while smiling.

"…Wait, had?" Avrora asked William.

"He…died, not too long ago" William said while smiling sadly, he instantly remembered Yuri's face.

"Oh, my condolences komandir" Avrora said while looking downwards and frowning.

"Thanks…Anyway, is there anything else?" William asked Avrora.

"Not at the moment, thank you for answering my question…Will you be heading for the canteen too?" Avrora asked William back while smiling.

"Yeah, shall we go together?" William asked Avrora back again while smiling.

"Sure" Avrora answered while smiling.

They walked to the canteen while chattering lightly among themselves, William gave her brief explanation of the buildings around them as Avrora asked questions regarding the things she saw. It didn't take five minutes until they reached the canteen, William opened the closed door and found that the party already started without them. But the whole canteen fell silent when they heard the door opened as everyone stared at the entrance, then Cleveland alongside Hornet appeared beside them suddenly.

"Ah! Here they are!" Hornet said while grinning.

"Commander! You're late!" Cleveland said with hands on her hips.

"Sorry about that, Cleve…Avrora, this is your welcoming party. From now on, you're a comrade of ours and we are your comrades. These girls set this up quickly when they found out that a new girl will be joining them, now enjoy yourself" William gave an encouraging nudge from the back to Avrora.

"Come on now Avrora, you're among the stars tonight! The stage is yours!" Hornet said as she and Cleveland dragged her inside.

Avrora was being dragged to a makeshift stage and Cleveland handed her a mic, she looked absolutely clueless while staring at the ship girls around the canteen who looked with expectation on their eyes. William found a spot near the entrance where he watched while leaning on the wall, he nodded as if to give her a direction on what to do…Finally, after being silent for ten seconds Avrora decided to smile and start speaking.

"Um…Errr, I don't know what to say honestly, this is very surprising for me! But…I am touched, to be received with open arms like this feels so good! From now on, please take care of me and let's fight together!" Avrora said while smiling.

""""""""""HUZZAAH!"""""""""" The ship girls raised their glass.

"Get those beers out!" Nevada said out loud.

"Where's the beefs? We need to keep the grill stuffed!" St. Louis asked on the kitchen grill.

"You young ladies will have to suffice with juice" Sheffield said to the destroyers in front of her.

"Bring out the food ladies! The buffet started to run out!" George said toward the kitchen area.

"Schwester Bismarck, care for a toast?" Tirpitz asked Bismarck while smiling.

"Ja. To the safe return of our freunde, sieg heil!" Bismarck said as she bumped her beer glass with Tirpitz.

The party is back on full swing, everyone having fun with music blasting while talking to each other. San Diego and Saratoga even took the mic and started singing, fellow ship girls who were near them also sang along with them while shouldering each other like old war buddies…William smiled at the sight, it's always a good one whenever ship girls hang out together like this and just be people. Temporarily forgetting the fact they're at war with an alien civilization, just a bit but breaks like this are necessary…The door beside William was opened, he stared and saw his personal secretary walked in with her usual dress.

"…Hood?" William called her out.

"Hey…I'm healthy enough now, the fever has gone down so you don't have to worry Milord" Hood said while approaching William.

"That's good to hear" William said while nodding his head.

"Master, here you go" Belfast said to him suddenly.

William jumped a bit as he was surprised that Belfast suddenly appeared behind him carrying a plate full of food, he noted just what's aboard the plate and ready to travel to his stomach…Cheese rolls, roasted beef slice and small piece of salad on top of the plate that Belfast carried. Doesn't sound much? Well, the portion is for two people served in one plate!

"Huh? Wait, a double serving?" William asked Belfast.

"A combination for your lunch and dinner. Linner" Belfast said while smiling.

"First time I heard that" William cocked his eyebrows.

"Because I made it up on the spot just now" Belfast said while maintaining her smile.

"Har har…Anyway, thanks Belfast" William said while nodding his head and smiling.

She aim to make up with that chocolate muffin cake as lunch, didn't she? William got a feeling that she immediately went to canteen by the time William told her that today's work is over, well William could guess if he sample the dish later and see if it's the same as how Belfast make it. She got this level of 'uniqueness' that differs her cooking compared to the other girls, William couldn't put exactly what though…Hood looked at him from the side, she smiled then said.

"Want me to feed you again?" Hood asked William while smiling.

"Wouldn't that count as PDA?" William asked back while smiling too.

"No, I'm sure they understand. Isn't that right, Bel?" Hood said then asked Belfast.

"Why yes. Let's sit over there, I will be the one feeding you this time. You need to eat properly so you can recover well, Master" Belfast said to William.

Belfast picked the nearest table from their position, she sat and have William sat beside her while Hood flanked him on the other. That's it, he couldn't escape but then again who would want to run from being spoon fed by a gorgeous maid like Belfast? Honestly, William got addicted. He got addicted to being pampered like this, he was bathed and he was fed by especially the maids…Unfortunately, that comes with the expense he would have troubles functioning for his work. He just tried it today and he can't signed documents so he resorted to the stamps, he wished that his arms would heal but at the same time felt sad if it does…

"Here, open wide~" Belfast said to William while smiling.

Opening his mouth widely without trying to look too eager, William had spoonful of food being fed to him. Munching while keeping his face as neutral as possible, he tried to look around to see if any other girls noticed this…Well they are in a sense, they looked at him briefly before they connected the dots and only smiled then continued what they were doing. Great, no need to feel embarrassed since he got legitimate reasoning instead of like being spoiled by a hot maid-

"Ara ara, shikikan, it seems you're enjoying yourself" Atago said while approaching the table.

"Well I can't help it, my right arm is busted Atago" William reasoned while smiling wryly.

"I'm sure you're thirsty. Here, I saved some juice for you" Atago said while holding a glass of orange juice.

"Yeah thank-" William said to Atago.

"Shikikan-sama, here's some sausage that I helped cooking this afternoon" Shoukaku joined in the fray.

Holy shit nuggets! He was pushing it if he thought he could finish Belfast's combination of lunch and dinner then still have room for dozen of grilled sausage dipped in hot sauce. The aroma was nice and the taste without doubt would be great…But remember Will, your mom didn't raise a quitter and food offered to you by a beautiful girl who spend her time putting her efforts on creating food to give to you would have to be appreciated!

"You will eat them right? Believe me, it's delicious~" Shoukaku asked William with a sliver of hope in her eyes.

"Well…Okay" William said while rubbing his stomach subtly to warn it for what he about to do.

Shoukaku's bright smile was a worthy reward for the nausea his full stomach gave him, finishing Belfast's food like a trooper then ate Shoukaku's grilled sausage really put him on full tank. He felt good since he was right regarding him needing to eat proper food instead of sweets for the past few days, but he overdid it just like before…Well, a full stomach is better than empty ones in most case. At least he know he will be sleeping like a rock tonight, full belly does that to people in some case.

"…I felt so full" William said out loud, with his face on the table.

"Aww, I was about to ask you to participate in a duel with me, kommandant" Prinz who sat in front of William said.

"Spare me this one Prinz, I will throw up…if I participate" William said to Prinz while frowning.

Prinz have a habit of drinking alcohol during parties, luckily she could hold her liquor extremely well and even constantly searching for those who could match her blow for blow in drinking contest. She's been searching for the chances to challenge William directly on drinking contest, the first one had to stop midway since William forfeited due to his stomach being too full and he flat out refused this one due to the same reason…Prinz thought that she might need to change her approach.

"Too bad…Should I save you some booze?" Prinz asked William in cheeky tone.

"…Yeah" William nodded his head.

"I'll try then~" Prinz said to William then left the table.

"…She definitely didn't have any intention to uphold her words, didn't she?" William said to himself.

Yup, he learned about that from Belfast after his first combat against The Sirens that Prinz is someone you let choose the bar on drinking outing and the one you also counted on if there's a bar fight. That mean she's good at both, though William never saw her drunk and out of control…According to the Royal Maids though, she did get drunk once during Dragon Empery New Year's Festival. He kind of want to see her when she's drunk, it'll be worth the hassle.

CLANK!

"Kyaa! Bel~! Where are you!?" Edinburgh said from the kitchen area.

"Oh my dear big sister…Please call me if you need something, master" Belfast said as she stood up.

"Me as well shikikan, I will go and find Takao nee-sama" Atago said while she also stood up.

"Alright…What about you, Hood?" William asked Hood.

"Don't worry, I'm content being here" Hood said to William.

"…You're content on accompanying an overstuffed commander?" William asked in sarcastic tone.

"Yes, someone would have to guide you to the lavatory if you want to throw up" Hood responded while smiling.

"Heh…" William snorted at her answer, she's right.

Not that William felt like throwing up, but the chance of it happening is fifty percent. While mulling over waiting his stomach to rapid digest the food he just ate, he stumbled upon something that clouded his vision in white and black. William looked upwards and saw both Illustrious and Formidable walking toward him with faint smile on their faces…Now that both of them were here, it's clear that Illustrious and her sisters are almost perfect on their appearance. Seriously, how could you be beautiful and cute at the same time?

"Illustrious" William greeted while smiling a bit.

"Milord. I take you have met with my sister, Formidable?" Illustrious asked William.

"Yes, she's the one who gave me the debriefing" William answered as he straighten his posture.

"I heard some stories about you from my big sister, milord" Formidable said to William.

"Good ones, I hope?" William tilted his head bit with wry grin.

"As if I could talk badly about you, milord. Your redeeming qualities outweigh your bad ones~" Illustrious said while smiling widely at William.

"…Aww, I'm flattered" William said while smiling back.

"Mind if we join you?" Illustrious asked William.

"Oh no, not at all. Go ahead" William said to Illustrious.

"Commander, do you want some drinks?" Javelin approached William and asked.

"Ah, no thanks Javelin. Oh, if it's not a bother, could you please grab some of those cheese rolls? I think these ladies need to fill their stomach" William asked Javelin.

"Yessir!" Javelin said while saluting.

She's gone for a bit and returned with a big plate filled with cheese rolls, she put it on the table and William thanked her while patting her head for a bit. Javelin clearly didn't expected that, she only want to check on him for a bit and see if she could help. But receiving head pat as a reward caused her cheeks to go red a bit and she clearly liked the gesture, after she bowed a bit she immediately headed toward Z23 and Ayanami who witnessed the entire spectacle from afar…Hood, Illustrious and Formidable took the cheese rolls and ate it elegantly like typical noble lady…Oi, Royal Navy? What do you folks expect?

"Quite the celebration, did you do this with everyone who's gone for week's long mission?" William asked the ladies.

"Yes, this certainly help with morale and everyone have been doing this since the fleet was formed. Though…The previous commander never joined this celebration" Illustrious said while frowning a bit.

"I'm getting quite curious about this chap now, he sounded…so detached from you ladies" William commented while frowning.

"Hood, you're the one who's by his side the most. Can you tell him how he's like?" Illustrious asked Hood.

"Even if I did been in that position, there's not much else I could say about him other than he's a man who follow protocols and orders to the letter. Other than that, he never interested in small talk with us" Hood said to William.

"…What's his name?" William asked the ship girls around him.

"Commander David Livingston. Around mid-thirties, with crew cut hairstyle and stern face" Formidable commented while tapping her fingers on her chin cutely.

"Stern professional or stern got-a-stick-up-his-arse kind?" William asked while grinning mischievously.

"Ufufufufu, I'd say he's the latter one. He never even smiled just for a bit!" Formidable said after giggling…hey, this man speaks her language in a sense.

"What are you planning to do with him?" Illustrious asked William.

How about barging to his place and asked what the fuck is wrong with him!? He got an entire base full of beautiful girls with wide array of personality like them and you didn't even try to talk a bit with them outside work!? Did none of them catch his attention!? His type?! Is he gay or something?! Not even a stern military man would flat out refused to talk with them outside duty! This man must be a fucking robot in a sense…But no, there's no way he said that out loud to the gentle Illustrious.

"Nothing. Just doing some check on my predecessor, nothing wrong with that…So, Ms. Formidable, I read your file and you got some interesting power there. You could stop time?" William asked Formidable to change the topic.

"Not exactly time, but objects. Suspending them within the continuous flow of time space continuum, which means even flying or floating objects would stay in its place when I used it" Formidable explained a bit.

Holy moly that was some overpowered shit right there! Anything that could stop something and suspend it while time continue normally around the object is freaking useful as hell! William could already imagined multiple ways he could implement Formidable's ability during combat, he's glad to have a ship girl who possessed power like that on his fleet.

"…Talk about overpowered, did you heavily abused that during the previous operation?" William said after whistling in amazement.

"Naturally~" Formidable answered with proud smile.

"I have a request. Can I see it? Here, I'll throw this up in the air" William said to Formidable, he then threw a spoon up in the air.

"The curtain falls!" Formidable said in confident smile while pointing her right index finger on the spoon.

And William watched as how the spoon was suspended in mid-air like a bad case of lag on online games, mouth gaping a bit in amazement William took the spoon that floats in mid-air and twirled it around his left hand. He then tried dropping it on the table but the spoon was suspended in the air as well, that until Formidable let it go and the spoon fell on the table. William smiled at the demonstration, no wonder she's selected to deploy during that operation…She could clearly use that ability of hers to maximum effect during combat.

"Fantastic…I couldn't believe it, you actually did stop it" William said to Formidable while nodding his head.

"Though depending on the object, it could be very strenuous for me too. Something small like bullets, missiles or bombs are easily manageable for extended period of time, but if it's ships it's quite hard to hold them off for more than few seconds" Formidable explained to William.

"Those few seconds could be the determining factor in battle, Ms. Formidable…I'm really glad to have you on this base" William smiled in satisfaction.

"Oh dear! Milord~, are you trying to woo my little sister?" Illustrious asked while smiling.

"Heavens! This is but a small talk, big sister!" Formidable said to Illustrious.

"She's right. If that's my goal, I will do it since I laid my eye on her" William said while smirking.

"Ah? Are you saying I'm not attractive, milord?" Formidable looked at William as if she's offended.

"No, it's just that I-" William smiled turn into frown at the thought offending Formidable.

"Then, I'm more attractive than my little sister? Since you said that you indeed found me to be one on our first meeting?" Illustrious smiled mischievously, oh man she's enjoying this!

…William started sweating at the hole he just dug because his words could be taken out of context easily, he racked his brain on how to escape from this bait obviously laid so he could answer which one he found more attractive Illustrious or Formidable…And like any visual novel protagonist out there when asked about this question, William opted the safe route and asked the third girl on scene and that happened to be Hood who's watching with subtle little frown on her lips.

"Errr…Hood, little help here?" William asked while cringing.

"You brought this upon yourself milord, I think it's your responsibilities to pull yourself out" Hood said to William.

"Sheesh, could you please be jealous later? I got two ladies hounding me for an answer" William said with half opened right eye.

"W-Who said anything about jealousy!?" Hood answered, her cheeks went red a bit.

"Ah" Formidable suddenly said out loud.

Formidable and Tirpitz made eye contact and both of them froze, then Tirpitz smiled wryly while Formidable smiled as they acknowledged each other presence. Meanwhile, Hood and William were locked in avoiding eye contact game while Illustrious stared with amusement dancing on her eyes. Formidable stood up from her seat and she went over to Tirpitz.

"Ms. Tirpitz! Why it's been a while!" Formidable said to Tirpitz while smiling.

"Ah…yes it has, Formidable" Tirpitz said to Formidable while smiling wryly.

"Please excuse me milord…Ms. Tirpitz, I think we should catch up" Formidable said to William before talking with Tirpitz.

"And there she goes…Hah, she's always so whimsical at times" Illustrious sighed as she stared at Formidable.

"…I think that's the alcohol talking for me" William said without looking at Hood.

Man, the embarrassing blunder he said! That was very presumptuous of him, he's been doing well regarding his friendship with Hood and yet he had to make some comment that could potentially make the interaction between them awkward. Hood however couldn't believe that she overreacted on what William said, he clearly meant it as a jest right? But she couldn't help it, because she indeed felt weird when both Illustrious and Formidable arguing regarding who's more attractive between them according to him…

"…Right, alcohol" Hood answered in sarcastic tone, fully realized that William haven't drunk a single drop of it since he arrived to this party.

.

…Weeks went by since then, Sirens haven't shown their face for quite some time but Azur Lane and Crimson Axis didn't stop any of their patrols and hunts for them around the earth. Fleet's patrolled the sea, cities were being fortified in case of an attack, combat aircraft patrol the hemisphere and this shall goes on until The Sirens are forever beaten which almost everyone thought wouldn't happen for anytime soon. It's the same for the base that William commanded, they kept their patrol routine, taking commissions such as escorts, inspection or exercise among themselves. They're in quite peaceful state for the past few weeks, something that they grateful for.

William flexed his right arm after it was deemed fully healed, it was just major fracture which easily mended by the new prototype medicine that Headquarters produced just two weeks ago. They called the stuff Rejuvenation Gel or 'Regel' for short, it's one of the secret extracted from a Wisdom Cube that they successfully synthetized and produced. Though since they couldn't mass produced it yet, the stuff is only available for special divisions but this technology would change battlefield medical treatment forever.

The stuff is essentially a regenerative stimulant, it accelerate the body natural healing process so it could mend wounds in matter of days. Depending on the severity, it could take mere hours to weeks to fully heal them but still this has its drawbacks. For starters, they couldn't be sure regarding the exact dose for each wound. Second, this mostly heals physical injuries so sickness due to bacteria or virus or bio chemical weapons would be out of questions. Third, this could only be applied after first aid treatment not as first aid itself because if it used like that the result was…quite ugly to say the least.

This stuff is a breakthrough and planned to be mass produced and conventionalized as soon as possible, their base got several crates worth of the stuff and Vestal was gleaming in delight to say the least. Long story short, he's healed and he's back to work…Aww fuck, William just got used to being fed and taken care off before it's over. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted...Currently, William was on his office as usual with Prinz sortieing documents beside him, Enterprise double checking the signed documents on William's other side and Kongou sat on the sofa typing with a laptop regarding this month's plan for the base.

They're officially on summer now, it was freaking hot, cicadas sang to remind them that its summer and boy the sea looked so tempting. But before they could celebrate by swimming on the beach, their job have its priority on number one spot. Being secretary ships meaning you got more privileges compared to ordinary ships but the responsibility was a lot more as its drawbacks, even life want to give and take but sometimes it cheated by doing 'take' only.

"…I want to go to the beach" Prinz absentmindedly said.

"Finish this one up and you're free to go" William absentmindedly responded.

"Aww, it'll be dusk at this pace" Prinz said while pouting.

"Yeah, that's why we can't afford to slack even for a bit" Enterprise said in matter-of-fact tone.

"Where's Hood anyway?" Prinz asked William.

"I sent her for dorms inspection" William said to Prinz.

"Wouldn't it be faster if you're the one who did that while she take care of these paperwork?" Prinz asked William.

"…She need to go out of the office once in a while" William answered Prinz.

Yup, that woman was cooped up on the office too much these days and some fresh air would definitely do her good. William sent her on the dorm inspection for three reason, first being that and second he's adamant about having Enterprise and Prinz taking up this paperwork duty for today. Even if there's no inspection today, he would have still called these two to do this. Why? It's because they-

"Is that favoritism I smell~?" Prinz commented in cheeky tone.

"Hey now, I treat all of you equally" William looked at Prinz with narrowed right eye.

"Then why are we stuck with this?" Prinz asked with cocked eyebrows.

"Remind me how first fleet and second fleet yesterday's exercise ended?" William asked back with half closed right eye.

That's the third reason…Yesterday, there's a training exercise conducted between the two fleet. But, since each of the members are top fighters in their respective rights, the fight kind of get out of hands as several base's infrastructure got damaged due to their fight. Akashi's shop had holes on the roof, the back of Shiranui shop was cracked due to a stray shell, two container near the docks were bended and dozens of traumatized Manjuus who happened to be in the area doing their work became their victim…

William was watching funny videos during his break during that exercise, when the news arrived from Belfast who was drenched with sea water to the bones since she supervised the exercise. Safe to say, his sense of humor was lost in an instant as he marched down to the docks without his white officer jacket and veins throbbing on his face. That day, first and second fleet were lined up on the docks while receiving harsh scolding from William regarding the mess they made. The man is actually kind, but even he could get pissed when something like this happened and the safety of the others were threatened.

"Thought so. Both of you are the responsible leader of respective fleets, having fun and giving it your all is good but you two sense of surroundings were clouded in the process…If that fight happened near urban area, the civilian casualties wouldn't be light and that's unacceptable. Consider this the punishment for your lack of awareness for your surroundings, I don't what that to ever happen again…Got it?" William asked Enterprise and Prinz.

"Yes sir…" "Ja kommandant…" Enterprise and Prinz answered.

It's not the first time William drilled that fact to them since he did the same thing yesterday during his scolding, they need to keep aware regarding their surrounding environment no matter the situation during combat. He learned that the hard way during his early days being deployed to the frontline, his squad failed to note that the place was filled with a platoon of Ironbloods infantry and they got gunned down. Luckily, William's injuries was not too fatal and a field medic successfully stopped him from bleeding out…He didn't want that to happen to the girls, that's why he's being strict regarding battlefield mistakes…

"Good…Kongou, how is it going over there?" William asked Kongou.

"I say eighty percent completed. Just need to rearrange the timing for each activity" Kongou said to William while keep typing on the laptop.

"As soon as you're done, please meet with Souryuu and give her the financial report for this month's spending plan. Then you're free to go, your task is over for the day after that" William said to Kongou.

"Understood shikikan. But before that I must ask something, are we really going to hold this 'competitive sports day'? The competition seems fierce in this plan" Kongou asked William.

"Yeah, it'll be good for morale and camaraderie. I got the suggestion from-" William said before he was interrupted.

There's a floating holographic screen in front of his table, it said that the call was a 'Priority One: Azur Lane Central Headquarters' so William had to take this one like it or not. He answered the call and surprised to see Lena's face with her background being Azur Lane Central Headquarters Mission Control…That place isn't used unless the operation they undertake could be classified as 'strategic' move, if Lena call him through official channel like this then it's one hundred percent regarding work.

"Lena? It's rare for you to use this channel" William said to Lena.

"I know, but this is dire Will as we got a security breach. Crimson Cleanser managed to get their hands on a ship girl" Lena dropped the bomb…

That stopped four persons within the office from doing their work, William stared with mouth gaping, Enterprise with widened eyes, Prinz with 'What? Seriously!?' look on her face and Kongou who stopped typing to stare in shock at the holographic video call screen…Did Lena just told them that a group of terrorist managed to sedate and kidnapped a ship girl? Is this some kind of out of season April fool's joke?! Surely someone as a ship girl wouldn't be this vulnerable even for a destroyer!

"Wait, how the fuck that could happen?! Military base is not some place a terrorist could infiltrate just like that!?" William asked, outraged at that base security's when he heard the news from Lena.

"She was apparently subdued then kidnapped from one of Eagle Union's Eastern Coast naval base, we suspect bribery or even inside job. This just happened few hours ago and the pursuing team we sent to retrieve her back were all Killed In Action…We don't know exactly where are they going, right now we're analyzing their possible path with the help of Intel from our insider. We're also in the process of interrogating anyone inside that base, we couldn't afford to let Crimson Cleanser possess a ship girl as their asset" Lena just said the freaking truth.

"Find and castrate whoever thought helping Crimson Cleanser is a good idea, I won't forgive them" William said with serious gaze at Lena.

"Neither will I…We might need your expertise and the ship girl's support, please stand by for deployment Will" Lena said to William.

"Admiral Lena, who's the ship girl that they took?" Prinz asked Lena.

"She's Eldridge" Lena answered without missing a beat.

"…Eldridge? Our destroyer, that cute and sweet little Eldridge?" Enterprise asked in disbelieved tone.

"Yes, we confirmed it to be Eldridge. My theory is they will try to harness her electric powers, for what ends that we don't know yet…Prepare for rapid deployment, Will" Lena said while staring at them seriously.

Enterprise felt her legs losing strength as she hold on to William's office table for support in sheer disbelieve, someone dared to kidnapped and possibly harm that cute little girl and Enterprise felt a rage that haven't manifested since Yorktown took a fatal hit during The Battle of Midway…Oh those dirty sorry ass pathetic excuse of terrorists would pay for that, the fact she's sure everyone on this base would feel the same about this incident further flamed her rage. Eldridge is the little sister of Eagle Union, they would not stay silent if she's in danger.

"Don't worry, I'm on it. Notify me as soon as you get a location, how about the retrieval forces?" William asked Lena.

"We need to keep it tight less morale among the troops fell. You and the girls would have to do" Lena said to William.

"Got it" William nodded his head in affirmation.

The holographic video call was disconnected, William may felt pissed by the news but regardless he need to keep the cool head. He's the commander, it's his responsibilities so that they could respond accordingly to this new task that Lena would give them as soon as Eldridge's current location is confirmed. William quickly get to work, he would need to order his ship girls to prepare themselves.

"…Prinz, warn everyone on the base regarding this. Enterprise, I want you to assemble a strike team to come with me. Kongou, head over to the command center and prepare for the operation" William barked his orders rapidly.

"Yes sir!" "Jawohl kommandant!" "Hai, shikikan!" Enterprise, Prinz and Kongou said to William.

"…Those pricks were on my personal shite list already, now they're just pouring gasoline to the fire" William said with tone full of contempt.

The three ship girls immediately made their way out at max speed…Those terrorist dare to stoop this low, then again terrorist doesn't have any moral values so this is normal…William gathered himself, he went over to his room and changed into Azur Lane Dark Blue Special Forces Uniform that he wore during Battle of Terania. He noticed that it was cleaned and ironed already with stiches on some part of it…Oh yeah Belfast did this few weeks ago when the commission team returned, William thanked her silently.

He immediately equipped it, equipped black gloves, his combat boots, the radio and lastly the combat goggles with the attached camera on side of it. He looked himself on the mirror, he looked ready for some action. Exiting the room, William made a call to Akashi while heading for the command center. Akashi was busy with one of her projects when she heard an announcement on the base PA system and her phone ringed.

"Akashi?" William asked when the call was answered.

"Ah, shikikan! Is it true about what Prinz-san said on the intercoms!?" Akashi asked William.

"Yeah, all of it. Do you have the armor?" William asked Akashi.

"All prepared and ready. Kevlar weaved nano fiber and combination of titanium plating alongside composite armor in one…Shikikan, aren't these armor pieces quite heavy? Especially the vest" Akashi asked William.

"I was trained to use that kind of armor and swim around in full gear Akashi so that much won't hinder me" William said to Akashi.

"If you say so nya…But just in case you need to shed them, I designed it so it could be taken off easily" Akashi informed William.

"Thank you for being thoughtful, Akashi. I'll be there after I sort the briefing out" William said to Akashi.

Around few weeks ago, William remembered that the normal armor pieces he wore for his shoulder, elbows and knees was quite outdated and the Kevlar vest he wore was not up to standards anymore. That's why he asked Akashi to make one that provide significant protection but still light enough for him to move around without looking like a juggernaut, he did came up with the list of materials and Akashi successfully created the armor pieces.

Basically speaking, the armor that William ordered to create was customized one and provide significant protection against small arms fire. It would still get wrecked with ship grade cannon but he's almost impervious to gun and blade attacks, since the budget came from his own wallet however he need to limit the pieces since he could very well emptied his account. He's tempted to create one based on the design from Plan Bellator Luminis with the fully body infantry armor design, but he need to wait for one to be produced before he plans to make any tweaks to its design.

Arriving on the command center, he noted that Enterprise was already there with the strike team while Kongou is busy directing The Manjuus in manning the stations. William saw that Enterprise brought Hornet, Shoukaku, Zuikaku, Sheffield, Suffolk, Shropshire and Koln with her…She's going for maximum offensive potential with this one, William get inside the room and the girls either saluted or bowed at him as greeting.

"Is this everyone?" William asked them.

"Yes sir. This team is sufficient to provide fire support in case you need it" Enterprise said to William.

"Great work Enterprise. Manjuus, battle space projection on main screen. Lena, are you connected?" William asked out loud.

Lena's face appeared on the large screen after they are connected to Azur Lane Battle Network, her face cam miniaturized to the bottom left corner as the center screen was taken by large map where the incident happened. There's also brief simulation played on how Azur Lane responded with the kidnapping, they sent few units to catch up and intercept the kidnappers but during a brief skirmish that happened near the Eagle Union's northern border they were wiped out…A trained unit got beaten by terrorist group? That must've been one heck of a skilled unit that Crimson Cleanser has.

"Yeah, loud and clear. Let's begin with this briefing…So, supposedly Eldridge was taken from that base over there. Quick Reaction Force intercepted the kidnappers over these area and founded dead…here. As you can see, their option was quite numerous but we have seized the local cities and towns with guards so it won't be so easy for them to infiltrate any of those even with the neighboring countries" Lena explained to William.

"That's quite wide search area, Lena" William said to Lena.

"I know, even worse with the fact that the trails lead to open waters and that's the main source of our headache. We're in the process of analyzing pathways based on evidence and Intel we got, this will take a while. Our Intel division is running on full caffeine and energy drinks right now" Lena said while throwing her right thumb to her rear direction.

"That sounds bad" William cringed a bit.

"They've been in constant trouble since the past few days. Stress was piling up and it's not looking good" Lena said while frowning.

"Crimson Cleanser up to something huh?" William said while folding his arms.

"Yeah and this kidnaping might just be the beginning. As soon as you got Eldridge I want you to secure her on your base…We might need to send everyone over there too" Lena said to William while staring seriously.

…Wait, hold on. Lena proposed so that this base would contain every ship girls on the world? Not that William mind despite the strategic and tactical dumbfuckery that could resulted with that move, the reason warranted decisive move and focusing the ship girls in one area could be managed easily if they ever went for deployment too. But that came with its own problems, how the hell William could manage to put almost hundreds of additional ship girls at the same place in short time? He would need time to prepare for the administration and accommodation bullshit alone!

"Whoa whoa whoa! As much as I like reinforcement you need to send them periodically Lena. We need to make room and accommodate everyone better, probably tasking the Manjuus for dorm expansions too" William said to Lena, he couldn't help but smiling at the prospect however.

"Right. But I'm not taking any more chances with what happened, Will. Ready the base for expansion, I will brought this up on the meeting with High Command in few days" Lena said to William while smiling.

"Got it…Ladies, prepare to empty our account as we're going to majorly renovate the dorms and the base" William said out loud, the ship girls currently present shown mixed reaction to that statement.

"How are you and the girls going to eat if your coffer's empty?" Lena asked William while smiling amusedly.

"Fishing is still an option" William simply said while shrugging.

"Hahahaha, well don't worry I will try to haggle some 'donations' for you" Lena said after laughing.

She better! The cost for majorly renovating the base is astronomical based on his prediction alone, William was not sure if he's ready to hear the exact cost after Souryuu's calculations too. Right now they certainly have more than enough budget but that wouldn't surely be enough for renovations, construction of new buildings, dorm expansions, rigging maintenance, the electricity bill (Oh wait, William remembered they do have their own generators), the food cost, daily necessity cost, the oil consumption and not to mention the sudden crowd would be tough to handle…Oh boy, looks like he's not going to spend summer by doing shit and giggles.

"New Intel, we got them" Lena suddenly said to William.

"That was quick!" William commented with widened right eye.

"Mind you, our infiltrators are pros…Following the trajectory, it should be like…this" Lena said as she watched the screen.

The simulation played once again but this time it was more detailed on its movement. The presumed kidnapper escaped the base and followed by several units who subsequently got taken out one by one, after few kilometers chase the last of Azur Lane pursuer were eliminated and the kidnapper keep moving north. That's until they suddenly traced the icon that flew on Eagle Union's airspace, skimming it west and landed somewhere on the northern Pacific Ocean…All under few hours?!

"…Wait, Lena how is this possible? They just gone for few hours, right? How did they managed to land there? You're telling me they skimmed an entire continent in just matter of hours? What kind of plane that could do that?" William asked Lena with shocked gaze.

"…I guessed some kind of military transport, we don't know the details yet but the evidence is solid that they did landed there. This is the photo of Eldridge…and this is the one taken by our infiltrator ten minutes ago on said facility that they infiltrate" Lena said to William.

The screen shown the photo of Eldridge which stared sleepily at the camera with white background, then there's another picture taken between rows of legs but it's clear that's the same Eldridge that now locked up in a cage with her hands tied and looked unconscious leaning on one side of the cage. Enterprise's and Hornet's blood boiled when they saw one of their sisters was treated like that, Shoukaku had to cover her gaping mouth, Zuikaku looked angry at the sight while the others were doing the mix of those…

"No doubt about it commander, that's Eldridge" Hornet said to William.

"She's sleeping?" Zuikaku asked Hornet.

"She's like Laffey as she often sleeps. But I think this one is because she's sedated, there's no way Eldridge would sleep around someone she's uncomfortable with" Hornet said out loud with serious gaze.

"Assuming that's the case alongside the cell she's in, it seems she's being held on a specialized cell…Do you think they somehow negate her powers, Lena?" William asked Lena regarding her opinion.

"It's possible. If I were them I wouldn't want to get zapped just by getting close to her, that cell looks like made of metal too and that's electricity conductor…I think that theory is correct regarding something hindering her powe-. Hold on" Lena said suddenly as she focused her stare off screen.

She widened her eyes as she looked back toward the working operators as she precisely instructed them on what to do, William was confused a bit before the screen in front of them changed into another part of the ocean. They realized that this was a satellite camera view and it zoomed in to one part of the ocean where William could saw several things flying…Could be birds, until William saw that those birds were actually fighter aircraft. Worse, the design was unlike the one possessed by humans. That simply means-

"…Will, satellite scan shows that the nearby area has Siren jets patrolling it. There could be Siren fleet out there, don't take chances and deploy the fleets in full firepower" Lena said to William.

"You mean the strike team over here is not enough? They're some of the best hitter!" William said to Lena while pointing at the ship girls to his sides.

"I'm afraid that's the case…Here, take a look at this" Lena said to William.

The image switched to another part of the ocean and there's another sighting of Siren's Jet patrolling in arrowhead formation, the camera screen zoomed out a bit and highlighted the position of two sighting and it's only few dozen kilometer apart from each other…That's still quite close, what are those Sirens planning? Their appearance was close to where Eldridge's being held, coincidence or is something sinister is brewing on the horizon?

"We got multiple sighting on this point here and here, by estimation you would have to circle around to deploy in order to get to that facility. But at the same time, those two possible fleets would need to be eliminated as it could jeopardized your area of operation…worse, it might have something to do with Eldridge's kidnapping. What I'm saying is nothing but a bunch of nonsense right now, but what are the chances of The Sirens working with Crimson Cleanser?" Lena asked William.

"Won't be the first time that happened, Divide and Conquer seemed to be Siren's favorite strategy if that's true…It's a good idea to eliminate those fleets. Judging from the layout too, it'll be impossible to approach from the air without getting spotted. Underwater infiltration it is" William nodded his head.

"Daylight infiltration too, you're getting quite bold Will. But considering your combat records, daylight solo infiltration shouldn't be a problem for you…I suggest you remain unseen even when you got Eldridge with you" Lena said while smiling.

Lena told the operator beside her to do something…She know William extensive combat record and how many deep infiltration operation he had done in the past, stealth is among one of his noticeable trait in the battlefield though since his release from the prison he got no chance to show it off. Solo infiltration straight into enemy fortified position despite being out of touch for two years? Bah, he should be fine. The combat he experienced during Battle of Terania should reawaken his battle instinct and getting him used to combat again.

"That would be our best bet…Anyway, Lena. Someone need to be in charge of them while I go and infiltrate their base" William said to Lena.

"Yes, that would be the case" Lena simply replied.

"Then I think it's your call on who should be on the fighting fleet" William said to Lena.

The ship girls around him looked surprised, they never been under Lena's direct command and they somehow doubt that Lena has the same leadership style that William has. How about the strategy or tactic she will use? William seemed to have full confidence on her…Lena was surprised that William willing to hand the command to her, he's not that comfortable in handing the command of his troops to someone else since they work together in the armed forces. But that shown her how William have great trust and confidence on her, he know that the girls would be in good hands if he somehow unable to lead them. Despite two years gap, he never lose that trust to Lena.

"…Alright…But Will, as soon as your task is done I'm returning the command to you" Lena said while smiling softly.

"Sure, no problem" William replied while smiling.

"Then, Ms. Enterprise, please call Ms. Bismarck, Ms. Nagato and Queen Elizabeth. They are to bring their best fighters to this operation, I'm not taking chances with the possibility of all out naval combat happening near the area of operation for Eldridge's rescue…William wouldn't stand a chance if he's surrounded by an entire Siren's fleet" Lena instructed to Enterprise.

"Yes ma'am!" Enterprise saluted before bolting out of the command center.

"Frankly speaking, she's right…We got everything ready?" William said to the ship girls then asked Lena.

"Most of it. You'll be leaving first Will, the girls will insert with the experimental helicopter. You will insert with the specialized underwater infiltration module, we've taken the liberty to request Commander Johnson to hand you one. It should be ready in few moments alongside the helicopter that will carry it" Lena informed William.

"Alright…Ladies, listen up. For this operation, you will be under temporary command of Admiral Helena McAllen. She's a veteran of the previous war and an excellent strategist…She have my full confidence in her ability to lead, I want you girls to follow her orders so this operation could goes off without hitch. Understood?" William said to the ship girls.

""Yes commander!"" "Aye sir!" "Yes master" "Jawohl kommandant" "Hai, shikikan-sama" "Hai, shikikan!" The girls responded collectively.

"Then I think this is where we split up for now. I will be deploying first and I'll be counting on you ladies to prevent The Sirens from reaching me and Eldridge…Good luck ladies" William said while nodding his head.

"Shikikan! if you're in trouble don't hesitate to call us alright? We'll strike them where it hurts!" Zuikaku said to William.

"That's reassuring, Zuikaku. I'll be sure to do that if I'm in a tight spot" William said while smiling.

…Exiting the command center, William immediately head for the armory where Akashi told him through message that she placed the armor on the equipment table near his weapon locker. Entering the armory after inputting the necessary code, he stumbled upon someone inspecting the armor. That person is Belfast The Head Maid, she turned around when she heard William's footsteps and offered her signature smile at him.

"Master" Belfast said to William.

"Why are you here Bel?" William asked Belfast.

"I heard the announcement and figured that master would immediately went to the battlefield for this one since he's healthy already, I'm simply here to help master prepare" Belfast said to William while smiling.

"Ah…well, your help is appreciated" William said to Belfast while smiling a bit.

William sat on a chair near the table as he equipped the new armor, Belfast helped him equipped the place he's hard to reach such as his shoulder pads, elbow pads, the wrist guard and the knee pad. When that's done, William took the armored vest and put it on…Wow, this armor set was quite stiff but it was designed not to hinder his mobility with how easily his body could still move despite the stiff looking armor. Akashi did a great job on this one, William stood up as to get a feel on the movement...

"Master, what weapon you will brought on this mission?" Belfast asked William.

"There would be close quarter fight and probably open space fight. HK417 and MP7 will do" William said to Belfast.

Belfast took the HK417 Rifle and MP7 SMG from the weapon rack and placed it on the table, William quickly modified each of them with scopes and attachment needed to suit the mission parameters. For the rifle, he equipped it with ACOG scope for open ground engagement with vertical foregrip installed on it and a sling on the body then suppressor on its barrel. The MP7 was equipped with red dot scope, with laser sight attachment on its side rails then he also put on a suppressor. While he do that, Belfast was filling up his pockets with magazines for the two weapons…Belfast had gained quite the knowledge regarding small arms, thanks to William ever since he arrived on the base.

"Thanks Belfast, please get me three frag grenades, three flashbangs and two smoke grenades from the locker" William said to Belfast.

"Yes master" Belfast said to William.

…She's not that confident that William would be able to run when she saw how many stuff William would carry to this mission, he's even planning to carry small pack filled with tools to help him infiltrate the facility with him. What Belfast failed to realize was the fact that William did carry this much around during the war, he accomplished all those feats while carrying so many things like he did now…He got big body and he make full use of the strength it provided, he's the equivalent of Medieval Knights with this setup.

"…Master?" Belfast asked William.

"Yeah?" William asked Belfast back.

"I thought the plan was to infiltrate the base with the suppressor on your weapons? This setup is very suitable for mass murder" Belfast commented at his loadout.

"You could never know what will happen, it's best to be prepared" William said to Belfast.

"Commander Blaze, this is Viper 22. We've landed on the pier since the helipad is full, do you copy over?" Suddenly a transmission came on William's radio.

"Solid copy Viper 22. Stand by, I'll be there shortly" William said to the pilot on the radio.

"Yessir!" Viper 22 responded on the radio.

"…It's time Bel" William said to Belfast.

"Yes, let's go" Belfast said to William.

She took the rifle and the SMG with her, William was about to take the weapons but he relented since Belfast seemed want to send him off. He shrugged as he took a combat helmet and both of them started walking out of the armory to the pier…Along the walk he could saw that the pier is almost deserted except for Manjuus who were working on cargo duty, he could saw a large Chinook helicopter standing by on the pier.

"Master, on behalf of the ladies of this base. Please be careful out there" Belfast said to William.

"I will" William said to Belfast.

"What dinner do you want tonight, master?" Belfast asked William.

"Ho, quite rare for you to ask what I want for dinner" William asked while smiling.

"On special occasion especially to celebrate your safe return, I would make a special dinner that suited your request. However, should you return and had to stay the night in the infirmary…" Belfast said while smiling a bit.

"What about that?" William asked Belfast.

"Safe to say, I will prioritize healing properties more than the taste" Belfast said while smiling at William.

…Yikes! Medicinal food! William could guessed that Belfast wouldn't make the taste good as a punishment for him getting injured…It's a subtle threat but William was not a bumbling daft that he couldn't read hints (not every hints, he's still not a mind reader) that Belfast gave him, he chuckled at the thought and to what Belfast said to him. Belfast didn't shown it on her face, but she's quite worried about him going out to the front all by himself.

"Yeah…I'll do that. Then, I want double steak for dinner" William said to Belfast.

"Done. Prove to me that you could return safe and sound and that dinner will be your prize, master" Belfast said to William.

They arrived near the helicopter's location, the rear hatch opened and William could saw Carl Johnson staring at him from inside of the helicopter. He raised his hand at William and William replied by waving a bit at him, the commander next door was so kind to even send him off to this mission himself. William looked at Belfast who handed him his MP7, he took the gun and stored it on his right thigh holster and then Belfast offered the HK417 with both hands as if she handed a sword to him…William smiled as he took the sword- err the rifle with him and slung it around his shoulder.

"You know, you're like the medieval wife who send her husband off before going to war" William commented while smiling.

"Oh in that case, you're right. I just realized that I forgot to do one part of it" Belfast said as she realized it.

"Hmm? What par-"

William didn't have time to react when Belfast grabbed on his armor and pulled it down with him, she pulled him low enough that both of them stared each other on eye level before Belfast swooped in and planted a kiss directly on his lips…William's brain shut down on the spot before rebooting in seconds, Belfast kissed him on the lips! Oh man, if other girls saw this then the interrogation would be horrendous! Belfast let go of his lips after kissing him for solid four seconds and she still has the composure to smirk then let go of him, William was a hot mess with red cheeks after that act!

"There" Belfast said while smirking.

"…What was that for?" William asked Belfast with red cheeks.

"Oh, a good luck kiss of course. Do you want another one?" Belfast asked in cheeky tone while smirking.

"No thanks for now" William simply responded, he's too messed in the head to reply properly.

"Aww, that's a shame…Well then master, good hunting" Belfast said as she performed a curtsy.

"…Thank you" William said while smiling a bit.

He then hurriedly ran to the helicopter, once he's inside the helicopter quickly take off and set for the area of operation. William watched Belfast waving at him while getting smaller and smaller as the helicopter get further away from the base, when it reached certain altitude the pilot closed the rear hatch…William sighed, man...the taste of her lips still lingered on his and had subtle taste of strawberry too. He realized that he ignored Johnson who was staring at him alongside two private, William cocked his eyebrows.

"What?" William simply asked Johnson.

"Took a good chunk out of you with that kiss huh? I mean, who wouldn't when that gorgeous girl did that you. Damn lucky dog" Johnson said while grinning cheekily.

"Oh shut up Carl" William simply said with renewed blush on his cheeks.

.

"Ladies, did any of you know why I ordered you to sortie with this kind of firepower?" Lena asked out loud on the radio.

"Sirens are known to send reinforcement when their patrol fleet detected any of us, it's completely natural for wanting to be on guard for every possible approach" Bismarck answered on the radio.

"Precisely Ms. Bismarck, that is why we can't go in underpowered…Now, the last known position of Siren's fleets have been sent to your tactical data pad. They're hiding inside cloud formation, our satellite thermal scanners isn't functional yet so we have to do this the old ways. Your objectives is as follows…First, recon Siren's fleet size and capabilities. Second, eliminate the fleets. Third, adapt to whatever hidden threat those fleets possessed" Lena explained on the radio.

The large experimental helicopter that the base had was currently flying on low altitude to avoid radar detection, it's been two hours ride on maximum speed with the helicopter and they're getting near the area of operation. Since there's possible for early warning aerial radar system to exist near that island where Eldridge is being held, the girl will deploy few dozen kilometers from the said island…The helicopter was packed to the brim with ship girls, four fleet of ship girls ready to deploy.

"Admiral, we are quite concerned regarding the move they executed during Battle of Terania where they spawned inside our defensive perimeter. What's your take on that?" Queen Elizabeth asked Lena on radio.

"…I don't think it's a move they would often executed. If it's easy to pull, they would've constantly jumping their fleet around with that ability. The fact we didn't see that often proves that…Don't worry about it so much, Queen Elizabeth" Lena explained to Elizabeth regarding her hypothesis on radio.

"If you say so Admiral…Wales, kindly hand me the data pad" Queen Elizabeth said to Wales.

"Yes your highness" Wales handed her the tactical data pad.

"…Admiral, may I suggest The Royal Navy taking the southern position? We will make full use of the small islands formation" Queen Elizabeth said to Lena after looking at the data pad.

"Setting up ambush? That's a great idea, Royal Navy would do that…What about you and the others, Ms. Bismarck?" Lena said then asked Bismarck on the radio.

"We'll take the western one then. Ironbloods don't need cover for this operation, we'll destroy them with our might, Admiral" Bismarck said to Lena on the radio.

"A bit simplistic, don't you think?" Queen Elizabeth remarked Bismarck's plan.

"We don't need complicated plans for this one, we could simply circle their fleet while raining them with shells" Bismarck said to Queen Elizabeth.

"Both approach is fine in my opinion. Just don't be too reckless in either of your methods…Ms. Enterprise, you and the combined fleet will be stationed on the middle position as supporting fleet for the rescue operation. As soon as Commander William gave the signal, I want you ladies to obliterate that base with extreme prejudice" Lena said to Enterprise on the radio.

"Understood, admiral" Enterprise responded on the radio.

"Ms. Mikasa, Ms. Nagato have put you in charge for Sakura Empire's patrol fleet. Your primary task is to support both section that require any help, you'll be going between two points back and forth. But, if the enemy suddenly appeared on the north or east then your fleet will be the first responder" Lena instructed Mikasa on the radio.

"Hai teitoku-sama, we wouldn't let you down" Mikasa answered to Lena on the radio.

…This could be considered overkill with how many ship girls they deploy on single operation like this, but it's better to go over prepared than under prepared. There's so many things they didn't know about Sirens and that means every option are on table when they encounter them in the open seas like this without clear purpose, because usually they would spawn near their target and usually they would go on offensive immediately. Just like the case on Terania, there's something different about these fleet…Presence of their leader nearby is highly possible.

"We're approaching the drop zone. Prepare yourselves ladies…Manjuus, as soon as the ladies are away head to the designated spot to land the helicopter" Lena instructed to Manjuus the radio, they chirped in answer.

"How is Kommandant William doing, Admiral?" Bismarck asked Lena on the radio.

"He's making his way to the base last time we spoke. I wouldn't worry too much Ms. Bismarck, he's more than capable to handle this" Lena said to Bismarck on the radio.

"If you say so Admiral" Bismarck said to Lena on the radio.

The helicopter rear hatch opened and everyone stood up from their seat, they prepared themselves to deploy as combined fleet of the four great faction. Sirens are in for a world of hurt, these ship girls are hard hitters and top warriors picked by their respective leaders to do their job. The light near the hatch turned from red to green and dozens of them jumped out from the rear hatch while activating their riggings…Ever since William introduced this method of insertion, they always found themselves doing this when they execute missions.

Each of them landed smoothly on the waters which was quite wavy since the area started to get cloudy, is it possible that they will fight Siren's fleet during a harsh rain? Nothing new there. The girls immediately sorted themselves out according to the fleet they are assigned to, first fleet led by Enterprise who will stand by and provide support to William when he needed it. Second fleet led by Bismarck who will guard the western part of the battlefield, third fleet led by Mikasa who will support the other fleets and act as reserve in case Sirens appeared on another place. Lastly, fourth fleet led by Queen Elizabeth who will guard the southern part of the battlefield.

"Now then, we will meet again here after the operation is completed" Bismarck said to everyone.

"Agreed. Good hunting and good luck everyone, let's see who can sunk most of the Siren ships on this battle!" Queen Elizabeth said she and fourth fleet started moving.

"Interesting challenge Queen, you're on!" Bismarck said as she and second fleet started moving.

"Well, I guess we and the support fleet would lose by default then…Enterprise-san, it's best for you to get moving now. We will hold this position and make sure no one will get to your rear" Mikasa said to Enterprise.

"Thanks, Madam Mikasa…Let's move!" Enterprise said out loud.

…On an island few dozen kilometer away from where the girls dropped into battle, a lone man wearing green forest camouflage uniform while carrying M24 Sniper Rifle hummed while he climbed the watch tower overlooking a facility surrounded by cliffs, walls with barbed wire on top of it, security check point and various building inside it complimented with helipad and docks for ships. The man took out a cigar and light it up, smoking the cigar and puffed out the smoke he then hummed again.

Two hands suddenly appeared behind him, grabbed on to the guy's neck before twisting and breaking his neck in one swift movement. The man fell to the floor dead as William stood behind the man, William searched the man for something and took out a digital binocular out from the rear pocket. William then hid the dead body on the small room inside the watch tower on one of the locker there, he got out of the room and looked at the base below him.

"Channel encrypted, breaking radio silence…Olympus, this is Knight. I'm on site, do you copy over?" William said on the radio.

"Loud and clear Knight. What's your status?" Lena asked William on the radio.

"Just got my first kill…I'm currently overlooking the facility, it's a hornet nest down there" William said on the radio as he used the stolen digital binocular.

William studied the base layout and identify everything inside the facility. First thing you should do before infiltrating a heavily guarded facility, recon everything and anything. Make sure you got good understanding on the terrain, the knowledge about the target's combat capabilities and anything you could use to your advantage when inside the base…William studied the layout. The facility is heavily guarded, surrounded by cliffs, walled and checkpoints filled with armed men and machinegun station…This place looked like bona-fide military base at a glance, this supposed to be terrorist hideout, right!?

"Armed men, checkpoints with machineguns on it, helipad and docks. I don't know Olympus, this look like a military base…Daylight raid would be extreme with this many guard around" William commented on the radio.

"We're cross referencing our satellite view and swapping Intel with Crimson Axis right now…Do you know where Eldridge might be held?" Lena asked William on the radio.

"There's two large building I could identify from this location. One might be an administration building while the other…I don't know, the building has glass roof and look fanciest out of the rest of the building there" William said to Lena on the radio.

"Alright. Find a way in, try to procure Intel on site. I will try to contact our insider on this facility" Lena said to William on the radio.

"Oh yeah, you said we got an insider source on this place before" William said in realization on the radio.

"They're in deep cover, so unless we could pull them out we won't want to blow their cover" Lena explained on the radio.

Studying the facility further, William noticed that dark grey clouds are moving in from the ocean…Nice one as rain would provide audio visual cover for William, looks like god favor him on this one eh? He also noted that the facility has no power plant, where did the base draw their power then? It's very unlikely for this base to possess underground structure but he could be wrong. William observed the guards that patrolled the area…Smoking, leaning on the wall, playing cards even…These people didn't expect trouble or a well thought ambush waiting for him down there.

"I got in contact with our infiltrator. She will be helping you on this one, Knight" Lena said to William on the radio.

"Excellent" William noted as he keep studying the base layout.

"Patching her through" Lena said to William on the radio.

"…Hello? Knight, call me Jenny" Jenny said on the radio.

"Good to hear you Jenny. How can you help?" William asked Jenny on the radio.

"I can get you inside the facility, where are you?" Jenny asked William back on the radio.

"Watchtower by the east" William said to Jenny.

"Perfect. Look to your left side, there's a small internal dock through the small cave over there where you can make your entrance. The patrol boat is currently out, I will meet you there" Jenny instructed to William.

"How can I know so I won't shot you?" William asked Jenny on the radio.

"Blonde woman, looking naïve, big boobs and wearing engineer clothes near the toilet. When you say 'deep' I will say 'freeze', got it?" Jenny said to William on the radio.

"Got it, see you there" Williams said as he tucked away the digital binocular.

…Alright, he got a way in now but that will mean putting their infiltrator in danger. Depending on the situation, she will need to evacuate with him after this mission…William grabbed his holstered HK417, this is the determining moment. The ship girls out there is making sure that this base won't get pounded by Sirens first, Enterprise and her group will be on standby in case he need close air support and Eldridge is counting on him to get out of this facility. Time to do this, Metal Gear Solid style.

"Olympus, contact made with our infiltrator…I'm going in" William said on the radio.

(_Azur Lane Anime Opening Plays_)

* * *

**No Name: Well not on this chapter, but soon *Insert Lenny's Face***

**Yuss! Free time came so suddenly so I decided to crank this one out before 2020 officially rolled in, next one would probably be in January…That being said holy moly, 100 followers! Thanks a lot for your support and attention to this story dear readers, doesn't seemed much but I really appreciate those who took their time to read, follow, favorite and reviewed this story. ****For the next action we would see Mission Impossibl- err, Metal Gear Soli- err, Azur Lane style infiltration to rescue our cute little Eldridge from the hands of those filthy terrorist! And oh my, Belfast stole a head start too. Curious how it will turn out? Stay tuned dear readers.**

**Ps. I drew William on the cover art. Shabby? Well what can I say, I'm an amateur and still learn how to do shading and everything...Regardless, I figure that readers might want to see Will in an actual image. There he is, let me know your thoughts about his appearance (I will keep improving to draw him better someday) and maybe I'll drew one that could fit in as anime cover eh?**

**Until The Next Decade!**

**\- Dasmara**


	11. Is it on, then?

"Fleet One and Four is on position ma'am, they're starting their recon for Siren's fleet in the area" A female operator said to Lena.

"Good…Keep monitor on the whole area of operation, as soon anything comes up respond immediately" Lena said to the operator.

"Yes ma'am" The operator said to Lena.

…When did she last coordinate an operation like this? Right, few days ago and she haven't had that much rest since then. Caffeine and Red Bull were the only thing that keep her sane and functional during this hectic times, Crimson Cleanser and Sirens mixed for fun in one battlefield is a recipe for chaos and disaster which is something she'd like to avoid at all cost…Well Lena, theory and facts working in tandem is a hell of a gamble in the first place!

"Lena, I trust you got the operation under control?" Someone said from Lena's backside.

"Four fleets of combined great factions, our best infiltrator and probably one of the most skilled soldier Azur Lane has? I'm starting to think I'm overreacting to this entire situation, Lucas" Lena said without looking back toward Lucas.

"Nah, I approve of what you were doing…This will show them that we take no shit from anyone. Let them know that Azur Lane has no intention on downplaying our response" Lucas said while smiling a bit as he walked and stopped beside Lena.

Lucas was enjoying his lunch when the report came in through his overworked secretary regarding Eldridge's kidnapping, he lost his appetite in an instant as he reached for his phone to contact Lena. Turned out she already tried to handle it but the forces she sent were wiped out by this very skilled Crimson Cleanser squad…So, when everything fails, call the right man for the job and that's how Lucas told Lena to let William handle this one.

"…How's Will doing?" Lucas asked Lena.

"Great…I know he's happy to be back on the field despite this new job of his, probably this will keep his skills sharp" Lena said while folding her arms.

"Yeah, even blades need to be sharpened and maintained regularly so it could be effective…That being said, do we know the objectives of these Siren's fleet?" Lucas asked Lena again.

"No idea at the moment. We got several hypothesis for it though" Lena said while staring at Lucas from the corner of her eyes.

"Lay it on me" Lucas nodded his head.

"First, we assume them to be reconnaissance fleet that currently operates on Northern Pacific to hunt our ships. Second, these fleets were the assigned task force to attack that Crimson Cleanser base. Third, these fleets were assigned to attack that base and take Eldridge with them. Fourth, these Siren Fleets were sent there to guard Crimson Cleanser base from our assault" Lena said all of those hypothesis…

…Lena wasn't joking about the hypothesis she just gave out, it's completely possible and within reason for Sirens to do that. The fact that they are blind regarding Siren's true intention didn't make this any better, all they could do now is focus on surviving and cancel any Siren's plan before they could come to fruition. That's why when they detected two base on North Pole they immediately went to secure it, the cost for that victory wasn't light. Defensive stance, that's what they could do for now and they will keep doing so until they found out Siren's main leader or headquarters to strike…This war, this conflict will be drawn into long term attrition war if they just keep doing this.

"…That's quite the wild imagination you got there, Lena" Lucas said while narrowing his eyes.

"A certain man once said that imagination is a powerful weapon, those without it would die first" Lena said with little smirk on her face.

"Heh. Your ex is influencing you, don't think I didn't know who said that…So, you think there could be a chance of these Sirens supporting Crimson Cleanser?" Lucas asked Lena regarding his conclusion.

"With them losing the support of Crimson Axis, it is within reason to think that The Sirens will found another pawn just to mess with us. William offhandedly commented that The Sirens really liked doing Divide and Conquer strategy if that assumption is correct, I hope to god that assumption is false" Lena said to Lucas while frowning.

"Ditto on that" Lucas nodded his head in agreement.

"Sir, ma'am, we got priority one message from Major Ackerson" A female operator beside Lena said.

"…Goddammit, patch him through" Lena said to the operator.

Priority one message would mean it's urgent and went through all clearance immediately to contact central headquarters, this message shouldn't be invoked lightly as they're only resorted to something that could affect central headquarters decision. Lena had told Major Ackerson, the leader of her new personal task force ever since Task Force Nimbus was disbanded to contact her through Priority One message if he ever succeed in his hunt regarding a Siren she identify as High Value Target.

The man himself appeared on screen. A brunette with crew cut hairstyle, stern face, magenta colored eyes and currently wearing Azur Lane Special Forces BDU with M16 rifle on his hands. The man is the leader of Task Force Pluvia, Azur Lane new unit for surgical strike and special activities directly under Lena's command. Though he's still have much to learn and has experience during the war, it's still pale in comparison with William Blaze's action when he led Task Force Nimbus.

"Admiral" Ackerson greeted Lena while nodding his head.

"What do you have to report, Ackerson?" Lena immediately went straight to business mode.

"We follow the trails Admiral, the hunt is over. Take a look at this" Ackerson said before the camera changed.

What was shown on screen now was the picture of a camp, but the camp are consisted of several dark metallic buildings with faint red glows around it…One look and everyone on the room know it's Siren in origin, if they already manage to build a camp like this then safe to say they have intention for ground warfare. Lena nodded to the operator on her left, she's been around long enough to know what Lena want her to do when situation like this exist. The operator immediately contacted the nearest garrison to the site they're looking at, she crosschecked all the data she was presented on and make her call.

"…Staging area?" Lena asked out loud.

"Most likely. We would like to recommend carpet bomb tactics but, we also saw the same ship girl on Commander Blaze's recording. Everything match, the hairdo, the tentacles too…Please advise, Admiral?" Ackerson asked Lena regarding her decision.

"Stay hidden and monitor what they are doing, we got an aircraft carrier near your location. We'll notify them to lend you few fighter bombers if the situation demands it, otherwise you are NOT to engage them unless your cover is blown. Clear?" Lena asked Ackerson with serious face.

"Understood Admiral. That is all for now, Ackerson out" Ackerson said before disconnecting the call.

…Lena was not happy with this news, she got enough to worry about with Eldridge being kidnapped and now Siren's trying to mess with them too on Southern America continent? Well, it's the risk of being in charge of special activities division and your problems are all over the world because of that. Lena stared at the screen which turned back to the area of operation where the ship girls are currently trying to recon Siren's fleet strength while William is in the middle of solo infiltration…She sensed someone was staring at her, Lena looked to the side and saw Lucas stared at her with thoughtful expression.

"…What?" Lena asked Lucas.

"Nothing, just seeing you taking charge like that gets me a bit sentimental…I remember when you just arrived here all like goody two shoes secretary. You proved me wrong during the formation of Task Force Nimbus though, after all that and seeing you now it feels like watching my daughter grow up" Lucas said while smiling.

"Yeah yeah, don't expect me to call you 'daddy' okay? I got a real one, though I resent that man from the bottom of my heart…" Lena said before refocusing on the screen in front of them.

Lucas smiled bitterly, he sighed as he also returned his focus to the large screen. But he can't helped his mind to wander to the memory lane…The woman beside him have grown so much she's almost unrecognizable in his eyes, now she's the one he'll trust regarding a decision on something without having to do a council meeting. Biased? Dangerous? Of course, but he had learned from the clusterfuck known as Operation Dradetheus that sometimes all he had to do was to trust them to do their job…Sometime they just don't have the time to argue and Lena, she got a record to make the right call every time so far.

"…Nora, status?" Lena asked the operator to her right.

"Nothing changes for now ma'am. Our ship girl fleets are still on recon and Commander Blaze is…Huh?!" Nora, the operator let out sound of surprise.

"What is it?" Lena immediately asked again.

"His transponder is down, we can't get a lock on his position!" Nora said with widened eyes, she's not sure if this is her fault or William's.

"What the fuck?! Knight, this is Olympus! Report in!" Lena half-shouted contact William.

"…Sheesh Olympus! Your shouting will get the entire guard team rushing toward me!" William said in shout-whisper tone to Lena.

"Then why did you deactivate your transponder!?" Lena asked with her eyebrows furrowed.

"Jenny warned me about the scanner on the internal dock entrance, had to turn off my transponder" William said to Lena.

"…Don't give me heart attack again, report your action damnit!" Lena said as she facepalmed.

"Yeah yeah I get it so stop nagging, I need to concentrate" William said to Lena.

"What are you currently doing?" Lena asked William.

.

A body of a man fell to the floor before being dragged to the empty broom closet, William looked out of the room before closing it. He went to the next room which is the internal dock control room and messed with the computer in there, he looked at the system and found the scanner located on each side of the large gate. Deactivating the scanners, he also went ahead and see if he could hack the cameras from this computer. When he found that he doesn't have the necessary tools to access the network without getting caught intruding, he reluctantly choose to go in with cameras still active.

"I'm trying to secure the area, this dock is basically unguarded. No wonder she said to meet me here" William said to Lena on the radio.

"Sloppy, then again these people weren't exactly trained like a military unit" Lena said to William on the radio.

Exiting the room, he looked around until he saw someone walking then stop to lean her back on the woman's toilet entrance. She have blonde hair, wearing engineering clothes and her bust are quite big, she must be Jenny but to be safe William will approach her as if she's an enemy. Pulling out his MP7 from his right thigh holster he aimed it toward the woman's head, the woman in front of William froze in an instant as she slowly raised her hands upwards.

"Deep" William said the code.

"Freeze…Welcome sir, good to finally meet you" That's the right code…William let her off the hook.

William lowered his MP7 and Jenny turned around to meet him, High Command and by extension Admiral Lena have told her that the operative she sent would've been here. But she never expected a fully armored giant, wouldn't his height and this many equipment he carried makes it hard for him to stay stealthy? Not that he shown sign of having difficulty moving around in that armor or even makes sound when he ambushed her from behind, guess she should just trust the man who managed to do it himself.

"Likewise. Where is the place Eldridge being held?" William asked Jenny.

"A bit far from here. Did you see a building with transparent rooftop?" Jenny asked William in return.

"Yeah I do, is that the place?" William asked Jenny again.

"I heard she's being held on the second floor of it. That place is this facility's research building, security is tight over there" Jenny said to William.

Tight security around research facility? Nothing new there, William already suspect about the appearance of that building and the answer to its function didn't surprise him. So Eldridge got held on second floor of that building, now he got a clear direction and it's easier for him to go around with a bookmark on his destination…

"Not a problem. Jenny, I need you to prepare getting out of here" William said to Jenny.

"We're razing this facility sir?" Jenny asked William.

"Yeah. But before that, I want you to copy this place's local database. If that building is a research place, I want to know what they are researching" William said to Jenny.

"Should be easy, I know a thing or two about stealing enemy's tech" Jenny said while smiling smugly.

William snorted as he reached for his back waist pocket and threw Jenny a waterproof flash drive, Jenny effortlessly caught it with her right hand…Okay, how did William know that there would be a situation where he might need a flash drive? The cool answer is, there could be a situation involving that since Eldridge's possible kidnapping involved researching a new technology and any data that could get Azur Lane a leg up would be great. The lame answer? He just carried a flash drive on any mission that involved with enemy's facility, pays to be prepared…

"Hope that engineer clothes aren't just for show" William said while smirking a bit.

"Oh you'll see~" Jenny said as she smiled smugly.

"Get that data, I secure Eldridge then we're getting out of here as this place got flattened to the ground. Clear?" William confirmed his orders to Jenny.

"Got it. Let's move then" Jenny said as she went ahead first, trying to look all normal.

They moved in separate direction, William went through the normal hallway while Jenny went to the service lift nearby that head straight for the surface. Opening the door in front of him carefully, William entered the hallway…Alright, just like standard stealth video game, hug the wall, eyes on the corner and prepare for the unexpected. Once you got detected however, that's it. No retry and he better prepared for gun blazing through an entire facility…He experienced that before, but he's not keen to repeat that.

"Enterprise, come in" William said on the radio.

"Commander?" Enterprise asked on the radio.

"Ready the fleet to bombard the facility and prepare two girls as extraction team, we're bringing plus one with us" William said to Enterprise on the radio.

"Oh, got it sir, we're waiting on your word…Did you find Eldridge yet?" Enterprise asked William on the radio.

"I know where she is, making my way there now" William said to Enterprise on the radio.

"Alright…Good luck sir" Enterprise said on the radio.

"Thanks" William said before cutting the transmission.

He moved carefully toward the facility's internal dock before finding a stairway access to the surface, the main problem is the place being guarded by several patrols…He stayed back on the shadows and observed those hallway patrols. Sloppy, they were there just walking around lazily with a rifle in hand not even bothering to check the corners. Some even leaned on the walls with his phone, few even stop to watch the football match on cafeteria TV…Man, these goons makes it easy for him to move around. Yet even so, he shouldn't let his guard down because if he make one misstep then that's it…Just as he thought that, he saw two patrols moving on the hallway from the stairways and William find a nearby empty corridor and hide himself.

"You heard?" One of them said.

"What? About that ship girl?" The other asked.

"Yeah. Gemini Squad brought her in, man that's some gutsy move" The first one said.

"I don't know man, she's a trouble. What if this kidnapping lured Azur Lane to this base like angry hen? Those guys weren't known for their chill" The second one said in unsure tone.

Oh you know it! Azur Lane implemented zero tolerance because you cunts murdered three of William's best friend and they're considered elite! How do you think Azur Lane would respond to you now? Of course they'll murder you on sight! Before ranting further in his mind William stopped when he processed the word 'Gemini Squad'…Who are they? If they're the one who kidnapped Eldridge then William must admit they must be pretty skilled. Looks like Crimson Cleanser are putting up people with skills to work, hard to believe they are made up from rag tag of disillusioned people so those people must've been a professional help.

"Hey, you think they'll found us that quick? Don't worry about it, no ship lane or air route ever goes near this island. We're practically in the middle of nowhere and I'm sure Gemini Squad didn't left any trace when they arrive, those guys are pros" Well not as you might think, you got a lock on your facility.

"…Well alright then…You see her?" The second one asked.

"I did…She's still a kid, feels wrong in a sense" The first one said.

"She's not a human, she's a ship. Don't let their appearance fool you" The second one said.

William moved away as the patrol went closer to his position, he found the toilet nearby and opened the door and closed it…Inside was a terrorist sitting on the toilet and he looked surprised, William waste no time though as he grabbed the person's head and slammed it to the concrete wall behind him with enough force to maybe crack his skull. When he was confirmed disoriented, William grabbed the man's throat and dislocated his entire wind pipe while closing his mouth.

"Hmm? You heard something?" The second one asked out loud.

"Yeah over there. Check it out" The first one said.

"Huh? Why me?" The second one asked.

"Your turn to check things. Careful though, what if that sound was made by Azur Lane infiltration team? Ehehehehe" The first one said then laughing.

"Not funny" The second one said.

The footsteps getting louder and William used his left hand to lock the toilet door, the second guard walked to the toilet's direction and he's pretty sure he heard something. Knocking on the door to confirm someone in the toilet, William let out low moan of discomfort and the second guard were convinced that the poor sod on the bathroom were getting intimate with the porcelain throne. Shrugging as he walked away, he met again with the first guard who asked him with his eyebrows raising.

"…Bah, nothing. Just a man with a stomachache" The second guard said.

"Poor bastard. Must be that guy who lost the poker game last night" The first guard said.

The guards then resumed their patrol as William watch anxiously to the door with his MP7 pointed towards it, he looked back to the man who got caught with his pants down and found that he's already dead…William just carefully put the man so he would lean on the toilet before exiting the small toilet hoping that no one had to use it for a while, it'll instantly sound the alarm if they does. Walking to the stairway access, William got out of the internal dock to the view of the facility. Realizing he stood in the open with exiting the door, William immediately circle around the concrete entrance and made his way to the target building stealthily.

Moving behind the tall grasses, he moved slowly to prevent him being noticeable through the movement of the grass. When he cleared the tall grasses, he immediately glued his back to the container stacks to avoid guards patrolling near the said stack. Slowly making his way behind the container stack he almost kissed a guard who was surprised to see him, William rammed the guy with his knee, turned him around before putting him down on the ground. Then William use his MP7 and pressed the suppressor barrel to the back of the guy's neck, holy hell that was seriously too close!

"Where's Gemini Squad?" William asked in low tone.

"Urgh…They…left already" The guard struggled as he responded.

William took the guy's head and snapped his neck, picking up his dead body before putting it among the tall grasses…Three times he had to put someone down today on this mission, two because of circumstances and this one because he fucked up. Looks like he need to familiarize him again with the way he used to do solo infiltration…Making his way again, he noticed that the guard dropped his MP5 SMG which William took. Extra gun shouldn't hurt, might save him if he need it.

He finally reached the targeted research building after five more minutes diving between covers, waiting for a patrol to walk by and then managed to get close enough to the facility building. William looked up when he felt several water drops on him and he smiled, rain has come and it came down hard. Most of the guards also find some shelter…Right, you know why guards on military base keep their position and patrol routes even if thunderstorms raging on the sky? William's about to prove why that rule exist. Yup, that's why he clicked his tongue when William saw three guards huddled close together on the back door of the building…That's supposed to be his way in!

"Knight, I'm on the building" Jenny said to William on the radio.

"I'll be there soon, I got held up by three goons chatting on the backdoor" William responded on the radio.

"Eliminating them is always an option" Jenny said to William on the radio.

"A good infiltrator is the one where you don't leave any traces…That would also mean, I failed since my entry to this facility then...Damnit, isn't there another way?" William said on the radio.

"Oi! Sound the alarm! Prepare for combat! Sirens!" One of the guards suddenly said.

Just as he said that something jumped down from a cliff and landed in front of the group, the black scaly creature that William faced on Terania's oil rig few weeks ago. The group of three terrorist guards were stunned, the creature immediately pounced on one of them and that's when the other two started using their guns. The creature took bullet barrage straight to its chest but it could still move despite all of that, the guards then ran while the creature chased them. William looked on the other part of the facility where one by one black scaly creatures appeared and started targeting the guards of this facility, it wasn't long until alarm started blaring on the facility.

"…Motherfucker. Our job just got easier and harder at the same time. Olympus, Sirens are on this facility. Repeat, Siren are on site" William said to Lena on the radio.

"Shit! Copy that Knight. Are they infantries?" Lena asked on the radio.

"Yup, this time some of them got-" William said but he stopped when he hide himself.

Dozens of guards ran out of the facility William supposed to enter, they took up positions in front of the facility behind any cover they could find and those who don't even laid down prone on the ground. William heard sounds to his right and he saw a group around dozen humanoids in full black armor with glowing red stripes, they carried guns that William haven't seen before. The terrorist guards fired on them, several of the creatures fell after intense fire but most of them kneeled to the ground and started firing purple bolts toward the guards…Those who were hit either got charred in the region they got hit, lost their heads or had holes on their chest.

It only took fifteen seconds for the line of dozens of guards to die due to extensive energy weapons fire, the creatures speak in language that William couldn't hear well due to the sound of harsh rain but one of them clearly pointed toward the facility where Eldridge is being held…Are they going to took her? No, he won't let that happen!

"…Man, I want those blaster" William commented to himself.

"There's no time left to spare, get her now!" Lena said on the radio.

"On my way" William said to Lena on the radio.

The creatures stormed in the facility and William hastened himself by following them through the backdoor. Now that William's inside, he carried his MP7 on alert position as his basic combat instinct that was drilled to him during basic training kicked in. Get in, keep your pace, check the corners, watch for movements…William immediately scoured the hallways until he reach an open lobby where he could hear screams, gunfire, energy weapon fire sounds and explosions from somewhere within the building. William saw that the lobby was full of employees and terrorist alongside few of those humanoids dead bodies…

"Jenny, what's your status?" William asked Jenny on the radio.

"I just survived an encounter with one of those Sirens! God, that was frightening!" Jenny said to William on the radio, her breathing was quite rapid.

"You alright?" William asked Jenny with concerned tone on the radio.

"I'm fine. I'm still heading for the database" Jenny said to William on the radio.

"Got it, contact me when you're done" William said on the radio.

Starting to move again, William realized that he didn't know which room Eldridge was being held on the second floor and he don't want busting down all door on the second floor to search her. He then approached the front desk terminal, immediately messing around with its operating system to find out where Eldridge is located. Searching through the database with keyword ship girl on it, it took around half a minute until the system shown him a report about the arrival of Eldridge to the facility. She was taken through the main entrance where she was being held on the second floor's experiment chamber, alright!

William made his way to the second floor where he encountered one of the humanoids, both of them stared at each other before William reacted by lifting up his MP7. Using technique that people affectionately called Mag Dump or Magazine Dump, he wasted an entire forty rounds magazine filled with 5.7 caliber rounds toward the creature who fell to the floor and stopped moving. Running past that creature, he failed to realize that there's a terrorist who hid in the corner with his SPAS12 shotgun and he show up and shot William in the back that resulted with William falling to the floor.

BANG!

"Yes!" The terrorist said out loud.

Recovering immediately, William flipped his body as he fired his HK417 in three round burst which all three bullets landed directly on the terrorist's head. The man fell down, William heard footsteps coming over in a hurry and he rolled backwards to grab the fallen SPAS12 on the floor. He took it and immediately locked on one humanoid that just came from the corridor, William shoot the creature straight in the head. Another one showed up and fired at William, though the bolts missed the heat coming from the projectile was enough to make William flinched. He squeezed the trigger which fired the gun and the humanoid creature died, falling to the floor before spewing yellowish blood from the hole on its metallic helmet…

"…You sod can't aim for shit!" William cussed as he threw the SPAS12 away.

Entering the specific experimental room, William was greeted by the sight of the cage that hold a little girl inside it. Eldridge was staring the ceiling until she realized that William was also in the room, she tilted her head in confusion because she couldn't see his face which caused her to wonder on who he is and what do he want with her…William approached Eldridge's cage and Eldridge reacted by backing on the edge of her cage with narrowed eyes, rattling the handcuffs on her hands and frowning cutely, immediately William raised his hands up while smiling.

"Hey, it's alright. See this patch here? I'm from Azur Lane" William pointed on Azur Lane logo sewn on his right arm with soft tone.

"…Azur…Lane…" Eldridge muttered out loud.

"Yeah, I'm a friend…I'm here to get you out, okay?" William said while grinning a bit.

"…Name?" Eldridge asked him, the ahoge in her head twitched sideways…

"William, call me that…Wait a bit" William said while smiling.

…He naturally lowered the tone of his voice, softened his gaze (although his combat goggles didn't show it to Eldridge) and he smiled to reassure her. That's how he naturally talk to little children, that's how he saw Eldridge and his heart swelled with this new sense of protectiveness to this cute little girl from any more harm that might befell her…William inspected the lock on her cage, it's the lock which would be a heck of an effort to lock pick. William didn't have the time to do that, this facility was being invaded by Sirens and he need to bail out as quickly as possible.

"Tch, locked tight and could only be opened with the key. Fuck it, we don't have the time…Eldridge, cover your ears, open your mouth and look away from me" William said to Eldridge in soft tone.

"Uhn…" Eldridge did as he said.

When in doubt, let explosive do its magic. William placed C2 Explosive Charge on the cage's lock and the hinges, he armed them and then detonate it with timer charge of five seconds…The charge exploded and the lock on Eldridge's cage shattered, Eldridge looked toward the cage's door which William then pried opened before tossing it aside.

"Let's get out of here. Can you walk?" William asked Eldridge.

"…I can't…my legs hurt" Eldridge said to William.

"I see…Hold on to me" William reached out his hand.

But Eldridge refused to move, she still looked at William with doubt in her eyes. Ah, it's totally reasonable for her to feel insecure to him. He need to make her trust him…Think, think, think, how do you convince a scared children? Oh yes, try someone they know. William might be gambling about this since he wasn't trained regarding kids, but it's a shot…Let's try mentioning Enterprise, that should help her in trusting him.

"Don't worry, I won't hurt you. Enterprise and the others are waiting for us" William said in soft tone to Eldridge.

"…Enterprise?" Eldridge's eyes lit up with her name being mentioned.

"Yeah, she'll be here. You want to meet her? Do you want to see the other ship girls?" William asked while smiling.

"…I do" Eldridge said, she's more at ease when she heard that familiar name.

"Then I'll take you to her, just hold on to me" William said to Eldridge while extending his right hand.

Eldridge approached William, he took Eldridge's hand and he inspected the handcuffs. Pulling out his lockpick, William started working on the handcuffs and in under a minute he managed to unlock the handcuffs. Eldridge's wrist got red marks from how tight the handcuffs on her hands before, furrowing in anger because how dare they do this to a little girl but then William control himself because he remembered that the priority is getting out of here. He took Eldridge on his left arm, William reloaded his MP7 and carried it in one hand while holding Eldridge on the other.

"Olympus, this is Knight. Eldridge is secure! We're making our way out!" William said to Lena on the radio.

"Outstanding Knight! You still had it in you! Ms. Enterprise, you heard him. Clear to engage! Just don't target the research facility for now!" Lena said on the radio.

"Clear to engage! We're moving now! Let's go girls!" Enterprise said on the radio.

"Jenny, status!?" William asked Jenny on the radio.

"Forty percent done Knight, I need additional time!" Jenny said to William on the radio.

"Copy that! Eldridge is with me, I'm bringing her out first!" William said to Jenny on the radio.

Semi running to the rear exit of the facility, he stumbled upon several group of the terrorist combating the armored humanoids. There's no way William could sneak his way around them, his only option is to find another exit. But before he could make a detour, one of the terrorist noticed him and aimed his gun at William. But he was too late as William's faster reflex enable him to fire his MP7 first and unfortunately, the armored humanoids were all dead and now the terrorist were alerted to his presence.

"He's with the ship girl!" One of them shouted.

"Aim properly! We need her!" The senior one shouted to the others.

"Not if I can help it you sons of bitches!" William said to the terrorist.

Sheathing his MP7, William pulled out his HK417, put Eldridge down between concrete roadblock pieces near the rear entrance and retaliate against the harassment coming from the terrorist's weapons. Bullets flew past him both near miss and the one that hit his cover, that didn't bother him in a bit as he methodically aim, squeezed the trigger and fired the gun to each of their heads. Eldridge was watching William when she heard a bullet hit William straight in the chest, William fell down to the ground and Eldridge looked at him with widened eyes.

"Yeah! We got him!" One of the terrorist said out loud.

"Move! Secure that girl!" The other terrorist said.

Eldridge could hear rapid footsteps closing in on them and she silently approached William, she tried to shake him up, to warn him of the incoming danger and she shook him harder the louder the footsteps become. The terrorists reached their position, since she's out of the cage now Eldridge's started producing electricity as her natural respond against the threat. However, William suddenly raised his HK417 and fired several quick precise burst at the terrorist that approached them and effectively killing them.

"Surprise motherfucker!" William cussed as he stood back up.

Returning to his position behind cover, William resumed firing at the surprised terrorist and he managed to down them all with the remaining rounds on his magazine. William reloaded his HK417 and emerged from cover when his chest plate was hit by a bullet once more, this time William shrugged off the kinetic force like a trooper and he located the one who shot him twice. A man stood behind cover a bit farther than the group in front of him, William fired one precise shot that landed straight at the man's head. He died, William leaned on the wall as he held the place he's hit as he inspect the damage…well at least it didn't penetrate his armor.

"Guh, that will left a bruise!" William said while grimacing.

"…William?" Eldridge asked William, she looked concerned…

"Ah, I'm fine Eldridge don't worry…But we can't go that way, come on!" William picked Eldridge up.

Running for the internal dock entrance, William stopped running when he heard helicopter sounds amidst the sound of gunfire, explosions and screams. Looking upwards, he saw a helicopter gunship flying around the facility spewing hot lead at any armored humanoid that it found. It didn't even took it five seconds for it to noticed him carrying Eldridge, William saw that the gunship directed its side cannon toward him and he ran for cover as 20mm bullets swept past the concrete entrance to the internal dock. That's until the helicopter fired one Air to Ground Missile, it hit the concrete and the impact thrown William and Eldridge to the ground.

"Urgh…Eldridge…are you okay?" William asked Eldridge then groaned.

"…I'm fine" Eldridge replied to William.

"Enterprise, how much longer!?" William asked Enterprise on the radio.

"Our planes should be arriving in one minute! We'll be there in two!" Enterprise said to William on the radio.

"You better, I got pinned down by a helicopter so aim for that too on your run!" William said on the radio.

"Got it! Keep Eldridge safe, commander!" Enterprise said on the radio.

"No need to tell me that!" William said on the radio.

Picking up Eldridge back on his left arm, they're about to enter the building when they were rained by energy bolts. Putting Eldridge back down behind the concrete entrance, he used his HK417 and started firing back at the armored humanoid. There's five of them, William emptied one magazine filled with thirty 5.56mm caliber rounds and he only took down two of them while injuring the others. Clicking his tongue as he reloaded, he witnessed Eldridge getting up and conjured electricity around her body. She then shot electricity toward the three armored humanoid who went twitching heavily before dying on the ground, Eldridge then looked at William.

"Eldridge…helped?" Eldridge asked with her ahoge twitching excitedly…

"Yeah! You did great, Eldridge! Oh great, not even my armor could take a hit from those pulse lasers!" William said while smiling before he smell something burned came from him…

Carrying Eldridge again, William felt himself a bit weak after that intense activity of combat and getting shot at. Despite all that, he still carried on while carrying Eldridge and his MP7 on his right hand. Getting through the corridor, it was different as the corridor were either empty or filled with dead bodies…Trying his best to ignore them, he failed to realized that one of the black scaly creature still alive and it ambushed him and Eldridge.

"Son of a bitch!" William cussed out loud in surprise.

Back stepping a bit, William managed to avoid a grab to his body but the creature managed to grab his left leg that resulted with William falling down on the floor. Pushing Eldridge out of the way, William fell down as he struggled with the black scaly humanoid. Punching the creature straight on its jaw, William dodged a punch to his face which cracked the floor underneath him. Unsheathing a knife out from a scabbard on his left shoulder, William jammed the knife to the creature's right neck side before taking it out and jammed it on the creature's skull.

William take out the knife and pulled himself away from the creature, sheathing the knife back he picked up Eldridge again then started walking silently toward the internal dock. He felt the ground shook and there's sound of explosions coming from above him, which means the planes have arrived above them and already started their attack run…A bit faster than William anticipated, but a welcome aid nonetheless.

"Commander, planes arriving to your position now!" Enterprise said to William on the radio.

"Bloody good job! Approach the internal dock to the north!" William said on the radio

"I'll be there sir!" Enterprise said to William on the radio.

…After going through another corridors set, William and Eldridge arrived at the internal dock where the gate was opened. William heard the sound of cruising then he saw Enterprise coming through the gate, she's panting a bit while looking around before she noticed William holding Eldridge…Enterprise smiled widely in relief, she knew he'd pull it off despite the odds…

"…Oh, Eldridge! Thank heavens you're safe!" Enterprise said while smiling widely.

"…Enterprise, hug" Eldridge said with her arms extended.

"Yes, come here" Enterprise also extended her arms.

William smiled as he approached Enterprise and handed Eldridge to Enterprise, she hugged Eldridge while smiling widely and sighed in relief while Eldridge herself felt more at ease. Finally, the hostage have been given to the extraction team and William is more at ease so he could focus more on combat. Eldridge is on safe hands of Enterprise, she's going to be fine now.

"…Take her away from here to your deployment spot" William said to Enterprise with serious face.

"What about you, commander?" Enterprise asked William.

"I still have to pick up our infiltrator, the important thing is that we got Eldridge so that's mission complete" William said to Enterprise as he unsheathed his HK417.

"Okay, Shoukaku and Zuikaku would remain nearby in case you need someone to pick you up!" Enterprise said as she returned to the water.

"Alright, now go!" William said while pointing to the open seas.

Enterprise bolted out of the internal dock on her maximum cruising speed, William make sure she reached enough distance before he ran back to the way he came from. Exiting the internal dock area via the elevator, the situation is even more chaotic as more and more of the armored humanoid and black scaly creature shown up on the facility. William heard jet sounds admit the sound of propeller engine and explosions, he looked up and saw a black streamlined pod touching down on the courtyard of the facility and its side hatch opened before dropping off more armored humanoid to the facility.

"…Insertion crafts?!" William said out loud in surprise and annoyance.

"Knight, what's your status? Why did you return to the facility?!" Lena asked William on the radio.

"Eldridge is safe with Enterprise, mission complete! I'm heading back to pick up Jenny!" William said to Lena on the radio.

"Roger that, just make it quick!" Lena said to William on the radio.

"Won't happening! These Sirens are relentless!" William said on the radio as he started firing at them.

Run and gun, the basic of modern infantry charge or when there's not much suitable cover or when they need to quickly reach the objective. Not many could do it efficiently, but considering William had been doing this for years he could still run full speed while firing his MP7 with one hand and still hit those Siren's soldier on the head or the chest. He almost reached the research building when he stopped between container stacks to reload his MP7, his eyes widened however when he realized that there's no more MP7 spare magazine left on his ammo pouch.

"Ammo's out? Shit, I never expected to face Sirens on land during this mission to begin with!" William said while frowning.

"Knight! It's ninety percent completed but I'm engaged!" Jenny said to William on the radio.

"I'm on my way to you!" William said to Jenny on the radio.

William sheathed his MP7, he grabbed the spare MP5 he took before and fired one handed while running toward the facility. An energy bolt hit him to the side, it didn't have much knockback power but it was hot and it charred his side chest piece, rolling to the side William dropped the MP5 at the same time switching to his HK417 before firing at the remaining armored humanoid that were firing at him. William entered the facility and saw Jenny running while being chased by two black scaly creature, William emptied his HK417 to down the two creature as Jenny hide behind William.

"Thanks for the save, man!" Jenny said to William.

"No problem, is it completed?" William asked Jenny as he reloaded his HK417.

"Yeah, all in here" Jenny showed him the flash drive he gave earlier.

"Brilliant. Now, let's get out of here…but courtyard is on chaos, should we head back to the internal dock?" William asked to Jenny.

"It's our best bet in my opinion" Jenny nodded her head.

Heading back to the internal dock, William and Jenny had to stop themselves from coming out of the facility when one of those Siren dropship fired its chin mounted rapid fire energy cannon. Both William and Jenny started sprinting toward the internal dock entrance and dived into the elevator just as a huge energy bolt hit the ground they stepped on few seconds ago, they pressed the button and the elevator started moving down.

"Ladies, come in! This is Knight!" William said on the radio.

"Shikikan!? Enterprise said you're still on that island, you need to get out of there! We're coming to pick you up!" Shoukaku said to William on the radio.

"Yeah, internal docks to the north. We'll be waiting there!" William said to Zuikaku on the radio.

"Hai!" Zuikaku responded on the radio.

Reaching the dock was pretty easy, all they had to do was to pass down the corridor full of dead bodies. Opening the last door of the internal dock, Jenny messed with the control panel to its side and the access door for internal dock was closed shut. William and Jenny heard cruising sound from outside the gate and two ship girls entered through, they're Zuikaku and Shoukaku who then approached William.

"Shikikan! Oh kami! You're hit!" Zuikaku looked at William while frowning and widened eyes.

"Nah, don't worry about it. Akashi's armor saved me…Let's get out of here!" William said to Zuikaku.

"Alright, I'll grab this lady here then" Zuikaku said as she picked Jenny up.

Zuikaku bolted out with Jenny, William shrugged as Shoukaku picked William up on her back. They escaped the facility through the internal dock, William looked back toward the facility which currently taking hard pounding from Siren's forces…William wondered, he didn't saw any Siren ships out here so where did they came from? Portals too? Then how come that facility couldn't detect any sign of anomaly? They posted guards for god sake!

"Whoahohohohoho! This is fun!" Jenny said with her hands up.

"Ufufufufu, is that so" Shoukaku said beside Zuikaku.

"Yeah! Makes me want to glide on the ocean like you girls too!" Jenny exclaimed while grinning.

"Shikikan-sama is with us! Pull back, Cleveland-san!" Shoukaku said to Cleveland on the radio.

"Understood!" Cleveland simply answered on the radio.

"Then nee-sama, let's do it!" Zuikaku said to Shoukaku.

"Hai…Feel the might of Sakura Empire's Fifth Carrier Division!" Shoukaku declared while smiling smugly.

Both Shoukaku and Zuikaku stopped themselves and turned around, they're pretty far away from the facility. Both Shoukaku's and Zuikaku's rigging started moving, both of them then set their stance…William then saw how Shoukaku and Zuikaku launched all planes they could, swarms of their fighter and bomber crafts launched toward the facility. The sheer scale of the airplane launched by the two carriers made William and Jenny jaw slacked a bit, the skies were filled with steel birds.

The fighters flew in first, their guns immediately lit up in effort to shoot down the dropships possessed by The Sirens. It took only that for Siren to retaliate with their dropships and direct fire from the armored humanoids down on the ground to the air, the fighter buzzed around the facility like bees as it swooped in and out to shoot down the dropships or strafed the Sirens on the ground. But that was the distraction, because the real attack were the bombers that flew high and dropped their payload to the facility, explosions engulfed the entire facility.

But they were not finished yet, the bombers doubled back and unload their final payload before returning to both carrier. Safe to say, the entire facility got bombed to stone age…William's and Jenny's jaws were officially dropped at this point, the sheer devastation alone rivaled a carpet bomb that usually performed by strategic bomber type of aircraft…William then looked at Shoukaku who stared back at him cutely as if she and her sister didn't just destroyed an entire facility without much trouble.

"…Shoukaku, remind me not to piss you off" William said with serious face.

"Ara~, does shikikan-sama were impressed with our capabilities?" Shoukaku asked William while smiling.

"For sure. I never want to experience that kind of firepower directly" William said as he shuddered a bit at the thought being in the middle of all that.

That's it, mission accomplished. Siren's ship didn't directly intervene with the mission but their infantry sure did, William swore from now on he will carry lots more equipment and ammo during his next mission because he don't want to get caught with his pants down again. But man, that was quite the experience…He survived the fight against them, but he subtly looked at the shredded armor he still wearing...This kind of protection enable him to fight recklessly, is this the side effect of wearing durable armor? Oh shit, William just realized he lost lot of money with this armor being shredded.

"Olympus, this is Knight. We've escaped the facility and mission completed!" William said to Lena on the radio.

"Very nice work Knight!" Lena praised in relieved tone on the radio.

"Heh, thanks" William grinned a bit.

"Kommandant! This is Bismarck! Are you alright?" Bismarck asked William on the radio.

"I'm fine, what's the situation?" William asked Bismarck on the radio.

"Sirens fleet have disappeared when we're going near them!" Bismarck reported on the radio.

"…What?! What do you mean disappeared?" William asked on the radio while furrowing his eyebrows.

"They entered through their portals and escape, they didn't reappear anywhere close to us" Bismarck said on the radio.

…They disappeared? Were those fleets just a form of diversion? To lure the ship girls over there while they stormed into the facility with their dropship and infantries? It's entirely possible, but those infantries appeared out of nowhere before…How did they managed that? Could it be through portals too? If they did entered through the portal, then there's no place on earth that would be safe from The Sirens…

"I see…Stand by for now Bismarck, regroup on the deployment point" William said on the radio.

"I know where they were going" Lena said on the radio.

"Olympus?" William asked Lena on the radio.

"They're currently on Southern America coast, they set up a staging area there and we got confirmed reports of two fleets just appearing out of their portals. Coincidence? I think not" Lena said to William on the radio.

Southern America? Why there? Well, if their aim is to destroy the entire planet's ecosystem by burning the entire Amazon rainforest then it would make sense for them to target the continent…Wait, what did Azur Lane has on Southern America? Just dozens of military base fully equipped in case the war with Crimson Axis blown on the continent…Is the purpose of those two fleets are to harass their base? Provoking respond from humanity? So many possibilities…

"…What are they after on Southern America?" William asked out loud on radio.

"Who knows, I'm torn between engaging them on sight or letting them be for a while to find out what the hell are they trying to do there" Lena said on the radio.

"…Well it's your call Olympus, you're the boss after all" William said on the radio while shrugging.

"Hmph, even boss could ask her underlings about his opinion" Lena said in haughty tone on the radio.

"You're asking on what I think about the situation in roundabout way, damn tsundere…My guts told to engage them on sight but my brain told me to wait and see, if we act too early we couldn't possibly figure out what they are trying to do. But sometimes, waiting too long could prove fatal…In the end it's your call Olympus" William said to Lena on the radio.

"…Right…The area that they landed on is pretty far away from civilization, I think it's safe to wait a bit longer" Lena said to William on the radio.

"Alright then…Anyway, we're done here. I suggest we head back to base for now" William said to Lena on the radio.

"Agreed, you did well so you earned your rest. I'll send the helicopter to the deployment point" Lena said to William with soft tone on the radio.

"Commander!" Someone called from behind.

Cleveland arrived with the other cruisers and battleships, the ladies saw William who was along the ride with Shoukaku and they noticed how shredded his armor was…More than few of them frowned upon seeing it but they choose to stay quiet for now, he would surely in for few choice of words by the secretary ships so they'll get their fill of watching him got chewed on when they return to the base.

"Hey there Cleve, how's that facility?" William asked Cleveland while smiling a bit.

"I'll be surprised if I see anyone stood up after all of that!" Cleveland said to William while frowning a bit.

"I'd say mission completed then" William said to Cleveland.

They arrived at the deployment point, William looked around and he could see that the ship girls are all healthy and still ready for combat since Siren's fleet escaped from this area. The girls however shown the same reaction as the others when they saw him for the first time since deployment, they're frowning at the sight of William being possibly injured despite all his skills and equipment he carried…Before even Bismarck, Queen Elizabeth and Mikasa could berated him for his sight, they stopped when they heard some sounds around them…They looked and just in time to witness dozens of portals opening around them, spawning Siren's ship that immediately circled all of them…

"Will! Portals!" Lena warned on the radio.

"…It's an ambush" William said in low tone as he stared around…

"Everyone! Protect Herr Kommandant!" Bismarck shouted her command to the ship girls.

"We shall thin their numbers!" Queen Elizabeth said to Bismarck.

"We'll took care of their jets!" Zuikaku said to Bismarck.

"I'm returning operational command of the ship girls to you, get out of there and return to base!" Lena said to William on the radio.

"Got it! Attention ladies, I'm taking command!" William said on the radio.

Cannons fired, shells flying, planes diving in, orders shouted, status reported are all William could hear as the ship girls formed a circle around him and started firing at Siren's ships. William quickly thought a strategy for all this and he wondered on what should he do now? Are all of this is nothing but a giant trap? If it does, then safe to say that the best option would be to escape. There's nothing good from stand and fight on this situation, all that will give them is an early grave…

"Kommandant! You have to get out of here! We will hold them off!" Bismarck said to William.

"No, all of your will be going with me back to base!" William said to Bismarck.

"Why kommandant? We can take care of them!" Bismarck asked with her eyes widened.

"Not for this one, our priority is not to sink Siren's fleet. We only need to sink them if they ever intervene with the mission, since they don't we shouldn't waste our ammo and energy to fight unnecessary battles. We focus on getting out of here, do you understand?" William said to Bismarck with serious expression and tone.

"…If that's your orders kommandant, I still think eliminating them here would be the best option" Bismarck said while frowning a bit.

"…We'll get them another time, I promise you that. Right now, we're prioritizing Eldridge's rescue…Our current plan is to punch through a hole in this encirclement. Olympus, where would the helicopter approach us?" William asked Lena on the radio.

"They'll approach from west side, they'll land few kilometers out to avoid direct fire" Lena said to William on the radio.

"Then that's where we punch it…All battleships, western side, full salvo! Sunk any of those black ships!" William ordered on the radio.

"Jawohl kommandant! Battleships follow my lead! AP shells up! FIRE!" Bismarck said out loud.

The battleships followed Bismarck's lead as they fired to the ship formation on the west side, the rounds immediately tore through the formation and almost all Siren ships either exploded or full of holes that they started to sink at rapid pace. The surviving Siren ships on the western part also fell in disarray, losing dozens of ships in just few seconds would definitely shocked any fleet out there.

"Hole punched! Let's go! Destroyers! Secure that gap, torpedo any ships that's trying to close it!" William said on the radio.

"Yes commander! Let's go everyone!" Javelin responded on the radio.

"How many carriers they got?" William asked to the nearby ship girls.

"There's three of them on that formation over there! They keep launching jets!" Queen Elizabeth said to William.

"Alright, we'll move past them and sink them in one pass! Circle around the helicopter once we got there and form 360 degrees AA protection!" William said to the ship girls near him.

"Hai shikikan-sama!" Mikasa responded as she move forward.

Three carriers in one battle group full of cruisers and destroyers near their extraction point, that wouldn't be hard with the ship girls they have with them. The problem is the overwhelming number of ships behind them that could hit them with rain of shells, they would need to keep aware regarding their situation in all directions while at the same time staying alive and making sure they stay in formation. William checked how many ammo he have left for his HK417, it's going to be tight with just few magazines left…

"…Whoa sir, I thought you're just some grunt. Didn't know you could command an entire fleet" Jenny said from Zuikaku's back.

"Olympus didn't mention about me or my rank?" William asked with cocked eyebrows.

"Nah, all she said is that you're the best operator she got" Jenny said while shrugging.

"…Clearly she omitted some part of my resume" William said while looking at Jenny with half closed eyes.

"Group of jets, left side low!" Cleveland said out loud on the radio.

"Torpedo bombers! Left side, concentrate your AA fire on it!" William ordered on the radio.

All ship girls on the left side of the formation immediately aimed their AA guns toward the incoming jets flying at low altitude, flak rounds filled the sky with black smokes as the jets could only last for less than ten seconds before they caught fire and either destroyed in the air or falling down to the sea while turning into giant fireball. Boy, William was glad that Cleveland is on the left side with St. Louis, those two take care of the jets with no problem. The man then noticed something on the sky, he then tapped Shoukaku's left shoulder.

"Shoukaku, break your speed!" William said to Shoukaku.

Just as he said that, Shoukaku immediately pulled her brakes as she slowed down herself considerably. Several AP shells fell down to the spot in front of Shoukaku, she would've taken damage if she kept going by herself and William would possibly be torn into two with the pure potential of the kinetic impact those rounds provided.

"That was close! Don't worry, keep moving. I'll watch for any incoming fire" William said to Shoukaku while smiling reassuringly.

"Arigatou nee, shikikan-sama" Shoukaku smiled at William.

"No problem. Let's keep moving" William said to Shoukaku.

Dozens of other portals appeared to their side and the ships that appeared out of it immediately open fired at the ship girls, skillfully dodging the incoming rounds most of the ship girls then retaliate with their own guns. Queen Elizabeth spammed the high explosives shell she has, firing rapidly as she could to the new ships to their sides. She noticed that few of the portals appeared again from behind them, replenishing the lost Siren's mass produced ships…They're just going to pour more ships towards them until they ran out of ammo, aren't they?

"Reinforcement! Commander, The Sirens are trying to kill us in one stroke!" Queen Elizabeth said to William.

"I noticed…Their numbers kept increasing, are they deploying the same number as at Terania?" William asked out loud.

"Jets overhead!" Enterprise warned them while shielding Eldridge.

"Bombs! Full speed ahead!" William shouted on the radio.

The weather's getting worse, the winds picked up the speed, the waves were getting quite high, rains fell even harder and thunder started to crackle all around them. William was lucky that he carried his combat goggles, he wouldn't be able to see shit at this weather if he doesn't! The girls picked up their speed to avoid the falling bombs, the winds make it harder for them to predict the direction of those bombs. Fortunately each of them got fast reflex and they managed to avoid the bombs, some even narrowly but avoided nonetheless. The jets even have a hard time maneuvering with the turbulence in the sky, the fact that the girls immediately exploited so they could downed them without those jets able to dodge their flak rounds.

"Incoming from the rear!" Mikasa said out loud on the radio.

"Shields, now!" William ordered on the radio.

Prinz and Hipper stayed back and deployed their shields while the others on the formation huddled close to one another and both of them tanked the damage with their energy shield, once it collapsed they immediately retaliated by firing their guns and launching their torpedoes. In the midst of the chaos caused by Prinz and Hipper, both of them managed to escape and rejoin the formation…See? Stand and fight would only get themselves killed at this state, they need to get out of here fast!

"We managed to break through the encirclement…The carrier group is within range, milord!" Wales said to William on the radio.

"Ayanami, Javelin, Z23, Laffey, move ahead first and torpedo the two carriers' right in the stern! Immobilize them, tear them into two if you have to! Sheffield, Koln, Takao, cover them from their escort. St. Louis, Cleveland, make sure their jets behave!" William immediately ordered the ship girls on the radio.

""""""Yes commander!"""""" "Yes master" ""Jawohl kommandant!"" "Hai, shikikan!" The girls responded.

"Hornet, Doolittle Bombers! Cleave through that carrier in the middle!" William ordered Hornet directly.

"Aye aye sir! Let's finish this in a jiffy! I want to go back already!" Hornet said out loud while grinning.

William had thought the quick and efficient strategy to deal with those three carriers, he's going to sunk them with overwhelming firepower while relying on precise hits on several of it's location. The destroyers should be able to approach those carriers despite being under fire from the ship's secondary guns, Hornet Doolittle Bombers are armed with torpedoes and focused fire would mean that middle carrier is-

BOOM!

"YEAH! IN YOUR FACE MOTHERFU-" William shouted a loud at the sight of the middle carrier been blown.

BANG!

A thunder strike close to them and it temporarily deafened William for a bit as he closed his ears while gritting his teeth, fuck that was loud! The other ship girls were forced to temporarily break formation due to that close thunder strike, Shoukaku stared at William and vice versa. Shoukaku however smiled smugly after five seconds of staring at William and that resulted with William frowning, he know Shoukaku is about to be a wisecrack...

"…I think that's a sign that you shouldn't curse, shikikan-sama~. Kami gave you a direct warning~" Shoukaku said to William while smiling smugly.

"…Eh, old habits die hard" William shrugged while frowning.

"Milord, I see the helicopter but few Siren cruisers are approaching it!" Hood who have been silent before, spoke on the radio.

"Alright…Hood, go ahead and make sure those ships don't touch our helicopter!" William gave her the permission to engage.

"It will be done, milord…Wales, let's go!" Hood said on the radio.

Yup, as expected The Siren is going to prevent them from escaping so looks like the theory regarding this whole operation being a giant trap was right after all…But Sirens were also attacking Crimson Cleanser so that means they don't work together too…Okay seriously, William was confused as hell right now! Alright, he could just thought about all of this later after he review today's combat recording as he'll need it later because he will have to report this to High Command.

"The carriers and several of its escorts are in critical state, but they're trying to escape, kommandant!" Koln reported on the radio to William.

"Alright! Bismarck, sink them all!" William ordered to Bismarck on the radio.

"Truth can only be found within our range! Long live Ironbloods! Wahrheit!" Bismarck declared out loud.

Bismarck for the first time since William took command of the base is deployed for combat and she didn't even try to hold her power back, aiming her guns precisely at each carrier and several of the remaining cruisers then she fired all of her guns. She alone managed to sunk and destroyed the remaining ships on the battlegroup, all of that just with a single barrage by herself…It was said that only few are able to match Bismarck on her combat prowess, such as Friedrich, Yamato and few others…Few that William haven't even meet yet…

"…Holy shite…" William said in amazement…

"What's wrong, shikikan-sama?" Shoukaku asked William.

"…That's the first time I witness Bismarck firing her cannons, no wonder she's called The Pride of Ironblood" William said in low tone to Shoukaku.

"Carrier group destroyed, kommandant!" Bismarck reported as she tipped her hat a bit.

"Bloody nice work there, Bismarck…Now let's go!" William said while smiling widely.

"Lord William, cruisers destroyed and the path is clear!" Hood reported on the radio.

"Got it Hood, thank you!" William said while grinning.

"My pleasure" Hood replied while smiling.

After continuing a bit, passing by several Siren cruiser's wreckage finally they reached the large helicopter. William was dropped off by Shoukaku, he smiled gratefully at her before Enterprise arrived and handed Eldridge who was wrapped on Enterprise's coat while sleeping to him…William take her carefully as he placed her in comfortable position, he then meet back with Enterprise on the helicopter's rear hatch of the helicopter.

"Enterprise, how's Eldridge doing?" William asked Enterprise.

"She's fine. Though, this heavy rain could get her sick in this weakened state of hers" Enterprise said while frowning.

"…As soon as we got to the base, she'll be staying in the infirmary for today. Manjuus, take off!" William ordered to The Manjuus.

"Just like Lord William said, let's form 360 degrees protection around the helicopter!" Hood said out loud on the radio.

The helicopter took off as the ship girls formed defensive perimeter around the helicopter that's flying on low altitude, William stared out of the helicopter's rear hatch and despite the heavy rain he could still saw how many of Siren's ships behind them and trying to kill them by firing their weapons…William noticed that several new ships jumped out of the portal and he squinted his eyes in annoyance, those things want to kill them all that badly?

"…Those ships are relentless, are they trying to eliminate all of us? How did they know that we will have combined fleet to rescue Eldridge? Is this whole operation a giant trap?" William said out loud.

"There's no telling what The Sirens were thinking, Will" Lena said to William on the radio.

"Agreed on that…Some context what were they thinking would be nice though, communication is important in any relationship" William said to Lena on the radio.

"Even the hostile one?" Lena asked in cheeky tone on the radio.

"Especially the hostile one, killing each other is also a form of communication" William said in sarcastic tone in the radio.

"Siren jets!" Wales said on the radio.

"Missiles!" Zuikaku warned on the radio.

The ship girls immediately fired their AA guns to intercept the Siren jets but just as Zuikaku said the missiles are launched, it's heading straight for the large helicopter. The Manjuus chirped with each other and the helicopter released flares to divert the missiles, almost all missiles were thrown off but one snuck in between the flares as it successfully hit the helicopter. It shook heavily and William fell to the floor, he got up as quickly as possible and looked outside to check the damage.

"Commander?!" Enterprise asked William on the radio.

"We're good! It just blew off one of the helicopter's left weapon attachment! Are there any other jet's in the area?" William asked on the radio.

"…That looks like to be the last of them!" Cleveland said on the radio.

"…Alright, we'll move like this to gain more distance from them before we pick you up and swiftly fly back for the base. Excellent work today ladies, all of you performed splendidly!" William said on the radio, he then proceed to sat down.

…It was afternoon by the time they saw their base in the distance, the girls were dripping wet after being in the middle of the bad weather for hours. William himself sat on a small bump that separate the passenger bay and the cockpit while staring at the ship girls, it's his habit whenever he sortied alongside them even during training…He looked at Enterprise who's holding the sleeping Eldridge close in her lap while the said little girl was enveloped on her thick coat so she can keep warm, beside her was Hornet who was yawning and occasionally sneezing…Maybe he should advise her to get more warmer clothes.

Bismarck and Hood talked to each other and William smiled before doubling back with widened eyes…Both of them, talking to each other? Weren't she and Hood had history which was not a good one? William never saw them talked together and sitting side by side before, both don't really interact with each other even on the base…But, it's good to see both of them started talking with one another. Let the past go but never forget it, turn it into a lesson. Hood noticed that William stared at her, she flashed him a smile and the one that William returned.

The helicopter made its final approach then landed on the helipad above the canteen, Belfast and Illustrious were standing near the landing pad to greet the returning team from their mission. Their face shown both Belfast and Illustrious that the fleet prevailed in combat, yet there's hint of dissatisfaction in some of their faces. Greeting and walking past them one by one, they finally saw Enterprise, Hornet and St. Louis who's carrying Eldridge on her arms.

"I take it she's unwell?" Belfast asked St. Louis.

"Yeah. I don't know what were those guys did to her, but she's really fragile right now. We'll bring her to Vestal, see what caused her to be like this" St. Louis said while frowning a bit.

"That would be a wise move" Illustrious said while smiling.

"I trust you're not behaving recklessly, Enterprise?" Belfast asked Enterprise.

"…I learnt my lesson alright, I even prioritized Eldridge than fighting those Sirens" Enterprise said then sighed.

Remember when Enterprise got this issue with taking care of herself and Belfast had to give her some 'tough' love and care? Yeah, she had to drill with the fact that Enterprise need to take care of herself more. Well everyone could see the result now and that settled the fact that NO ONE went against Belfast and not being dominated in the end, she's a dominant force both on streets and (presumably) in bed…Well, one could find out about the last one if that's true or not but the man is still inside the helicopter.

"Brilliant. You've learned well" Belfast said while smiling satisfactorily.

"Yeah, I only want to experience that once" Enterprise said while looking to the side.

"Are you saying you don't like me showering you with love and care?" Belfast asked while smiling smugly.

"…That's what you call love and care?" Enterprise asked with half closed eyes.

"The hard kind, it takes equally hard measure to bend something hard…Now then, I think it would be best for little Eldridge over there to receive treatment and for you ladies to rest after today's mission" Belfast said while smiling softly.

"Yeah, thanks Belfast" Enterprise said to Belfast while smiling.

The three of them walked away from the helicopter and down the stairs to the infirmary, Belfast and Illustrious noted that the ladies just suffered some scratches as their battle damage. They greeted the other ship girls who disembarked, some of them greeted them enthusiastically while the others greeted them shortly before immediately heading for their room for rest…Bismarck finally got out of the helicopter with Hood who only offered short greetings to Illustrious and Belfast before heading down, Bismarck is up for some chat however.

"Belfast, Illustrious" Bismarck greeted as she walked out of the helicopter.

"My, Lady Bismarck. How is the fight?" Belfast asked Bismarck curiously.

"Ended prematurely. Our kommandant decided to pull us out, The Sirens possessed overwhelming numbers out there" Bismarck said to Belfast then sighed.

"Oh dear, is it a trap?" Illustrious asked Bismarck with her left hand on her cheek.

"I thought Kommandant seemed to think so. Maybe that's the reason why he prevent us from engaging" Bismarck said with serious expression.

"That and the fact I wouldn't want the combined fleet to fight while being surrounded by presumably almost hundreds of ships which seemed too desperate in their chase" William said out loud.

William walked out of the helicopter, carrying his HK417 on his shoulder as he walked toward them. Belfast meticulously inspect him from her position, she could saw several bullet sized holes on William's armor and his left shoulder pad seemed deformed. It was clear that he got hit multiple times, but since William still looked healthy and walk normally Belfast gave him a passing mark…for now, until further investigation and interrogation.

"They could be there to soften you ladies before sending in their ship girls, that's why we should pick our battle" William said to Bismarck.

"That's indeed a possibility…Either way, you're our leader and I trust that you will make the right decision kommandant" Bismarck said to William as she nodded her head.

"…I know you don't like retreating from a fight, Bismarck" William said to Bismarck while frowning a bit

"Ja…But, even I know that it's a necessary thing to do sometimes. Especially when the life of others depend on your decision…I best get going, I will unwind back on the dorm" Bismarck said to William.

"Yeah, get some rest Bismarck. You did well today" William said while smiling.

"…Danke" Bismarck said to William after she nodded her head.

Bismarck flashed a faint smile at them then walked away, walking down the stairs she couldn't help but to thought what will happen if William did ordered them to engage those ships. If what he thought happened, they would in for the fight of their life as they had to fend off almost a hundred ships, aircrafts then fighting Siren's ship girls in one battle…That could result in their defeat, no matter how she thought of it fighting off that many ships simultaneously without proper preparation beforehand would be unwise. Their commander cared about them, he didn't want them to be pushed to the brink if they don't have to…thinking that brought smile to her face, he proved his kindness with his action.

Back on the helipad, Belfast and Illustrious saw a girl walking out while looking around the base. Jenny walked out after she woke up from her quick nap, she saw William, Belfast and Illustrious looking at her and she flashed them a grin. Belfast cocked her eyebrows a bit, who is she? Illustrious also thought that why would they brought someone on the way back other than Eldridge?

"Hi there girls, name's Jenny and I'm here after Knight here pulled me out of that facility" Jenny said to Belfast and Illustrious.

"You're from the facility that we infiltrated?" Illustrious asked Jenny.

"Yeah…I'm the double agent there, guess my cover was blown now. Nobody could survive that Siren attack, bombing and relentless shelling, those people are not going to believe me if I return to them somehow" Jenny explained to Belfast and Illustrious.

"Yeah, sorry to blew that up Jenny" William said from her side.

"No probs sir! Mission completed in the end and that's what matters! Admiral McAllen could always tasked me on another thing. I'm cool with it as long it didn't involve suicide mission" Jenny said to William.

"Guess you have a lot to live for?" William asked while smirking a bit.

"How about romance anime, hot muscly men, pizza and fresh milk in the morning? Is that good reason to live?" Jenny answered while grinning sheepishly.

"Well I won't judge your taste…You'll be staying here for today until I contacted McAllen, Jenny" William said to Jenny in matter-of-fact tone.

"Whoa, thanks for the hospitality…Oh yeah, I didn't even catch your name! Felt wrong to keep calling you Knight" Jenny asked William.

"…Commander William Blaze, the one in charge of this base and the ship girls" William said to Jenny while smiling a bit.

"Sergeant Major Jennifer Lawson at your service sir! Specialty on tech and mechanical support! You need anything serviced on this base? I'm your girl!" Jenny replied while saluting at William.

"Hahaha, felt wrong to put you to work after all that. Don't worry, you're a guest for today so have some rest. Illustrious, kindly escort her to the second floor vacant guest room please?" William asked Illustrious while smiling at her.

"Understood…It's good to see you return without being admitted to infirmary, milord" Illustrious said while smiling softly.

"Heh, you and me both, Illustrious" William snorted then said while replying her smile.

Illustrious then guided Jenny away from the helipad while Belfast stepped forward, she approached William and she inspected his condition closer. His clothes was wet, he looked tired, his armor was damaged and Belfast could note that he's almost out of ammo…Based from what she heard, it seems William had a rough time out there and he could use a rest. William noted that Belfast meticulously inspecting him, he then stared her directly in the eyes.

"…I kept my promise" William said while smirking.

"Despite being hit several times?" Belfast asked William while smiling smugly.

"The choice were either that or Eldridge got hurt, naturally I put myself in harm's way" William said with proud smile.

"Is that so? What drives you to be in harm's way to protect Eldridge, master?" Belfast asked William.

"…Will you believe me if I say maternal instinct?" William asked Belfast while shrugging.

"Ho?" Belfast looked intrigued to his reason.

"…When I first saw her, there's this gnawing feeling to protect that little girl and keep her safe from harm. It's like having a daughter, that sort of feeling" William described it to Belfast.

"…You'll make a great father then, master" Belfast commented while smiling.

"Hahahaha, yeah, maybe…Not that I could speak about it, I don't have the experience" William said then sighed.

"Ufufufufu…Oh yes, master, you said that you want double steak for dinner?" Belfast giggled then asked William.

"That I am" William nodded his head.

"Since you manage to make it back without having to stay the night on infirmary, I'll give you a passing mark" Belfast smiled to William.

"Alright then!" William said while pumping his fist.

"Also, please come a little closer" Belfast said to William while looking at him seriously.

William cocked his eyebrows but he did anyway, he trusted Belfast too much sometimes…getting himself closer, Belfast used her index finger to motion William to lower himself. William faced Belfast eye to eye before Belfast touched his left cheek before she brought down his face to meet hers, pressing her lips at his own the second time for the day but this time the kiss happened longer and William instinctively kissed Belfast back. That shocked her for a bit before she melted into the kiss further…After around half a minute both of them let go of each other lips, a bit breathless but there's a smile on both of their faces.

"Someone who left for battle with a good luck kiss, must receive a welcome back kiss" Belfast said while smiling to William.

"…I could get used to that" William said while grinning for a bit.

…The door that lead to the rooftop where the helipad was located then closed after it was opened for a bit, someone who did that then leaned on the wall before contemplating to herself…Hood saw it, Hood saw how Belfast kissed William, Hood heard from a credible source that apparently Belfast also kissed him before he went to mission…Hood put a hand on her mouth, her friend got a head start and she felt herself left with unexplainable feeling inside her heart.

Fortunately she's a lady of Royal Navy, she know what to do and she will act immediately. It just happened she know when to act, she'll strike him as soon as he's alone. If the others got this bold already, she need to up the ante…Hood descended the stairs from the rooftop, she'll let Belfast have this moment with him as a token of her friendship with her. But she still couldn't believe with the fact that Belfast would be the one who got the guts to make the first move, then again she's the perfect head maid of The Royal Navy…she should've seen this coming.

"…If that's how the other ladies want to play, I will happily oblige" Hood muttered to herself while frowning a bit.

…To be honest, she noticed that it's not only Belfast who might hold this feelings of 'affection' toward their commander. Prinz? She often invited him to spend time with her. St. Louis? Don't think Hood didn't noticed that she tried to get his attention with her clothing. Illustrious, among the ladies of Royal Navy she's the one who invited him for afternoon tea the most. Shoukaku? She acted cutesy when around him. Zuikaku, she invited him out to train even more. Atago, she's basically pampering William on any chance she got. Takao? She's following Zuikaku's method. Enterprise even sometimes went to talk with him privately…

…And that just scratched the surface, there's many other girls that started showing signs like those girls…Looks like it won't be long before another war broke out, a war to won their commander's heart.

* * *

**Apologies if it's a bit messy, I truly do…Phew! Things started to get hot, the relations between the commander and his ship girls also started to intertwine with one another and boy the race is on! Anyway, thanks for the review, follow and favorite dear readers! Let me know your thoughts and I'll see you next time when the next chapter is finished, alright? (Hopefully soon)**

**\- Dasmara**


	12. Blaze and current situation

"…So you're saying, that place was used as a place to research Power Cells and Power Adapters?" William asked Jenny.

"Yup, there's problems with trying to produce weapons and other machineries with sufficient power output and storage enough to sustain it for some time. Azur Lane and Crimson Axis even tried to emulate Siren's pulse laser cannon…That ended in building sized gun prototype, can you guess our main problem?" Jenny asked William back.

"Power related issues. We have enough to produce the sufficient amount but not the space to put the big power generator size, we have enough to fire an energy weapon but no means to control it safely and we need a method to store power for immediate use but sufficient enough so it could be used multiple times before recharging it…I think I see why this research is needed" William said in serious tone.

That is their basic problem, fix that and the improvement could steamrolled out of the scientist's mind and ass alongside being mass produced on the factory…well, most of it. William is a firm believer that if they could solve the energy issue then improvement would be easy to produce, most of the theories are limited mostly by that one problem. Jenny softened her gaze, she leaned in on William's desk while staring at William who wore his serious yet passive face because he struggled NOT to stare at her exposed and beautifully shaped cleavage…Oh my, was that her dog tag squeezed between two mounds of-

"…My my, commander. You know, I like intelligent men like you" Jenny said with sultry tone.

"Ho? I'm by no means a university graduate, you know?" William asked while narrowing his right eye.

"Doesn't matter, you immediately figured out most of the problems. That's a plus in my book-" Jenny said as she leaned in further.

"Ahem! We're getting off topic here, please return to our previous discussion" Hood suddenly cleared her throat then said out loud.

Jenny directed her stare toward Hood which caused her to widened her eyes, Hood looked at her with firm gaze on her blue eyes and little frown on her pink lips…Holy shit, that woman is jealous for sure! Jenny could saw the fact that Hood didn't like her being all chummy with William here even though the man was totally fine with her acting this way. She also looked to William's left and saw Prinz who looked at her impassively, but she somehow could saw the radiating red aura around her…So, because she like to live longer, Jenny decided to stop messing around...for now.

"Is she your wife or something?" Jenny whispered toward William who widened his right eye.

"Anyway, you said you're an engineer and tech expert. Can you figure out how to create a sufficient platform for this power generator and the power cells?" William said to Jenny…William try to avoid this topic.

"…You do realize that I'm an engineer with combat training and took specialized subterfuge class?" Jenny asked William while smiling smugly.

"…Yes or no?" William asked with half closed eyes.

"Of course I could! But I just can't build it instantly, I need time to design and test the whole system first. Even I'm not sure those people on central headquarters could create it in short notice, they would've produced something by now" Jenny said as she returned to her seat.

"That's probably due to different research priorities, they're currently working on something different and the priorities is not with power generation theory" William said to Jenny.

"Ah well, that made sense…So, what do you want to build first?" Jenny asked as she folded her arms.

…William rubbed on his chin, what to start? High Powered Assault Railguns (He always want this one)? Hover Tanks? Spaceships? Orbital Weapon Platform? Faster than Light Travel? No, he's getting ahead of himself. If it were up to him on how to proceed, he'll solve the main problem first which is power source…The best they got right now is nuclear reactor and that need an entire complex to run, have that kind of space on this island and they certainly couldn't outfit it with the ship girl's rigging…William felt he need to consult Akashi before he even try to mess around the girl's rigging, it's their lifeline out there and he only wanted the best for them.

"…Can you miniaturized a nuclear reactor?" William asked Jenny after thinking for a bit.

"…Holy Sugar Honey Ice Tea sir! Do you even know how nuclear reactor works?!" Jenny asked as she frowned on the idea.

"Just the basics of it" William shrugged while cringing.

"And I could give you dozens of reason on why miniaturizing them would be an absolute bitch of an effort, which could take an entire decade with our current technology!" Jenny said to William.

Yikes, in ten years they wouldn't even be here to argue if this continues on! What kind of energy weapons that they could create? Directed laser? Pulse laser? Plasma bolts? See? The choice are a lot but they only have so little time…William is no expert when it comes to determining the technological advancement priority or even where humanity should go next…They agreed on creating energy weapons, but how do they make it portable? Perhaps Jenny have an idea for this one…

"…Okay, so what do you suggest?" William asked Jenny, he couldn't figure on what kind of energy weapon they could make right now.

"My suggestion? We start with something simple first. So, imagine a gun. It used a bullet to fire its projectile, but let's change the bullet into a power storage item. Let's pretend that one of those things could fire thirty…take your pick for the projectiles?" Jenny said to William while smiling.

"Plasma bolts?" William said immediately.

"…Too complicated for now but I guess that could works with the right setting and design…So, imagined one of those power storage item could provide sufficient power to arm this weapon to fire thirty plasma bolts from the contained then superheated gas which weaponized by the power given from the item. Thirty bolts fired, kachack! Pull the slide, eject the drained item and load another one on the chamber. It work with the same basic function as of our current firearms, but the bullets are catalyst not as the projectiles itself. If one magazine could fit thirty of these items, then you could get nine hundred shots before you even need to change your magazine. The best part? We only need to create those batteries and then figure out what kind of projectile we want to fire…I already got a design in mind" Jenny said as she rambled on.

…William, Hood and Prinz stared at Jenny with mouth opened in bafflement, confusion or amazement…They already got a design for energy weapon, but the size was the same as a freaking building because of the power generator. Change the goal from miniaturizing a huge power generator like nuclear reactor into a disposable small battery, then it'll be much easier to create! Even if one battery could only fire one shot, it's still heck of an improvement! William stood up from his seat, approached Jenny and shook her hands with amazed look on his face.

"…BRILLIANT! Motherfucking breakthrough over there! I would've given you an award if I could, Jenny!" William said while grinning widely.

"Finally someone who speaks my language! People would often get bored with this theoretical talk!" Jenny said while also grinning.

"Ja, to be honest, this nerd convention still doesn't make any sense to me" Prinz said while smiling wryly.

"Prinz, Ms. Jenny over here just manage to propose a basic system to deliver weaponized energy payload! It's still in theory but it could works! I'm sure with the right research, this could turn into full-fledged weapon! Here's a number to Mrs. Diana Blaze, contact her as soon as you could. She's the head researcher for physics and engineering section on central headquarters, explain what you just said to her and I'm sure she could help you out. If she ask who you are, just give your name and drop mine as the one who told you to!" William said as he send her a contact number.

"Got it sir! Man, I'm so excited!" Jenny said as she grinning widely.

Jenny bolt out of William's office with her phone in record speed that put Usain Bolt's record to shame, as soon as she's out of the room she immediately called William's mother…William, Prinz and Hood were left in amazement at the speed she managed to exit the room. Smiling exasperatedly William closed the door to his office, he's not keen on keeping the door to his office open…you could never know.

"…You sure turned into different person when you talk about stuff like that, milord" Hood commented from behind.

"I admitted I am, she possess great theory. Now, we would only need to realize the concept" William said while smiling in satisfaction.

"You support her?" Hood asked as she smiled.

"I do. Even if she still hold the rank of sergeant, she got bright ideas. A diamond in the rough, Hood…What do you think about what she said?" William turned around then asked Hood about Jenny.

A conniving harlot who try to seduce William, Hood felt she need to put her foot down regarding this entire matter with…Oh, did William asked her about WHAT she said other than HOW she thought about Jenny? Hmm, honestly Hood didn't really get it about what were they talking about. She understood regarding the need for new weapon and energy weapons would be a great addition to their arsenal, but she's at lost when Jenny started talking regarding the technical details…William seems to get it though so she's fine with it.

"If I have to be honest, I don't understand much of it. But you and her understood each other's words, I'm sure it's an improvement worthy of pursuit" Hood said while smiling.

"That's…a big amount of confidence you have there" William said while smiling sheepishly.

"You have proven yourselves in both combat and strategy, it's only natural for me to put my trust to the commander who pulled us through multiple times" Hood said while smiling.

"Have to agree with Hood, kommandant. I don't know if it'll work, but if it fails we could learn from it and if it did work it's a direct improvement for us. That's a win-win, isn't it?" Prinz said to William.

William stared at Prinz while smiling, she speak the truth with those words. No matter the outcome, it'll be a good thing because if it succeeded then it could be implemented immediately and if it fails then they could always try again. William then opened his drawer, it's the techncal details regarding the event he planned to hold in few days. Each faction leaders already received this with the exception of Bismarck…So why didn't William use his phone or something? Official business like this required hard copy, which also mean he need someone he could ask to be a courier.

"Yeah, you're right…Anyway, Prinz, I'd like you to hand this to Bismarck" William said as he shown Prinz the envelope.

"Aww, making me the delivery woman?" Prinz pouted cutely at William.

"…Fine…What do you want as reward?" William said, he knew this will be the outcome with Prinz…all the time.

"…I'm free to choose?" Prinz asked while smiling smugly.

"Within reason, please" William said with half closed eyes, he choose to sit down.

"…Accompany me drinking tonight" Prinz immediately said to William.

"…That's it?" William asked her in confusion…honestly, he expected worse.

"Ja, any problems?" Prinz asked while frowning a bit.

"No…We could go drinking tonight" William said to Prinz.

"Wudenbar~…Then, I'll see you tonight, kommandant~" Prinz said as she approached William.

She sensuously walked toward William, bend down a bit in front of him as her boobs dangled in front of William. Prinz took the envelope from William's hand in swift motion, she then proceed to walk outside the office…her hips swaying sideways like a pendulum clock as she walked out, the sways were so smooth and the jiggle was so on point that Isaac Newton could produce a 500 page book worth of physic research from the observation data alone. William couldn't take his eye off of them because he's a man for fuck sake! After the door was closed William slumped on the back on his seat.

"…Damn tease" William muttered to himself out loud.

"It's rude to stare at a lady in such way without her consent, milord" Hood reprimanded, of course she would…

"Well I can't help it if that's her intention, don't tempt a lion with fresh meat" William said while looking serious.

"Honestly…Anyway, I have taken the liberty to notify The Manjuus to start the preparation. They replied that it would take at least two days to prepare everything including the equipment, I would suggest that we should also plan our schedule" Hood said to William as she moved to his left side.

"Kongou already sorted it out, check your email" William said to Hood.

Hood cocked her eyebrows in confusion as she took out her smartphone and checked her emails, she saw one that was left unread and opened it…William was right, Kongou already did it and it was done in detail. Why was Hood unaware about this? It's not wrong for William to ask the other secretary to do the job required but she's supposed to handle this one.

"Milord, may I ask why am I not told regarding the completion of this schedule?" Hood immediately asked William.

"That's…probably my fault, Eldridge's kidnapping did make me forgot to tell you. I'm sorry about that, I only want to lessen your burden" William said while cringing as if he just remembered something that he supposed to do.

"I see…I understand, thank you for being thoughtful. However, please confirm everything in the future milord…I don't want any misunderstanding to happen between us" Hood said to William while smiling.

"Noted…So, what do you think?" William asked Hood regarding the schedule.

She wasted no time to inspect the schedule that Kongou created, she carefully skimmed the content of the document while making sure that there's no error on the time management…Hood didn't found any error, she smiled at Kongou's work and she put her phone back to her pocket. Kongou was trained by Royal Navy before her return to Sakura Empire after all, she shouldn't be surprised if Kongou could do administrative work like this easily.

"I believe it's all set. So…what do we do now? Our work is done for the day" Hood asked William.

"Sit down, let's chat" William said while smiling.

Hood took some time to process his words before she whipped her head toward William who stared at her while smiling and expecting answer, this would be the first time William asked Hood for afternoon tea. She wordlessly smiled and nodded her head, William get up and sat on the sofa as Hood went and joined him. Pouring tea in two cups, William handed one to Hood who accepted it and sipped it. Well, it's not warm anymore but the taste is still there…Neither she or William bother to get up and reheat the tea.

"Quite rare for you to invite me, milord" Hood said while smiling.

"Am I? Well, I guess I've been spending too much time with Illustrious on the afternoon. Sorry to left you out, Hood" William said while smiling apologetically.

"It is fine milord, having you invite me today make up for all of it" Hood said then sipped on her tea.

"Alright" William nodded his head.

"…So, how are you today?" Hood asked William.

"Eh, I'm fine…Though, if I must say, I think I should go out to the town more…It's been a week since my last visit" William said to Hood

"Didn't Commander Johnson warn you about the potential of Crimson Cleanser agent being present there, milord?" Hood asked William, she narrowed her eyes.

"Well, nothing I can't han-" Williams said while shrugging.

"Bravado won't save you from a bullet" Hood immediately interjected, she won't have this one.

"…You're worried" William stared at Hood with pursed lips.

Worried? He bet his arse that Hood did worried! Did he even consult with her regarding his decision to infiltrate the facility? How she felt when she finally saw him again on the battlefield only to see him with heavily damaged armor? Despite his success in rescuing Eldridge and pulling them out from Siren's ambush he was left with bruises around his body due to multiple gunshots? How does she feel whenever William went out to the town without someone accompanying him?

Call her worrywart but he's cutting it close too many times already! His attitude regarding the event that could cost him his life was too lighthearted sometimes, Hood asked him regarding the damage to his armor yesterday and what's his answer? 'Bah, none of them could pull off headshot well' and 'they could try harder if they want to'…Hood was tempted to told him to knock those jokes off, but it was crowded last night with Eldridge so she hold it off. Now there's only both of them, she will give him a piece of her mind.

"Of course I am! Sometimes you're taking this entire matter with them too lightly, I know you're among the best Azur Lane has and that was proven yesterday! But you could never know what will happen, just because they're not Sirens doesn't mean you can downplay the threat!" Hood said to William with firm tone.

"…I know, they've proven it with Yuri, Michael and Charles" William answered while looking to the floor.

"Oh right…Pardon me, I may have stepped out of the line" Hood said as she frowned a bit.

"…Nah don't worry you're not, it's my jest that sometimes get out of hand…You're only worried for me, thanks for that" William said while smiling.

…How could he forgot about this!? He already thought that Hood was a worrywart to some degree, him acting recklessly only serve as fuel for the fire! William remembered that Hood often checked in with him few times a day whenever she couldn't be by his side, she cared for him that much so he shouldn't act recklessly! If even lighthearted remark like he said before triggered her, then it's safe to say she put up with his shit for so long that she finally had to burst…

"You know, I'm glad to have you as my secretary" William said without looking at Hood.

"Really?" Hood asked William.

"Yeah…You helped me a lot this past few months. You helped with paperwork, you helped with military planning, you keep me from being an arse with the budget too…Honestly, I don't know how I would do without you by my side Hood" William said to Hood while smiling softly.

"That send mixed signal, milord" Hood said to William while smiling a bit.

"You could interpret it however you like, Hood" William said to Hood while smirking.

"Fufufufufu…Really, you used my own words against me" Hood giggled then said to William.

"Counter attack is important tactics too, be sure to remember that" William said to Hood while smiling.

"Agreed…Then, how about…a kiss? As my reward?" Hood asked William while blushing a bit.

"…A kiss?" William asked with widened right eye.

"Mhm. A kiss" Hood nodded her head.

…Is it just him or did Hood get bolder these days? Whoa, it's not like he mind kissing a girl as beautiful as Hood it's just…Damn, William felt that Hood wasn't joking with this one so he's going to be a man and fulfil her wish. He put down his tea cup, get himself closer to Hood who also put down her tea cup while smiling. William's right hand reached out for Hood's left cheek, he touched it, caressed it, it's soft and man his hand felt good…Hood closed her eyes, as if she's relishing the touch, her left hand reached up, it grabbed William's right hand, caressed it and then she opened her eyes.

The stare…William was completely mesmerized by how beautiful Hood looked like right now with her half lidded blue eyes, her pink lips were a bit apart and she looked angelic in William's eyes right now. He knew Hood's beautiful, but man he never know she's this beautiful up close…Leaning in closer, closing their eyes and both of them wait for their lips to touch each other. A kiss as show of appreciation, a fitting reward for Hood and a privilege William glad to have.

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

"Shikikan-sama? Are you inside?" It's Shoukaku!

"Yeah" William replied quickly.

The door was opened and Shoukaku came inside, she saw both William and Hood having afternoon tea with one another and staring at Shoukaku with their tea cups on their hands…That was a close one! As soon as they heard the knock, both William and Hood opened their eyes then quickly take their respective tea cups while pretending to be as normal as possible even though their hearts were beating in quick rhythm. Looks like Shoukaku didn't suspect a thing as she walked in while smiling as usual, she then sat on one of the spare couch in front of William and Hood.

"How can I help you, Shoukaku?" William asked Shoukaku.

"Yes, I came here to report our return from the regular patrol along the isle" Ah yeah, William just remembered that she led the patrol fleet for today.

"Alright. Let's hear it" William said as he sipped his tea.

"I'm relieved to say its all clear, we detected no threat from all sectors and the convoy that's scheduled to arrive today managed to safely enter our waters without damage. However, few sailors on board the civilian ship reported seeing big black fish along the horizon around eighty four kilometers away from our base inside Sector C. Our assumption for that black fish, is Siren's Submarine" Shoukaku said to William.

Well as far as he know the large fish that had black color was known as Orca Whale and that creature's natural habitat was nowhere near this island, they could safely assume its Siren's submarine that those sailors saw to the east of their base…Okay, William was sure that many of his ship girls were capable in performing Anti-Submarine Warfare or ASW for short. Last time he checked the base also got lots of Sonar equipment and Depth Charges to combat them, but he plan to conserve the ship girl's combat capabilities for any potential attack those Sirens might launch in near future…

"It's not a stretch to assume so. Did they know about the existence of this base? Wait, that's a dumb question, of course they do…Well, I don't want to expend resources unnecessarily so I won't deploy a fleet to do investigation and hunt submarines. However, I will contact our neighbor Commander Johnson to let him know of this situation" William said to Shoukaku.

"Milord, don't we have some fuel to spare for close range submarine hunting? I believe our oil stock is almost full, we should really put it to use before our oil storage becomes full" Hood suggested to William.

"I plan to send some for Johnson's mass produced corvettes, those things are armed with depth charges and sonars as well being nimble enough to chase those submarines if they need to" William said to Hood.

"Would he be willing to do your job?" Hood asked William with unconvinced expression on her face.

"Hell, I'm giving him a job so he won't get bored. He'll accept, trust me on that" William said then winked at Hood.

"If you say so" Hood replied while smiling then sipped her tea.

"I'll trust your decision, shikikan-sama…Other than that, I would say everything is in order" Shoukaku said while smiling.

William sounded so confident regarding the fact of Johnson acceptance to handle this situation, well it's because William talked a bit with Johnson during his way to rescue Eldridge. Johnson talked that their base have been lacking action for the past few weeks, they found nothing interesting and it's been nothing but silence from The Sirens. So imagine how was Johnson's reaction when William told him that he was ambushed by Siren's infantries crowding the facility he supposed to infiltrate?

Not happy that's for sure, William had to promise Johnson to involve him when another Sirens related issue came up. That man is itching for a fight with them not because he's a warmonger, Johnson is anxious regarding the Siren because he and his men lacked the experience in combating them. Unlike William who have faced those things twice now, the men and woman that fought The Siren with William back on Terania went missing to this day…alongside their recording and experience…

"Perfect. Anything else?" William asked Shoukaku.

"Also…Nagato-sama and Mikasa-san requested an audience with you milord, they are waiting on our dormitory" Shoukaku informed William.

"Okay, do you know what they want to talk about?" William asked Shoukaku as he put his tea cup on the coffee table.

"I'm afraid I have no clue, shikikan-sama. Shall I accompany you there?" Shoukaku asked William while smiling.

"Very well. Please wait outside, Shoukaku" William nodded his head.

"Hai~" Shoukaku cutely responded.

Shoukaku get up, bowed a bit then exited the room while closing the door. Hood put her tea cup on the coffee table and she tidied up the set because it's time for them to leave the office. William head back to his desk, he opened the drawer and take few things from it and stuffed it to his jacket pocket. Hood was done as she waited for him, she smiled somberly. William noticed her expression…She want that kiss so badly huh?

Without any kind of words or warning, William marched to Hood as he quickly but gently reached for her left cheek with his right hand. Then he swooped in, like a dive bomber attacking a ship. Connecting his lips without any kind of reservation, William kissed her gently while caressing Hood's left cheek…The usually composed lady of The Royal Navy, The Mighty Hood was reduced from the mighty battleship and adviser to the queen into a school girl who blushed when their crush became their first kiss. William pulled his face away from Hood, he got a good look at the blushing Hood with widened eyes and her mouth stammering as she left speechless.

"…Cute" William commented while smirking.

"I…I…" Hood failed to form any coherent sentence.

"Well, I'm leaving. Lock up the office for me, dear" William said while smirking.

William swooped in again and this time he pecked Hood's left cheek, he then walked out of the office with triumphant grin. He brought down Hood that's known for her elegance and grace to stammering and blushing mess, he'll call that a victory! Shoukaku tilted her head to the left in confusion, but she shrugged as she choose not to say anything…Hood was left standing in the middle of the office, her left hand on her left cheek as she was stunned from the act. Her legs then gave out as she kneeled on the floor...

What an experience! Holy hell Hood could reply what just happened on her mind for thousand times today! She's filled with lots of emotion right now, happiness, surprise and embarrassment being the most prominent one among them. Hood thought she was prepared but no amount of preparation could ready her when he did that so suddenly, she thought her heart would stop beating for a while…Hood narrowed her eyes as she stared at the door, the intensity might as well melt the office door with how hard she stared at it…Yet, she smiled when she did that.

"Sneak attack is so unfair…" Hood muttered to herself.

…Night rolled in and guess what time is it? Yeah, William liked to keep his promise with Prinz so he walked toward Ironblood's dorm. Strolling in the evening, accompanied by dim streetlight and occasional pesky mosquitos! William repeatedly smacked those little buggers but they're more relentless than a Zero dive bombing Eagle Union carrier during The Battle of Midway! Scowling as he hastened his walking pace, William finally reached Ironblood's dormitory…Grey mansion like building in the middle of a rose garden, Ironblood dorms doesn't look that different from Royal Navy's dorm. To the untrained eyes that is, because there's so many little differences in its aesthetics on it.

Since he's the base commander, William could casually opened the front door without any reservation and he's faced with the large hallway painted in dark red paint with flowery motif in gold…William walked in further when he was surprised that the whole building was devoid of any activity, where did those girls go? William got a theory, so he walked toward the mess hall of the dormitory…Wait, if the girls had mess hall on their dorms, why they still walk to the cafeteria for food?

"…Ah, kommandant" William turned around and saw Bismarck who walked toward him.

"Bismarck, I was wondering why the dorm seems empty" William said as he approached her.

"Everyone is on the mess hall, we're having a little celebration after our exercise today as well the success of our previous operation" Bismarck said to William.

"Well…I'm sorry for not holding one, we usually did it on the canteen" William said while cringing a bit.

"It is fine kommandant, we understand that we are a bit busy with the preparation for the summer event" Bismarck said to William.

"If you don't mind, can I join you ladies for tonight?" William asked Bismarck while smiling a bit.

"By all means kommandant, we're more than glad to have you with us tonight" Bismarck replied to William.

The door was opened by Bismarck and William went wide eyed at what he saw, they could hear laughter roared inside the mess hall alongside occasional sounds of utensils clattering. William never saw how the Ironbloods celebrate but his prediction wasn't far off, he stepped inside and the girls noticed that their commander was present among them. William haven't visited Ironblood dormitory at night, he mostly visited them during the day so to see him here right now did surprised them a bit.

"Kommandant! Good to see you here!" Karlsruhe said out loud while grinning.

"Come in! Come in! We got enough food to last us all night!" Konigsberg said to William while smiling.

"Hmm, that smells delicious" William said while smiling after the smell of food assaulted his nose.

"Believe me, the taste is worth dying for" Tirpitz said to William while smiling a bit.

"Where's Prinz?" William asked out loud.

"Looking for me, gut aussehend?" Prinz answered to William.

The man looked sideways to the right and found Prinz seated on the bar stool with a glass of cognac on her right hand, she swirled the liquid on the glass then wiggled her eyebrows while motioning William to approach her with her left hand. Of course the bar would be Prinz's favorite hangout spot, drinking and snacking were her most favorite past time (other than teasing people around the base).

"Why am I not surprised?" William asked with half closed eyes.

"Why should you?" Prinz asked while smirking.

"Good point" William said as he approached Prinz.

"Ah-ah, first, you dine with us!" Gneisenau said while smiling as she grabbed William's right arm.

"Fine. Just don't fill up his stomach too full, I need him fit for duel tonight!" Prinz said then she downed her glass filled with cognac.

Gneisenau led William to one empty seat beside Scharnhorst and Z23, he sat as Z23 and Scharnhorst filled an empty plate with food and put it in front of William. Turkey, sausage, roasted bread, there's lot of options for William to choose but since he'd like to drink with Prinz he thought he only should eat moderately…got to save some space for the liquid.

"You're free to choose kommandant" Z23 said to William.

"Hmm, roasted wiener?" William asked as he used his fork and stabbed a sausage.

"By all means. So, what do you think?" Z23 asked William as he munched on the sausage.

"…Bloody hell, this is delicious! So, who cooked this?" William asked out loud.

Almost everyone within the mess hall raised their hand upwards in response, William stared at the ship girls before he swallowed the sausage. That answered his question on how did they managed to cook so many food in a short time, they may not be The Royal Maids but their cooking product couldn't be laughed at since it's deliciousness rivalled the food that usually made by Belfast and the other maids…Does all of the ship girls know how to cook?

"…Okay" William said as he shrugged.

"Team effort kommandant, everyone worked this afternoon to prepare this dinner" Bismarck said to William with a glass of beer on her right hand.

"I approve, you ladies should cook more. Hey, can I have this sausages wrapped?" William asked Gneisenau who stood behind him.

"For sure, kommandant" Gneisenau said as she prepared to wrap the sausages.

"Hahaha! Hear that schwester? Herr Kommandant like my wiener so much!" Scharnhorst said to Gneisenau after laughing.

"Context, schwester Shcarnhorst" Gneisenau said with half closed eyes.

"I'm glad that the stereotype about Ironblood girls can't cook is disproven, this also serve as preparation for the upcoming summer competition event" Bismarck said to William, ignoring the misleading remark that Scharnhorst said out loud.

"Nice, I believe you'll give the maid team from Royal Navy a fierce competition" William said to Bismarck.

"We'll show them" Bismarck declared with confident smile on her face.

After William ate the delicious dinner, he walked and met Prinz who already went through her first bottle of cognac without any problems whatsoever. William walked on the bar, picked a bottle of bourbon from the shelf filled with assortments of drinks and a glass. He put the glass on the bar table, put a large chunk of ice on it, poured the bourbon on the glass and then raised the glass toward Prinz and she answered it with toast using her own glass against William's then both of them chugged down their drink.

"Welcome to Ironblood's bar kommandant. As you can see, we got lots of beverages to sate your needs or fulfill your taste" Prinz said to William while smiling.

"And why did I just know about this is beyond me, I should visit more often" William said then huffed.

"Ja, you should. Or better yet, maybe you should move your room here? We can have 'fun' everyday" Prinz said while wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

"What kind of fun, Prinz?" William asked Prinz with half closed eyes.

"Take your pic…drinking? Training? Or perhaps…night battle?" Prinz said to William in seductive tone.

"Night battle? Why would we busy ourselves fighting with…Oh…THAT night battle" William said as his eye widened in realization…

…Prinz just indirectly/directly dropped a bomb that she would like to do some 'bumping' with William, he was honestly surprised since Prinz was usually a lot more subtle in her approach (probably alcohol influence). William subtly stared at Prinz, she's beautiful, her boobs are bountiful, she got perfect curves on her hips, meaty thighs and one of the greatest ass he ever saw…Honestly speaking she's very attractive, no men could resist her (except for those who worship flat chest).

"…What do you think?" Prinz asked William as she sipped her cognac.

"…Hahaha, I admit you're attractive. But-" William said to Prinz.

"Aww, is it not enough reason?" Prinz pouted cutely.

"I'm…not the type to do one night stand" William said as he shrugged and downed his glass of bourbon.

"…Let me tell you something, even though I might get killed for telling you this directly" Prinz said while smiling.

"Whoa, what's so dangerous about it?" William asked as he poured more bourbon to his glass.

"Do you know how many ladies here that have 'attraction' to you?" Prinz asked to William while narrowing her eyes.

Prinz, Belfast, Hood, St. Louis, Illustrious, Shoukaku, Atago and Zara were pretty clear on their intention and William honestly could deduce that these ladies…likes him. Vestal, King George V, Wales, Enterprise, Rodney, Nelson, Avrora, Formidable, Arizona, Ayanami, Z23, Kongou, Hiei, Brooklyn, Graf Zeppelin, Hornet, Cleveland, Mikasa, Takao, Zuikaku, Gneisenau, Scharnhorst, Tirpitz and Bismarck were on grey area…They did shown some signs of being interested to William but sometimes William wasn't sure about how they actually feels. And that's not accounting the others who might just as interested but William haven't noticed yet…Holy shit, the perks of living inside a base with beautiful girls.

"Honestly? I've seen several signs of it, I'm not oblivious to the signs…You included" William said as he sipped on his bourbon this time.

"Then, did you know how many mature and hormonal ladies that are on this base? How most of their growing desires could overload at any time?" Prinz asked with cocked eyebrows.

"…Okay, that's a lot" William grimaced at the thought...that's a lot of puss-

"Kommandant, you have to realize that it won't be long until someone made a move on you" Prinz said to William.

Well…Prinz were a little too late on that one, Belfast already kissed him twice, he already kissed Hood this afternoon and he suspected that the others would make their move soon…Okay, so far it's only a kiss but what about next time? If their hands feeling like exploring it won't end good, well actually it would end good but what about the long term consequences? What if one day he's getting some action then one by one the girls barged inside to take their turns? He could die due to snu snu!

"…Someone already did huh? Is it Belfast?" Prinz immediately went to hit him on the citadel!

"…Yeah" William answered while looking to the side.

"Well played Bel…well played" Prinz said as she downed the glass filled cognac…wow…

"She's not the only one" William said while still looking to the side.

"Let me guess…Hood?" Prinz said, another hit to the citadel!

"Not wrong…What should I do?" William said as he downed his glass of bourbon.

"I don't think there won't be any men who wouldn't want to be in your position, kommandant…I'd say, go for it" Prinz said to William while smirking.

"I'd say that's going to open the Pandora Box, we could never know how things would go" William said as he poured bourbon to his glass.

Yeah, if he had to be honest he could never know what will happen if he decided to get into physical relationship with the girls on this base. Prinz understood regarding William's dilemma, the girls on this base could be a bit…forceful in their approach. But she thought that William didn't have any other choice, she knew William doesn't have the heart to refuse the girl's advance…and she knew that William did have interest on them.

"Exactly. But sometimes all you can do is to go forward, right? Besides, I think that's the whole point of Admiral Lena's presentation…She purposely make us aware regarding sex, even though most of us didn't put too much thought on it. Now that you're here, that changes everything…" Prinz said while swirling the liquid on her cognac glass.

"…Alright…I guess sooner or later, everything could go out of control if I don't start responding to the situation quickly" William said with serious expression…

"Wise move, kommandant. Your night might just be more…enjoyable, if you do that" Prinz said while smirking, she licked her lips sensuously…her plan is working.

"Hmph…I just hope this won't backfired later" William snorted then drank his bourbon.

…Prinz realized one thing regarding William's hesitation, she just realized it after thinking about it for a while…First, William was raised with mindset that he could only marry one girl. He didn't come from a noble background, those nobles were fine with marrying a woman, then having a mistress or two. William was by no mean a British Lord, he's just a normal man from an average family which happens to have a former special operation soldier as a father, renowned scientist as a mother and talented author as his sister…Okay, maybe not so average family.

"…Kommandant, are you the type that believes in monogamy?" Prinz asked William while frowning a bit.

"…Honestly, yeah" William shrugged, she's right regarding her hypothesis.

"…Then I'm sorry, that won't work in here and you know exactly why" Prinz said to William with serious expression.

"Figures…Oh well, here's to the future filled with chaos and uncertainty" William raised his glass toward Prinz.

"Cheers~" Prinz said while smirking then toasted with William…

.

…Few days later, the awaited day has come. William was comfortably tucked in his blanket with AC raring on his room, yup the big man need a lot of time to recharge his battery before he could function for today. Ahh, what a comfortable temperature for him to sleep in despite the drops of water hitting his face…Wait, drop of water? William groggily opened his eyes, he woke up to see dark grey clouds above him…He's supposed to be on his room! Looking around, William found out that it was his room but it was trashed so well it's almost unrecognizable, the paint has worn off, the furniture was old and dusty…William got a bad feeling about this.

He got up, inspect his surrounding and himself. He somehow wore Azur Lane forestland camouflage BDU with armor plating, alongside various attachment on his torso he saw that there's an unknown gun on the floor. Taking it and inspecting the gun, it's a carbine sized firearm...Bullpup styled, digital camera scope and William predict it has around thirty rounds judging from the magazine. William took the magazine out and saw it was filled with what appears to be 5.56mm rounds…Alright, this will do.

Taking immediate alert stance, he exited his supposed room…The hallway was deserted, William looked outside but it's nothing save for heavy fog. Damnit, what kind of dreamland he's stuck in now? William could choose to walk out or head to his office first, he decided the office. He heard several whispering sounds and raised his gun, this is not funny in the slightest. Deciding to fuck it, he walked upstairs and stumbled upon his office room. Trying to open it and it's locked, William shrugged as he kicked the door down.

The inside of it was an exposed office room as if its ceiling was blown off, the desk was split into two and the sofas were upturned. William walked further in and looked outside to see the that the heavy fog still obstructed his view of the base, all of a sudden he saw blue flash moved quickly in front of him inside the fog and William instinctively raised his weapon.

"Oi" Someone suddenly said.

William turned around with his carbine pointed toward someone behind him, without any other warning William was choked by someone…again. William saw who choked him, a humanoid cladded in black scaly armor with slanted glowing blue visor. Squeezing the trigger for the carbine, William fired the carbine one handed toward the creature's head and the bullets certainly made contact with it. But after expending thirty 5.56mm rounds towards it, the helmet look unscathed…Widening his eyes in response, William used the carbine and smacked it to the creature's head which didn't do much except for breaking the carbine…he's in serious trouble right now.

"Hmm…Relentless" The creature said in filtered voice.

That creature thrown him off the building, William landed on his back and despite the pain it gave him he immediately rolled back. Shit! He got no other weapons on him except for the combat knife. William took out the blade from its sheath, he hold it, prepared his stance and set himself for melee combat. The fog still thick as hell and William couldn't even see past for five meters in front of him…Focusing everything on his hearing, William took on all sounds near him…The smooth wind, the sound of waves in the distant and footsteps? Alright you bastard, come closer! William is ready to fight! The footsteps getting louder and William turned around with knife swinging, however his right hand was caught by that creature.

"Attentive" The creature said in filtered voice.

Using his left hand, William jabbed the creature straight in the head and it worked as it recoiled. The grip on William's right hand loosened a bit, William freed his right hand and try to stab the creature in the neck. The creature noticed as it blocked William's swing, the creature also launched a left hook. Back stepping, William launched a hard swing with his left leg which the creature grabbed but it was followed up by William spinning on air with his left leg as anchor and then used his right leg to hit the creature. The creature's head swayed a bit and it slammed William to the ground as an answer which resulted in him losing his knife, heck damn that was painful!

"…Cunning" The creature said in filtered voice.

Coughing, William watched as the creature raised its right fist and brought down upon William who moved his head to dodge the strike. He immediately grabbed on the creature's arm and lifted it up, damn this thing is heavy! William lifted the creature and smacked it to the ground, William quickly mounted the downed creature as he managed to land his right fist at the creature's face. William felt intense pain on his right hand, he just strike a metal helmet with his bare hands! What a dumbfuc-

"Tenacious" The creature said in filtered voice.

The creature got up and thrown William off of him, he landed and set his stance for unarmed combat…William didn't know a single thing of what's going on right now, all he know is that whatever this creature is it's dangerous as heck. The creature however didn't set any stance, it only walked forward a bit before it looked at William as if it's inspecting him. William's getting anxious, what will it do? It doesn't shown any sign trying to attack him at all…

"…You'll do" The creature said in filtered voice.

"…Do? For what?" William asked, he didn't lower his stance even for a bit.

"To fight The Sirens…You'll do" The creature said to William in filtered voice.

"Huh? How can you be so sure!? Not even I believe I could put a meaningful dent on them!" William said to the creature while narrowing his eyes.

"Believe me when I say this, you are capable…The ship girls are the key, don't forget that" The creature said to William in filtered voice.

…Gasping, William opened his eyes and found himself on his room…his real room. William regulated his breathing as he scanned the room for anything suspicious or out of place, he found nothing and he laid back down on his bed. Seriously, what the hell was that dream? Premonition? What about that creature wrapped in black scaly armor? It looked like The Siren Infantry he fought several times before, but it can talk? Sheesh, just as William's about ask that thing regarding…

KNOCK KNOCK!

"Master, pardon my intrusion" It's Sheffield.

Sheffield opened the door to William's room, she saw William already awake then she performed curtsy at him. Usually Belfast was the one who came to wake William up, but if its Sheffield or the other girls then that means Belfast was quite busy…With the activity they're about to do it's safe to assume that Belfast would be unavailable for today, Sheffield waited by the nightstand as William sat on his bed while rubbing his right eye.

"…Morning Sheffield" William greeted her.

"Good morning, master" Sheffield bowed a bit.

"How's everyone doing?" William asked her.

"The maids is busy doing last minute check and adjustment for today's event, Belfast have asked me to wake you up and help you prepare for the day…As for the schedule, master should be ready by eight o'clock, then master will wait for the guest arrival" Sheffield explained to William.

"Pretty simple one" William commented as he got up from bed.

"I purposely simplified it so your bedridden brain could understand it easily" Sheffield said as she closed her eyes.

"…Thanks?" William said while smiling wryly.

He wasn't sure whether that's a sarcastic jab or downright insult, but oh well…William stretched for a bit, loosening his joints and warming up his muscles. He quickly hit the bathroom for morning shower, cleaned himself, combed his hair and dressed himself with t-shirt and boxers. He got out of the bathroom to find Sheffield already prepared his clothes for today, quickly equipping his uniform with Sheffield's help then both of them left William's room in less than fifteen minutes since Sheffield came inside. William walked inside his office, he found Souryuu inside the room…Wait, Souryuu?

"Ah, shikikan-sama" Souryuu said to William.

"Souryuu, what can I help you with?" William asked Souryuu while smiling a bit.

"I need you to view these papers regarding the manifest for today's event items, the items will arrive in fifteen minutes according to schedule that The Manjuu gave us" Souryuu said as she hold several papers on the paper board clip she carried with her.

"From High Command?" William asked as he went inside the room.

"Hai" Souryuu nodded her head.

"Master, what about your breakfast?" Sheffield asked William.

"Please bring it here" William said to Sheffield.

"Understood, master" Sheffield said while bowing a bit.

Sheffield left the room and William proceed to sat on his office chair, he viewed the papers regarding what did High Command sent them for this event. Let's see…all of this were box of clothes? Wait, is this the uniform that they're going to use for today's event? There's labels for the clothes too, but no indication on what's inside. The manifest didn't give any description for the clothing but the boxes were already sorted based on the events that will be held, it will be prepared accordingly by The Manjuus too…

"Souryuu" William called her.

"Hai?" Souryuu responded to William.

"Who gave you this?" William asked Souryuu.

"By email, shikikan-sama. It was sent from High Command through our usual channel" Souryuu said to William.

"Then it could be anyone on Central Headquarters…This might make me sound paranoid, but please contact The Manjuus and double check the boxes" William said to Souryuu with serious expression on his face.

"Right away, shikikan-sama" Souryuu said to William.

By nine o'clock in the morning…Breakfast was done, manifest check was done, other administrative nonsense was cleared, it's time for them to proceed with today's event…For those of you who don't know, William was given a suggestion to hold a summer event dedicated to strengthen the relations between all sides on the base and who doesn't love a good competitive event between the ship girls with history of…Now that William thought about it, this event would backfire horribly if he let the girls let loose too much. So, the event will be going for three days with lots of competition events, this will be one heck of a summer for William ever since high school summer camp.

The preparation was complete, now they would only need to wait for the guests to arrive. Not long after William thought that, the main gate for the base was opened by The Manjuus as a LIMOUSINE?! WHAT THE FUCK?! William thought that the guests would use SUVs but he never thought that they will use a limo! Anyway, the limousine was escorted by several gray colored Humvees with Azur Lane Elite Guard Unit riding inside it. The convoy entered the base and slowly approached William who stood in front of the administrative building with his secretaries flanking him, the girls also crowding around to greet the arrival of their guest. The convoy stopped in front of William, the limousine being directly in front of him.

The rear door was opened, several men wearing suits came out of the limousine. William knew who those people were, they must be Azur Lane Intelligence Agency Secret Service. Now, compared to Eagle Union's CIA these people were saints but William still didn't trust them as he secretly ordered The Manjuus to guard the restricted areas and keep close eye on these outsiders…After the guards and the escorts disembarked, someone stepped out of the limousine and it was Lena who smiled as she walked toward William.

"Fancy seeing you here" William commented to Lena.

"I wouldn't want to miss this one, had to blackmail my way to be allowed to come with them" Lena said while smirking.

"Oh my…" Illustrious said with a hand covering her mouth.

"Ms. Illustrious, I was joking. No need to worry" Lena said to Illustrious while smiling.

"…So where's that wanker?" William asked Lena.

"He'll be out momentarily…Also, you haven't forgiven him?" Lena asked as she looked back toward the limousine.

"I've did. But that still didn't excuse him for being a bastard" William said to Lena.

"Sheesh Will!" Lena said then sighed out loud.

The next person came out of the limousine and just like everyone predicted, its Lucas who wore his blue officer uniform while looking around the area while smiling and his personal secretary who put on her best professional face. The secretary had long jet black hair with emerald eyes, she wore the same uniform as Lena. Lucas then walked ahead to meet William and Lena, the ship girls around them tensed for a bit since High Commander of Azur Lane himself descended to their base. They need to put on good impression, none of the girls want to tarnish William's name.

"William!" Lucas said in excited tone while he walked with open arms.

"Lucas…" William only gave halfhearted response.

"Come on! Don't be so cold to me! I thought we made up with each other?" Lucas said while smiling widely.

"Last time we met you-" William was about to retorted.

"Milord" Hood said in firm tone from William's backside.

William looked back to see Hood shaking her head sideways a bit, she clearly disproved with William's attitude toward their High Commander. Sighing as he massaged his left temple, William resolved himself to put up with whatever nonsense this man in front of him might came up with. For additional information, William was already uncomfortable with Lucas grand plan but his attitude toward William also changed as the man trying to befriend William actively…Naturally, William put on his maximum defense and guard around him with Lucas encroaching upon his territory.

"Fine. Welcome to the base Lucas, I hope you're here not to mess around?" William asked with half closed right eye.

"What are you saying? Of course I'm here because of the competitive event. I look forward to the amazing show" Lucas said while smiling.

"Good" William simply responded.

"Also, we brought plus two with us" Lucas said in nonchalant tone.

"I see…Wait, plus two?!" William double backed as he stared at Lucas.

The limousine door was still opened and from the inside two other persons came out, William widened his right eye when he saw who it was. A man with shoulder blonde hair, icy cold blue eyes, intimidating gaze and dressed in black and red uniform. There's a woman behind him with equally blonde hair tied in high ponytail, crimson colored eyes, beautiful as hell and dressed in the same uniform albeit more skimpy and she wore thigh length skirt instead of black slacks. They were known as Crimson Axis Council Chairman and his personal secretary…William smiled as he looked at Lucas who also looked at him.

"What a surprise…You son of a cunt" William said while smiling, despite the tick mark on his forehead.

"Well technically, I was born from a cunt so you're not that far off" Lucas said while smiling smugly.

"Enough, both of you" Lena suddenly said from behind them.

Lena pinched both William and Lucas by their sides which resulted in two of them jolted in shock, silent agreement or ceasefire was encoded by their stares and they nodded at each other as the seal of agreement…The chairman walked toward William while keeping his firm gaze, as if measuring William immediately as soon as he laid his eyes on him. William walked forward to greet the chairman, William offered his right hand and the chairman grabbed it before shaking it firmly.

"William Blaze, I presume?" The chairman asked William.

"Correct. Welcome to the base, sir…" William said to the chairman.

"Erich Von Sternberg. But please, call me Erich" The chairman said to William.

"Very well, your liege…And you are, milady?" William asked the secretary.

"Theresa Gunther, pleased to meet you Commander Blaze" Theresa said to William while smiling a bit.

"Well met…Shall we head for the meeting room?" William asked both Erich and Theresa.

"By all means" Erich said to William.

William led the VIPs to the conference room inside the command center, Hood and Belfast stood by his side while the other secretaries dispersed to prepare for the event. The VIPs and William had to discuss several things first before they could proceed with the event, everyone took their respective seat with William being flanked by Belfast and Hood, Lucas being flanked by Lena and his secretary and Erich sat beside his secretary. Suffolk, Sheffield and Kent walked inside carrying trays full of refreshment such as cakes and drinks.

Then they talk about the event while enjoying the refreshments. William explained on what the event would be, technical details with Belfast and planning elaboration with Hood. Both high commanders have agreed to stay on the base for three days, they will sleep on the administrative building spare guest rooms while the soldiers and the secret service could return and stand by on Johnson's base. Why? Because the ship girls themselves were the ultimate protection in one packaging these VIPs going to get, they won't need additional ground forces.

"Commander William, is there any possible issue that might came up during this event?" Erich asked William.

"Well there's two possibilities. One, Siren attacked us in sneaky beaky like way during the event. Two, the ship girls fighting among themselves will be the demise of this base…your pick?" William asked while smiling bitterly.

"Sirens" Lucas said to Erich.

"Agreed" Erich said to Lucas.

Welp, William guessed that these two doesn't know the full might of ship girls going on rampage and how many close calls William had to defuse within a week. Since experience is the best teacher, William opted to let these two experienced it for themselves. Hood checked her wristwatch and saw that that it's almost time for them to start the opening ceremony, the ship girls must've been waiting for them to complete this formality meeting…

"Milord, I believe it would be best to begin the event right away. It's almost nine o'clock" Hood advised to William.

"Yeah, you're right… Day one, opening ceremony, assortments of athletic games for whole day and buffet dinner by night" William said which the two high commanders nodded their heads at.

"Let's get going then" Lucas said while smiling.

"But wait. One more thing I want to ask, we receive lots of boxes filled with what appears to be clothes. High Command were the one who sent it for this particular event, care to explain?" William asked Lucas while folding his arms.

"Ah that, I've been thinking that in order for this whole event to succeed we need more…immersions" Lucas explained to William.

"Immersion?" William asked with cocked eyebrows.

"Yes. So, each of those events would be perfect if the girls wore the suitable uniform in those boxes" William said while grinning.

"Uniforms? Wait, so if the first event for today is assortment of athletic games. You mean what's inside those boxes are school PE uniform?!" William asked Lucas with widened right eye.

"Putting it bluntly, yes...To be specific, the one from Sakura Empire. You know, those shirts and tight bloomers?" Lucas asked while wiggling his eyebrows twice.

Hood put on her usual elegant smile despite what she heard, Belfast kept her composed professional face at all cost while William had his jaw dropped alongside Lena who apparently wasn't told about this at all. Erich stared at Theresa and vice versa, both of them weren't well versed on this kind of culture but they are certain that it's quite outrageous to some degree based on William's and Lena's expression. William and Lena knew Lucas could be unpredictable with his executive decision sometimes, but who would predicted this perverted fuck to do this?!

"Lucas…Don't tell me when its time for beach volleyball on second day…" Lena asked as she facepalmed.

"School swimsuits!" Lucas said while smiling innocently.

"Cooking competition?" William asked while frowning.

"Maid clothes!" Lucas said while smiling innocently.

"…War games?" William asked in dreaded tone.

"Oh don't be ridiculous~" Lucas said while waving his hand dismissively.

"Phew…at least he still had-" William sighed in relief and muttered.

"You ever read 'that' particular doujin?" Lucas suddenly asked William.

BRAK!

William smacked the table in front of him while groaning in frustration while Lena struggled to hide her face in shame, seriously this is an event that will be held in collaboration with Crimson Axis representative who got zero fucking clue regarding the stunt that Lucas just pulled! Honestly, this is out of line in all direction…Lena chose to give up, she would not be the one who will fix this clusterfuck that could resulted with Lucas getting an earful from finance department. William however sighed before he looked at Lucas…

"…Tell me honestly, what do we get by 'participating' in this outrageous plan of yours? If I'm going to expose my ship girls to a dangerous degenerate like you, I must make sure that we would receive extremely handsome compensation before proceeding" William asked while scowling.

"I will give you seventy five percent extra funds starting next month, direct approval for base expansion without additional cost and a promise to be the first one who will got our newest equipment and research result effective immediately" Lucas said immediately with serious expression.

"You son of a bitch…I'm in" William said with serious expression.

Now Hood stared at William with widened eyes, Belfast put on a hand over her gaping mouth and Lena looked at William as if he had grown another head. Did William just seriously agreed to this for the sake of their base improvement?! If they had to admit, the base do need additional funding but to go along with that plan as the requirement? Hood stared at Belfast as if asking whether William's breakfast was spiked with something, Belfast frowned a bit as her answer…

"…Belfast" William suddenly said to Belfast.

"Yes master" Belfast answered to William.

"Brief the ladies…I want them to be prepared for this nonsense they're about to face" William said with serious expression.

"As you command, master" Belfast said as she bowed a bit and left the room.

Belfast closed the door before she frowned, oh she wasn't sure how the ship girls going to take this news. Few of them who were 'bold' to 'borderline shameless' might not mind with this change regarding the outfit they have to wear during the events, she felt bad for those who were naturally shy…Regardless, orders are orders and Belfast intended to carry out her master's order to the fullest. She quickly notified everyone with her phone to gather on the academy, this briefing will be hectic for sure.

"…Are you sure about this, milord?" Hood asked William while whispering.

"If this what we have to do in order for our improvement, then all we had to do is to go through it like usual" William said while whispering,

"…I hope you're right, milord" Hood said to William with half closed eyes.

"…I hope I'm right too, Hood" William said to Hood with half closed eyes too.

"I'm glad we could come to an agreement, Will" Lucas said to William while smiling.

"No touching or I will kick your ass out of this base! Not even your rank as high commander will save you from me!" William said to Lucas while scowling.

"…I have to be honest, admiral…Your commanders are insane or eccentric, no wonder your forces are quite hard to beat and reckless…" Erich said to Lena in astonished tone.

"…Welcome to Azur Lane, I guess" Lena said before she sighed hard then facepalmed for the umpteenth time today.

* * *

**Phew, done for this one, sorry if it's a bit shorter than usual as I have to focus with my field practice so…not much time to write currently. Despite that though, I'd like to thank you dear readers for the follow, favorite and the lovely reviews! Let me know your thoughts and uh, I might be a bit too rushed in releasing this one so if you found any issue in this chapter don't hesitate to tell me alright? I'll get the next chapter done hopefully still in January…**

**Until next time!**

**\- Dasmara**


	13. Fan service or some horse shit!

"Afternoon ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered here today in order to begin this event that shall be known as Friendly Summer Memories! This event is dedicated to strengthen the relationship between us all, for three days you're going to compete with each other, learn with each other and be friendlier with one another too! This event might focus on competition, but through that competition you could see how capable your allies are! You will learn to respect each other and you will value each other more! This is straight friendly competition, no riggings allowed during the match and those who broke the rules…shall be subjected to a punishment that we've prepared, so play nice!" William said in front of a large mass of ship girls.

…Those words that William spoke of would be thrown out of the window as soon as the competition started, he could guarantee that. But at least he tried to direct and gave them instruction on what to do, then he would only need to handle whatever conflict that might happened during the event…God, he felt drained just at the thought of it. William glanced to his right side and saw Belfast who subtly tapped her left wrist which function as a code to 'finish quickly' to William, he looked toward the ship girls again and he smiled a bit.

"For today, we will hold assortments of athletic competition! Since the numbers of ship girls between each faction is unbalanced, all of you will be sorted and grouped into four primary groups named Alpha, Beta, Delta and Omega. On each event or games, you will rack points for your team and become the top lead...The group that win this event? Will receive a grand prize sponsored directly by High Commander of Azur Lane and Chairman of Crimson Axis!" William said to the ship girls while smiling.

The ship girls oohed in intrigue and excitement, well that shall serve as the motivation for the girls to compete on this event. Both Lucas and Erich agreed to provide a reward fitting for the winning team, but no one except both of them know what the rewards are. William nodded his head to Belfast who stood on the left side of the stage and she nodded her head in return, Belfast then contacted someone on the radio and Edinburgh alongside Suffolk came toward the stage while they carried a box and a tablet.

"Now, you will draw a slip from the lottery box! There are two options, white means you're a member of the team which the team name were already written on the slip or red which mean you're the leader of that team! Best of luck to you and see you during the event! Now, line up ladies!" William said out loud to the girls.

"You sure this will divide the power evenly between each team?" Lena asked William from his right side.

"Of course not, we're relying on blind luck over here…unless somehow the box's been rigged or something" William said to Lena with half closed eyes.

"…Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" Lena said while she frowned.

"…Thanks for jinxing it" William said to Lena while he frowned back.

"You're the one jinxing it first" Lena said to William in dreaded tone.

"Double jinx then, holy shite" William said with half closed eyes.

…It took around half an hour for the team to be sorted and the result was…okay? Alpha Team was led by Prinz, Beta Team was led by Formidable, Delta Team was led by Zara and Omega Team was led by Kongou...William and Lena cringed a bit when they looked at the list on the tablet that William held, this is not going to go well. William looked again to see that the girls already lined up with their respective teams and the leaders stood at attention…

"Alright! You got your team, now we will give you thirty minutes to conduct strategy meeting and change your clothes…then we will commence the first event for today!" William said out loud.

.

…William, The VIPs and few ship girls who have been chosen as the committee for the event arrived on their first competition event location which is a spare land on the docking area. The place have been converted into makeshift track for running painted white by The Manjuus, even now few of The Manjuus still doing their final check before they cleared off the area and standing by to the side.

"...Baton Relay huh? Never a fan of it" Lena said while she smiled a bit.

"You're never a fan of outdoor activity, Lena. That's why you joining the navy was the surprise of a lifetime" William said to Lena while he sneered at her.

"Well you're the one to blame regarding that!" Lena said to William while she scowled.

"Me?! What do I have to do with that?!" William asked Lena in surprised tone.

"Hey hey, save the extra energy alright? We got a long day ahead!" Lucas said while he smiled to both of them.

""Stay out of this!"" William and Lena said to Lucas while they scowled at the same time.

"Whoa okay! Damn, you two are in sync even when fighting each other" Lucas said while he backed up with his hands raised.

Lucas left William and Lena to argued with each other while the ship girls accompanying them smiled in exasperation, he approached Erich who stared to the sea from the seat that was prepared for the judges and spectators. Lucas noticed that their respective secretaries were currently talking to each other near the running track, Luca shrugged as he stood by Erich's left side and stared out toward the sea.

"Beautiful isn't it?" Lucas asked out loud.

"Ja, always like to stare out since I was a little boy…The port at Hamburg, it never gets old...Tell me something Lucas, how do you feel when you discover The Sirens for the first time?" Erich asked Lucas without looking toward him.

"Technically I'm not the one who discovered them, our first encounter with them happened over-" Lucas said while he smiled.

"Stop stalling and answer me, Lucas" Erich said while he frowned at Lucas.

"…I was afraid, entire fleet wiped off and it took significant resources to hide the truth from public's eyes…I got this feeling of witnessing the end of an era, or the world we know of back then. But I'm prepared to fight to the end, I will make sure that this world would remain existing for her…And for that, I had to be the man she hate. In order to protect her happiness, I have to be hated by her…and I'm okay with that" Lucas said while he smiled somberly.

…Lucas couldn't forget the first time a report came to central headquarters, its regarding the sighting that was confirmed as unidentified floating objects over Southern Atlantic. Azur Lane immediately dispatched an expeditionary fleet as contingency, that fleet was wiped off the face of the earth under five minutes. Lucas could still remembered each ships within the fleet sunk, they all sunk mostly because of ship girls…Siren ship girls. Since then, he vowed to fight those creatures. He will fight them in order to secure their future. Lucas know he just witnessed the arrival of doom, Earth won't stand a chance if they let The Siren run rampant…

Things got even worse during The Great War with Crimson Axis, he deduced that's how he slowly lost it with himself. The Sirens might only sent small teams or few ships during the war, most of the job were carried out by Crimson Axis but even so that small force always wiped them off…that's why information regarding them weren't available during the war. They are losing the fight, until ship girls came to existence and help them win against The Sirens and halted Crimson Axis advances...That, buy them some time and possibly give them hope to defeat whatever spawn of evil that The Sirens are.

"By her, you mean your ex-wife?" Erich asked Lucas as he sat down.

"...Yeah" Lucas said as he sat down too.

That's…what caused his ex-wife to divorce him, the combination of every mess that happened for the past five years. But Lucas choose not to dwell on that thought further because he saw William and Lena arrived on their position with neutral expression, both of them sat beside each other while talking about something that Lucas couldn't quite figure out what. He heard 'kiss' 'ship girls' 'night battle?' and 'many more'…Lucas smirked devilishly, oh it's happening quite faster than he expected. It won't be long until-

"Lucas, no camera" William suddenly said to Lucas.

"…Aww, I was hoping to add it to my album" Lucas pouted cutely which caused William to look disgusted at him.

"No. Means. No" William said in firm tone toward Lucas.

"…He have an album for those kind of shit?" Lena muttered with horrified look on her face.

"Anyway, here they comes" Erich said out loud.

Dozens of ship girls approached the area they were on, they gathered on the area as they waited for further instruction and for The Manjuus to finish preparing the track. In that time, William felt himself entered a whole new world and with new fantastic point of view as he felt he'll be busy searching for category called cosplay on the forbidden website tonight…William entered the zone, a condition where you're so focused at what you do that the world around you is irrelevant because of the beauties in front of you.

"Umm. This is a bit…tight" Enterprise said to herself.

"What are ya saying sis? This uniform is quite liberating to move around!" Hornet said while she smiled to Enterprise.

"Come on Helena, it's not that bad, right?" St. Louis asked Helena while she smiled.

"B-B-But, Lou!" Helena said to St. Louis said while she blushed.

"Grrr…this is embarrassing" Honolulu said while she grumbled to herself.

"Oh dear…I think I should wear bigger t-shirt…this one is a bit uncomfortable" Illustrious said to herself.

"This pants is a bit too short don't you think, big sister?" Wales asked George to her side.

"As The Royal Knights, this much shouldn't embarrass you, my little sister" George said while she smiled confidently.

"Well…I could see why Sakura Empire issued this cloth for their Physical Education class" Hood commented to herself.

"Rodney! Seriously, I should blast the head of whoever that thought this is a good idea to implement! Bloody pervert!" Nelson said to Rodney with red cheeks.

"Now now sister, I think that won't be a good idea. What if it's the chairman himself who have the idea?" Rodney said to Nelson while she smiled.

"Not bad…I might keep this for later use~" Prinz said while she smiled smugly.

Enterprise was busy checking her school PE uniform, Hornet smiled as she warmed up herself, St. Louis was trying to calm Helena down who fidgeted while she blushed at the same time, Honolulu covered her face while she grumbled about something, Illustrious fidgeted since her clothes was a bit tight on her chest area, Prince of Wales cheeks reddened a bit at the shortness of her bloomer, King George V still on her usual confident pose, Hood didn't seemed to be embarrassed as she fixed her bloomer pants, Nelson argued about something with Rodney who smiled while she tapped Nelson's shoulders, Prinz walked sensuously and…what about the others?

"…This doesn't really accentuate my butt, isn't it?" Formidable said as she checked her rear...part.

"Mou…it's uncomfortably tight to be honest" Kongou said as she looked on her clothes.

"Um…can I use my usual clothes?" Vestal asked out loud while she walked.

"This is somewhat…embarrassing" Tirpitz said behind Bismarck while she kept close to her.

"Don't be schwester, it's alright, no need to be embarrassed" Bismarck said to Tirpitz while she smiled reassuringly.

"I always want to try this outfit once, the bloomer is a bit tight though" Shoukaku said to Zuikaku while she smiled.

"Hai, but mine is quite fine nee-sama. Maybe that had to do with your bigger butt?" Zuikaku asked Shoukaku while she stared at her own ass.

"…Do you really want to be punished that badly, Zuikaku?" Shoukaku said to Zuikaku with menacing smile plastered on her face.

"My, I could already imagine what kind of 'play' I could use with this" Atago said while she smiled widely.

"This might need some time to get use to" Takao said out loud.

"…Is this the biggest size they got?" Zara asked out loud.

Formidable checked her rear part constantly, Kongou frowned a bit at the tightness of her clothes, Vestal smiled awkwardly while she rubbed her left arm, Arizona hid behind Pennsylvania while she looked around the area, Bismarck kept her composure while Tirpitz looked at few other girls, Shoukaku and Zuikaku talked to each other about their bloomers, Atago smiled confidently, Takao fidgeted to get used to the clothes and Zara was…wow! Her clothes didn't fit well and it exposed her belly for the world to see! The rest of the girls? The clothes didn't looked out of place with them…Not too sexy nor awkward, perfect and beautifully fit!

"…Sweet hallelujah! Bless those who invented bloomers! Ah, grown women wearing school PE uniform is a true masterpiece!" Lucas said out loud while he grinned perversely.

"…Okay…Now I understand why Lucas want to do this…" William said out loud while he frowned and rubbed his chin at the same time.

"…Well, not me. I understand that they looked strangely…sexy. Is this what guys into?" Lena said while she frowned a bit.

"We got a live species right beside me" William said to Lena while he thrown his left thumb toward Lucas.

"I see…They do look, charming. I approve" Erich said out loud while he nodded his head.

Takao and Atago walked a bit to the front of them, Takao dropped her towel on the ground behind her and Atago seems to found something on the ground that she missed. Both of them turned around and bend over at the same time, Lucas, William and Erich unconsciously leaned their bodies forward on their seats while looking all serious at two beautiful asses being presented in front of them. Strong wind blew at the dock and Zara's clothes raised upwards that exposed her large breast cladded in black bra, an event so gorgeous that caused the three men on judging seat to leaned even further on their seats with narrowed gaze. Prinz stretched herself to warm up and accentuated her breast alongside her ass which caused the three of them to hold on to the desk in front of them due to leaning too far, Lena looked to her sides before she sighed in exasperation…

"Men…hah" Lena muttered to herself then she sighed.

"Well sorry for being normal!" Lucas said while he frowned.

"Gather around everyone! The event is about to begin!" Belfast said out loud to the ship girls.

"…Alright! This competition is called Baton Relay! I figured you girls know what to do already and the fact that each team require four person! So get your representatives out now! 1st Place will receive 100 points, 2nd is 75 points, 3rd is 50 points while 4th is 25 points! Make sure to get your team's best runner out there!" William said out loud to the girls.

"Hi everyone! Welcome to the first competition for Friendly Summer Memories Event! My name is Helena McAllen but please call me Lena, I'll be your commentator for today alongside my co-commentator and analyst in one, our dear William Blaze beside me! We also serve as your judge, but don't worry, we will be impartial with our decision!" Lena said out loud with the microphone in front of her.

"Good to be here Lena! Honestly I figured this event would be a great idea from the start when I was recommended to hold one, despite some hijinks with the communication between us and High Command regarding the outfit for this event I'd say it turned out quite well! Only god knows how this end though because we might just got one of the fiercest competition on Earth ever in a moment! This might as well rivaled The Olympics! I'm dearly excited to see this through!" William said out loud with the microphone in front of him, Lucas looked at William with cocked eyebrows.

The girls quickly set up their representatives, the judges which consisted of William, Lena, Lucas and Erich sat as they waited in anticipation. Team Alpha sent out Warspite, Avrora, Ayanami and Z23. Team Beta sent out Formidable, Hood, Bismarck and Cleveland. Delta Team sent out Takao, Sheffield, Baltimore and Scharnhorst (Holy shit, the advantage Delta Team have!). Lastly, Omega Team sent out Carabiniere, Gneisenau, Tirpitz and Zuikaku…Each of them lined up on their respective position inside the track, all according to the strategy that each team have agreed upon before.

The first line up were Warspite, Cleveland, Takao and Gneisenau. Second line up were Avrora, Bismarck, Sheffield and Zuikaku. Third line up were Z23, Hood, Baltimore and Tirpitz. Fourth line up were Ayanami, Formidable, Scharnhorst and Carabiniere…Team Alpha had red baton, Team Beta had blue baton, Team Delta had yellow baton and Team Omega had green baton. Everything were set, they were ready for the competition.

"Everyone ready?" Belfast asked on the radio to the committee members.

"Souryuu, ready over here" Souryuu said to Belfast on the radio.

"E-Edinburgh here, I'm in position Bel" Edinburgh said to Belfast on the radio.

"Suffolk here Madam Belfast, I'm ready" Suffolk said to Belfast on the radio.

"Hipper here, let's get this over with" Hipper said to Belfast on the radio.

"Langley here Ms. Belfast, we're set" Langley said to Belfast on the radio.

"Excellent…On your mark! Get set!" Belfast said out loud.

Belfast who stood beside the starting line fired her wrist cannon equipped with blank rounds upwards and the first line up immediately sprinted forward, Warspite, Cleveland, Takao and Gneisenau dashed forward as fast as they could. Warspite despite being a battleship proved to them that she's not to be messed with in speed contest, Cleveland ran forward with smile on her face, Gneisenau put on her war face as she dashed forward as if she's a destroyer and Takao didn't hold anything back while she sprinted. The spectators chanted their support as loud as they can, the atmosphere on site heated up within seconds.

"Oh! What a great start! Cleveland and Takao immediately goes for the lead with their speed! That seems to be a fierce competition with no clear victor! Warspite and Gneisenau are not that far behind them both, surprising when considering Warspite and Gneisenau classified as battleship type ship! What are your thoughts, Will?" Lena asked William with the microphone.

"It's to be expected that the cruisers to be in the lead, but Gneisenau and Warspite managed to stay close to them! Is it because they didn't equip their rigging for this one? That's certainly a plausible theory. Does that means the ship girls would be roughly equal if they didn't equip their riggings?" William asked out loud with the microphone.

"Well I won't assume anything just yet Will, this would be the proving ground for that theory though! Twenty if it's not?" Lena asked out loud with the microphone.

"Twenty if it is relevant, you're on" William said to Lena with the microphone.

"We're maybe allies now but I'm not going to lose, Cleveland-san!" Takao said to Cleveland with serious face.

"Ditto on that! I'm aiming to win too, Takao!" Cleveland simply responded to Takao while she grinned.

"Hmm…This is harder than I thought" Gneisenau said out loud while she ran.

"Yeah…you sure those two air bags won't be burden?" Warspite asked out loud before she frowned…Gneisenau's breast flailed around, did she not wore bra?!

"Whatever do you mean, Warspite?" Gneisenau asked Warspite innocently.

"…Never mind" Warspite said with half closed eyes.

They kept their speed and pace, despite the initial position Gneisenau was the one who reached Zuikaku first. Second place was Cleveland, followed by Takao and then Warspite. Each respective second runners immediately bolted forward when they received the baton, the chant from the spectators and supporters heated up even more as the second runners pushed to their maximum speed with their feet instead of their riggings.

"Do us proud" Gneisenau said to Zuikaku with neutral face.

"Leave it to this crane!" Zuikaku smiled confidently as she dashed forward.

"Here ya go, Ms. Bismarck!" Cleveland said while she grinned.

"Good work, leave this one to me" Bismarck said then run after she received the baton.

"Sheffield-san, onegaishimasu!" Takao said to Sheffield.

"Understood, Ms. Takao" Sheffield said to Takao then she started to run.

"Sorry for being last!" Warspite said to Avrora.

"It's fine, I'll make up for that" Avrora smiled confidently then she started to run.

Bismarck, Zuikaku and Sheffield ran as fast as they could and none of them talked to each other, no taunts, no quips, no remarks, nada. They solely focused themselves only on one thing, running. That however changed when Avrora slowly gained on them and then managed to passed the three other runners without much problem, Bismarck widened her eyes before she put even more speed, Sheffield narrowed her eyes as she assumed her position whenever she's on pursuit mode and Zuikaku clicked her tongue as she started running past her maximum speed.

"Holy moly! You see that, Will?! Avrora just passed through three runners without any sorts of problem!" Lena said out loud with the microphone.

"Yeah! I figured Sheffield would be in the lead considering her combat capabilities but I was proven wrong this time!" William said out loud with the microphone.

"A head start for you, now go!" Avrora said to Z23 as she handed the baton.

"Ja! Danke for the help!" Z23 responded before she bolted forward as fast as she could.

"Don't make me give you the same treatment on Denmark Strait by failing this one!" Bismarck said to Hood while she handed the baton.

"Hahaha! Will do, Madam Bismarck! Witness me!" Hood said before she also run forward.

"Tirpitz-san, here you go!" Zuikaku said while she handed the baton to her.

"Jawohl!" Tirpitz said before she started to run.

"I apologize for being last, Madam Baltimore" Sheffield said to Baltimore.

"Don't sweat it! I'll turn around the situation!" Baltimore said while she smiled cockily.

Just like she said, Baltimore managed to slip past Hood, Z23 and Tirpitz easily with her athletic body and incredible speed gained because of her daily exercise. The three other ships who were left to eat her dust put on their war face as the three of them started to run even faster, Baltimore looked back and smiled confidently that she managed to turn a potential defeat to their win.

"Looks like its Baltimore's time to shine! She easily outrun three ships in a single dash!" William said out loud with the microphone.

"Whoa! Not going to lie that's impressive that she even managed to beat a destroyer in speed contest!" Lena said out loud with the microphone.

"Finish it!" Baltimore said to Scharnhorst and handed her the baton.

"I'll show you how fast I can run!" Scharnhorst said out loud while she run ahead.

"Go! Don't let Scharnhorst win!" Tirpitz said to Carabiniere then handed her the baton.

"Si! I won't let my pride as a destroyer tarnished in speed competition!" Carabiniere said then sprinted ahead.

"Go forth victoriously, Ms. Formidable!" Hood said to Formidable while she handed the baton.

"Certainly, Madam Hood! Beta Team for the win!" Formidable said as she ran ahead to chase Carabiniere.

"Scheibe! Last one, we're counting on you! Ayanami!" Z23 said to Ayanami while she handed the baton.

"Hai, makasete kudasai…" Ayanami said to Z23 as she ran forward.

"…I should go out and jog in the morning…from now on" Hood commented as she panted and watched Formidable ran from behind.

"Agreed on that…some workout would be good" Z23 said while she also panted.

"Right, it would seems we need to add our stamina for any ground based activity" Tirpitz said while she regulated her breathing.

"Hahahaha! Well I won't mind giving you three some tips on that, but first let's see who would win this race!" Baltimore said to them three in cheery tone.

The final runners were doing their best to reach the finish line, Suffolk and Hipper were the one who hold the ribbon that indicated their goals. The four ship girls almost tied in their distances as they sprinted without caring regarding their tiredness or their stamina reserve, all out or nothing. Ayanami stared while running toward Carabiniere, Formidable and Scharnhorst who were beside her who shown no signs of tiredness, they were determined to win this one. They were approaching the finish line fast, their distances with each other only differs by few centimeters and the crowds getting wild!

"Here we go folks! The final run! This would be a close call in my opinion!" Lena said excitedly with the microphone.

"Agreed. Belfast over there ready with the high speed motion camera, we'll be able to determine the winner from that. This is it! They are 100 meters away from the finish line!" William said excitedly with the microphone.

The four runners approached the finish line quickly, Hipper and Suffolk tighten their hold on the white ribbon while Belfast readied her camera…The crowd got wild as they reached the end, the four runners passed the finish line at the same time! Or were they?! The crowds were getting wild and there's some confusion on who won the race, Hipper stared at Suffolk for confirmation to which Suffolk grinned awkwardly because she couldn't figure out who won. Belfast managed to capture the picture however, she stared at it with complicated feelings before she walked toward the judges who sat with confused expression.

"Please tell me you got that on picture?" William asked Belfast who approached them.

"I did, but I'm not quite sure if this count as a win" Belfast said while she handed the camera to William.

William took the camera and all judges surrounded him to get a look on the winner, the four runners indeed finished the race at the same time but there's one important thing to note. The one who touched the white ribbon first is the winner, which means the winner is…Formidable. How did the judge get that result? They examined the picture closely, all four of them stood at the same line but Formidable's big breast were the thing that touched the ribbon first…

"For real?" Lucas asked William with cocked eyebrows.

"Yeah…Anyone mind about this evidence?" William asked out loud.

"If that's how it happened" Erich said to William while he shrugged.

"I'm cool with it" Lucas said to William, of course Lucas would be cool with it!

"Unheard of, but oh well" Lena said to William while she frowned a bit.

The judges alongside Belfast looked upon the expecting spectators and runners, they were waiting for the final decision regarding the winner and honestly speaking William wasn't sure how to break the news without being too blunt…William looked to his sides, Lena, Erich and Lucas shrugged as they left the method to break up the news to him…Damnit, no support whatsoever from his fellow judges, William choose to do this…without mentioning how Formidable wins.

"So we got a winner" William said to the spectator.

"And who is it, kommandant?" Scharnhorst asked William out loud.

"After reviewing the evidence and discussing it among the judges, we agreed that the winner is Team Beta!" William said out loud, Team Beta immediately cheered in excitement and accomplishment.

"Wait, how the hell is that possible?! They finished at the same time!" Cleveland said with furrowed eyebrows.

"Formidable touched the finish line first" William further explained.

"With what? Her giant jugs!?" Zuikaku asked out loud.

The silence was apparently so apparent that they could hear the sound of waves hitting the docks and seagulls that flew above them, William's silence was an enough answer for the ship girls…William and Lena cringed when they saw the girls with disbelieved expression, oh fate didn't even want to cooperate with them regarding this one! Zuikaku alongside the other participant for the baton relay waited for William's confirmation, the man sighed before he answer truthfully…

"…Yeah, that's what happened" William said while he looked to the side.

"Outrageous!" Tirpitz shouted from the field.

"It's completely within reason for the win, schwester!" Bismarck said to Tirpitz.

"Bah!" Scharnhorst said out loud as she turned around in dissatisfaction.

"Tch, tsurui!" Zuikaku said out loud toward Formidable.

"Son of a-" Cleveland said out loud with widened eyes.

"It's unbelievable that you won despite that Royal Navy's lumbering carrier-" Carabiniere said out loud.

BOOM!

BOOM!

BOOM!

Planes suddenly appeared above the area as Formidable stared murderously toward Carabiniere who ran at maximum speed as Fairey Albacore aircrafts buzzed above the field while dropping bombs toward her, the other ship girls either ran for safety or try to save Carabiniere and stopped the silently enraged Formidable from wrecking the dock which could cause casualty if she kept this up. Lucas and Erich immediately ran for the nearest cover while being escorted by Belfast and Suffolk, William and Lena stood with half closed eyes while they watched the utter chaos that's currently happening in front of them. Ship girls firing at each other, some even ran for cover…

"…How long?" William asked Lena with half closed eyes.

"…Thirty two minutes" Lena said to William with half closed eyes.

"Damnit…I was too confident when picking one hour before shite happens" William said as he reached for his pocket, he handed Lena a bundle of cash as Lena took it with satisfied smile.

"Well apparently no one could predicted this entire mess Will, having the girls on this kind of competition itself is like carrying old munitions on bumpy road" Lena said to William then she smiled wryly.

"…You want to break this one up?" William asked Lena while he stared at her.

"I figured you're the one who got more influence with them? Why not show them that old 'Drill Sergeant' persona? Kind of missed the guy and you're good at imitating him" Lena asked William while she smiled deviously.

"…The girls won't like it…" William said then sighed…he stood firm as he took a deep breath…

"Here we go~! Ufufufufufu!" Lena said while she giggled and took out her phone in recording mode.

"…OI MAGGOTS! STOP THIS NONSENSE AND LINE UP IN FRONT OF ME! NOW GODDAMNIT! I WANT YOUR ARSE READY BECAUSE I'M GOING TO DRILL IT SO HARD THAT YOU WILL NOT FORGET ABOUT THIS DAY EVER! LINE UP! LINE UP FOR FUCK SAKE! IF BY THE COUNT OF FIVE YOU'RE STILL NOT HERE, I WILL PERSONALLY DRAG YOUR ARSE AND YOU'LL WISH I NEVER-" William shouted so loud the seagulls scurried off from the area, the rest of the sentence was so vulgar that not even the author of this story wanted to portray the event in further detail…

.

…Half an hour later, situation returned to normal after William just pulled an immersion of his old drill sergeant back on the academy and frankly speaking his throat was sore after that act. That caused the ship girls to stop whatever they were doing and immediately stood at attention while listening to William ranting about camaraderie and fire control discipline inside the base for ten minutes, rapidly firing off rants without stopping like an MG42 during Maginot Line offense with The Ironblood machine gunner.

After he satisfied with his rant, William ordered the girls to prepare for the next competition which is Javelin and Dart competition in one or affectionately called Javelin Yeet? To put it bluntly, a ship girl will be given three throwing javelin and they had to struck the target in order to accumulate points that will determined their ranks. Sounds simple? Heck no, they had to stood one hundred meters away to hit 5x5 meters circle target and it's not that easy!

"…Welcome back folks! We're currently here for the second competition which is Javelin Yeet! Errr, no, we're not throwing little Ms. Javelin over there, we're talking about the real Javelin. Long and white, just the way I like it!" Lena said while she grinned with the microphone.

"…Umm, that could be taken out of context easily, Lena" William said to Lena with the microphone.

"What? I mean my melee weapons, you know I like to use swords?" Lena asked back to William with the microphone.

"Never mind…Anyway, this javelin throw wouldn't be your usual javelin throw because we set it up like dart game. There's one large target that we've prepared like your standard dart board, each ship girls from the respective team will be given three javelin to throw. The final score would determine their ranking so it would be wise for each team to send out their best shot!" William explained with the microphone.

The girls descended to the field once more, the area were crowded once more with ship girls that shown no signs of dispirit despite William's harsh rant few minutes ago. They learned their mistakes and that's what's important, William quickly forgave their mess despite the holes on the docking area…For the second competition they moved to a different area a bit further than their previous track field, this one located on the edge of the docks with tall walls that protected against high waves and strong wind.

"Alright, from Team Alpha we got our very own Enterprise! Flagship of this base's first fleet, she's known to be very accurate with her bow and arrow! We don't doubt her strength but can she give the same accuracy when she use a throwing javelin instead of her bow!?" William asked out loud with the microphone.

Enterprise stood at the white line designated for the ship girls to throw the javelin toward the target, Enterprise took one of the javelin from the ground, felt the weight in her right hand before she set her stance…The whole area turned quiet all of a sudden as if to let Enterprise focused on herself. Enterprise regulated her breathing, steadied her hands and focused her eyes on the target. Belfast and Suffolk stood beside her left with a high speed motion camera, military digital binocular and score board ready to judge the competitors.

She felt herself ready, Enterprise narrowed her gaze as she stepped back a little before taking her throwing stance. She will aim for 150 points, that will ensure Team Alpha's victory over the other teams! Enterprise dashed forward and then she threw the javelin in her right hand. Everyone were left amazed at the velocity the javelin blitzed through the air and they struggled to look on the place where the javelin landed, they searched the large dart board but they couldn't find any javelin stuck there. Belfast watched the entire process through her binocular, she double checked her camera and found no picture snapped. Belfast had rigged the dart board with impact sensor, that should let the camera to take pictures automatically when the sensor detected an impact based on the javelin thrown at it so that means…

"Overshot!" Belfast announced out loud.

"Say what?!" Enterprise asked out loud while she stared at Belfast.

"I'm dearly sorry Enterprise, your javelin was thrown upwards and missed the board" Belfast said in matter-of-fact tone toward Enterprise.

"Wow! Overshot! We almost forgot that the ship girls possessed tremendous strength so they should calculate the direction, wind and energy put into the throw better. Ladies! I urge you to strategize with this one, putting maximum power isn't always the answer!" William said out loud with the microphone.

"Agreed on this one. Ladies, let me give you a little hint…Know your surroundings, know yourself. You know both of that, this would be a piece of cake!" Lena said on the microphone while she smiled softly.

"…Hmm, I'm quite curious. Where did the javelin ended up?" Erich asked toward William and Lena.

"Bah, probably somewhere on the sea-" Lena said that while she smiled confidently.

William's phone rang and he take a look at the caller's ID, it's Carl Johnson. William cocked his eyebrows as he stared in wonder, what did Johnson want with him? So far there's no mission being executed and security around the area were guaranteed with Johnson's mass produced ships on patrol, his jets in the air and infantry on standby ready for combat anytime…That means Johnson called regarding security breach, that's the only explanation. William quickly pressed answer button on his phone, he brought the phone to his left ear.

"Hey Carl, what is it?" William asked to Johnson in serious tone.

"William! Explain to me how the fuck a two meters sharp rod hit my office, went through the wall, hit the corridors, end up in my base's courtyard in broad daylight and it came from the direction of your base with no warning whatsoever from you?! Who threw that huh!? A Tarzan overdosed on Viagra and Steroids!? Seriously man, whatever that throw this thing you better get it under control! I don't want-" Johnson ranted toward William by phone.

"Alright mate I get it! We-" William said while he grinned sheepishly.

"How could you get it if-" Johnson was not having it, he will get his point across.

"Sheesh! Couldn't you yanks ever hear what we have to say first before jumping to-" William said to Johnson with half closed eyes.

"You pompous brits never listened anyway! You-" Johnson fired back to William over phone.

…William stood up as he left the area for a bit while he 'talked' with Johnson in order to argue regarding the mess that Enterprise made, both of them were involved in deep talk with serious tone and insults occasionally thrown at each other as Lucas facepalmed at the infighting inside the organization he lead. Lena shrugged, she'll let William handle that one as she looked on the field filled with spectators that's currently waiting for the go order from the judges.

"Alright, we'll let our commander deal with that! Let's continue the competition but please Enterprise, don't overshot again, alright?" Lena asked Enterprise on the microphone while she frowned a bit.

"Y-Yes ma'am! I'm sorry about that one!" Enterprise said to Lena while she frowned.

"Nah, you can say that to William later. Carry on, Enterprise!" Lena ordered to Enterprise while she nodded her head.

Right, no more failure this time as she didn't want to burdened William more than she already did to him, she would need to play this carefully…Enterprise set her stance once again then she ran a bit as she threw the javelin in her right hand, she threw it lower this time and the javelin struck its target. The crowds clapped their hands, Belfast looked through her binocular then checked the photo captured on the camera. She smiled a bit as she looked at Suffolk, she also looked toward Belfast with her notes ready to record the number.

"40" Belfast announced, the crowds oohed in awe.

"Understood, 40" Suffolk said as she noted down the number.

Enterprise felt good, she need to hit the bullseye in the middle. It's a red dot fifty centimeter in diameter but from one hundred meters away it's real tricky to hit especially with a javelin…Enterprise threw another one, everyone watched as the javelin flew in the air before it hit the target. The javelin lodged perfectly on the large board, once again Belfast crosschecked the evidence and then looked at Suffolk.

"32" Belfast announced out loud, the crowd's reaction sounded mixed.

"32…Ms. Enterprise, final score for Team Alpha is 72" Suffolk said to Enterprise.

"I see...Thanks, at least I've tried my hardest despite the mistake I've made" Enterprise said to Belfast, she only nodded her head while she smiled in response.

"Team Alpha scored 72 points! That set the bar quite high already, but let's see how the other team fare! Next up would be Team Beta, Nelson is Team Beta representative and she's one of the famous Big Seven! No doubt about the strength of her cannon, so let's see how she do without it" Lena announced out loud with her microphone.

Team Beta's representative stepped forward and behold she's Nelson, the ship girl approached the throwing position while she fidgeted and looked around in nervousness. Nelson looked at Belfast who waited for her to begin, Belfast nodded her head encouragingly while Suffolk gave her best smile with thumbs put up toward Nelson. Nelson gulped in nervousness…You still asked why? Nelson was trained in swordsmanship not spear throwing! She had no idea how to correctly throw a ball so a javelin is out of question! Nevertheless, Nelson was not the one who quit and she took her responsibilities seriously so she picked one of the javelin up.

"Here we go, Nelson is about to make her first throw! Any comments, Will?" Lena asked William with the microphone.

"Nothing for now other than let's see how this goes" William said with the microphone while he smiled a bit.

Nelson calmed herself as she ran forward then threw the javelin, it fall short around thirty meters away from her throwing position. The crowds murmured at the sight, Nelson frowned deeply as she took another one and she took her position to throw it…But she hesitated, what if this throw also fails? She only get three chances for scoring points so she have to make every one counts and she already blew one…She heard the murmurs got louder and she looked around in confusion, until her eyes landed on William as he approached her directly without his officer jacket.

"C-Commander?" Nelson asked out loud when she saw William.

"Need some advice?" William asked Nelson while he smiled a bit.

"N-No! I'll manage on my own! I will learn as I go!" Nelson said while she frowned at William.

William huffed wordlessly as he walked toward the javelin that was on the ground, Belfast was about to warned him regarding the danger until something clicked in her head so she only smiled…William took the javelin before he returned to the throwing position, Nelson looked at him as she instinctively stepped aside because William stood on her throwing position. The commander stared at the target before he casually walked back, then in split seconds he sprinted forward and throw the javelin toward the target…The javelin flew in the air and it landed on the target, the crowds murmured because William could throw that thing for one hundred meters easily while some even clapped! How strong is his upper body?! William walked toward Nelson, grabbed her hand and put her on the throwing position.

"Did you see that, Nelson?" William asked Nelson as he smiled.

"Y-Yeah" Nelson answered William.

"Assume throwing position, now" William ordered Nelson to.

"Alright" Nelson said as she set her throwing stance, William came to a conclusion after his observation.

"…I see the problem. You must've let go of your javelin just a little bit late and your right hand becomes rigid…do it like this" William said to Nelson.

William performed his javelin throwing technique bit by bit without the javelin, Nelson carefully observed the technique he used and the timing when he released the grip to his javelin. William took one of the spare javelin and handed it to Nelson, she grabbed the rod, walked toward the throwing position and she looked at William who gave her a reassuring smile.

"Stay calm, you can do it" William said to Nelson while he smiled.

William believed that she could do it, everyone could and all they need is little pointers and they're set to do this. The spectators watched in anticipation, they didn't know if Nelson could do this or not but if what they know about Nelson were right then they knew she got this one after she got coached like that. Nelson looked at her target while she controlled her breathing, Nelson stepped back before she sprinted forward and threw the javelin. The rod flew and then hit the target, the crowd cheered and Nelson smiled widely as she quickly take another rod.

"15!" Belfast said out loud and Suffolk noted it down.

"A hit ladies and gentleman! Nelson has hit the target! Looks like whatever William taught over there works eh? Not too shabby, but there's no way Team Beta could catch up with Team Alpha now. Doesn't matter, you ladies could always make do in another competition" Lena commented with the microphone while she smiled widely.

Nelson threw the rod again just like how she saw William did before and the javelin hit the target once again, Belfast smiled while she watched the target through her binocular. The crowd cheered out loud at the sight of Nelson managed to land her second shot, Nelson pumped her fist and she instinctively grabbed William on her side and hugged him…As you might expected the crowds stopped cheering and the situation replaced by uncomfortable silence, Nelson realized what she did, stared at the confused William with bright red cheeks and she pushed him in reflex that caused him to fell on the ground. Nelson folded her arms as she struggled to look at everywhere but the man that just helped her, oh she did that while pouting cutely too.

"30!" Belfast announced out loud.

"30…Ms. Nelson, Team Beta got 45 points in total!" Suffolk said to Nelson while she smiled.

"Mistakes do happen, thank you" Nelson said before she walked quickly to the side of the field.

"45 in total, tough luck Beta Team but you could still catch up so chin up! Next for Team Delta, oh my, we got a Javelin to throw Javelin! That's some meta shit! Since she's named Javelin, we could be sure that she's going to kill that board over there!" Lena commented while she smiled excitedly.

Javelin walked down to the field while she waved at the spectator, William walked back toward the judging desk and passed Javelin along the way while he hanged his right hand up which Javelin immediately answered with a high five. She walked to the starting position, she saw Hipper taking off the javelin that Nelson threw before and she gave a thumbs up toward Belfast who nodded her head. Belfast looked at Javelin and she immediately understood that she could begin her throw, Javelin walked toward the new set of javelins and picked three at once.

"Whoa whoa whoa! She picked up three at once?! Well I don't know how skilled Javelin in throwing 'javelin' but this is pushing it! Since many things I've considered normal on this world were wrong since six years ago anyway, let's see how this goes!" Lena said out loud with the microphone.

Want to impress her commander? You bet your ass she wanted to! Now, she only tried this several times already but she managed to pull of this maneuver well enough and she's sure this won't break the rules…Javelin controlled her breathing, she stood at the throwing position but she didn't have any intention to get a running boost. Javelin spun her body once and throw the first javelin, she wasn't done though as she continued the spin and throw another one. Finally she jumped while she rotated in the air as she throw the last javelin toward the target, all of that under five seconds…The three javelin all hit the target as javelin landed and she winked at the audience, they cheered on her performance, some gave her standing ovation, some clapped and some murmured with each other.

"Pardon my language but holy fuck! That was amazing! I mean, that's straight out of the movies! Will, I think you should put her as a vanguard and armed her with more throwing javelin" Lena said to William with the microphone.

"Normally I would've asked what the hell is wrong with you for the idea but after seeing this with myself, that suggestion isn't half bad! Belfast, how's the score?" William asked Belfast regarding the score with the microphone.

"30, 30 and 24!" Belfast said out loud from the field.

"Ms. Javelin, the final score for Team Delta got 84 score in total!" Suffolk said to Javelin.

"Yes! I did it! Thank you! Thank you!" Javelin said out loud happily as the crowd cheered on her.

"Fantastic performance from Javelin! She's not named literally that for nothing eh? Now for our last contestant from Team Omega…Hmm? She's Mikasa! Ladies and gentleman, we're about to witness the former flagship of combined navy in action wearing PE uniform…This started to sound like a bad fan service episode" Lena said out loud with the microphone.

Mikasa walked on the battlefield bashfully because she had to wear that PE uniform issued by Lucas (The said man was grinning perversely on his seat), Mikasa reached the throwing position and she took one javelin. She stepped back little before she dashed forward while she throw the javelin…Somewhere on the base, a group of Manjuus diligently marched while they carried several boxes. One of them chirped loudly, the other Manjuus looked back and saw that one of the Manjuus got the fur on its head shaved clean with a javelin rod that hit the box it carried…Back on the competition arena, Mikasa cringed as she witnessed her first throw going overshot, what's with their first throw with the exception of Javelin were always a failure?!

"Overshot!" Belfast declared out loud.

"Damnit!" Mikasa said while she cringed.

"Second overshot of the day! Ms. Mikasa, calm yourself! Focus on throwing the javelin!" William said to Mikasa with the microphone.

"I-I'm trying! This clothes doesn't make it any better!" Mikasa said to William with red cheeks.

Mikasa grumbled as she took another javelin, she then throw that one without any kind of preparation. The javelin flew unsteadily toward the target but it hit the target nonetheless, straight in the middle…Belfast widened her eyes through the binocular she used, she got so many questions but apparently Belfast will settle with luck. The crowds were wild in disbelieve, confusion or amazement at

"Bullseye! 50 points!" Belfast announced out loud.

"Yattaze!" Mikasa said while she pumped her fist.

"That's got to be dark magic over there! How the hell is that possible!?" Lena commented out loud with the microphone.

"Amazing luck for a haphazard throw" Erich commented out loud.

"Welp, a lucky throw is a lucky throw. I've seen one pilot riding a jet providing ground support then got shot through the head, crashed into the hill and that's caused by a haphazard machinegun fire. Worse part of all, it's a friendly fire from the squad he supported" William said to Erich while he frowned a bit.

"Ah I remember that case, that pilot call sign is Bamboonium if I'm not mistaken. What a dumb call sign…Furthermore, that squad also wiped off an entire village full of civilians and planted the evidence too. One of the most satisfying court martial I ever did, I believe the leader is a total jackass too" Lucas said while he smiled in remembrance.

The last throw for the Javelin Yeet, Mikasa now smiled in confidence as she took another javelin while she confidently thrown the javelin toward the target and it struck the target once more though not in the center. Regardless, Mikasa managed to get Team Omega not to be in dead last position. Belfast nodded her head, the match is over as she watched Hipper who took out the javelins stuck on the board.

"11!" Belfast said out loud.

"11…Ms. Mikasa, the total score for Team Omega is 66" Suffolk said to Mikasa.

"Not a dead last, that's something" Mikasa said to Suffolk while she smiled.

"And that's the end of it folks. The winner for today's match is Team Delta with 84 points, second place is Team Alpha with 72 points, third place is Team Omega with 66 points and lastly in fourth is Team Beta with 45 points! You all did well despite some hiccups, don't worry that you could still make a comeback in the next competition so don't be sad if you lose on this one!" Lena said out loud with the microphone.

.

…Well, at least there's no major incident to handle other than fixing Johnson's office which was damaged by the javelin that Enterprise threw. William almost couldn't believe that Enterprise managed to threw a javelin for a kilometer away easily and it still possessed enough potential energy to went through several walls, he shouldn't mess with her in direct combat…The last competitive event for the day is called CQC Playground, it's a real competitive event that was proposed by Lucas directly. What's a CQC Playground? It's self-explanatory, really.

And in order for the competition to run effectively, each of the girls would be given all fit skin tight suit filled with sensors (William got a feeling that Lucas used this opportunity to field test these techs) that simulated damage and determine the 'health' of the combatants. You're out of hitpoints? You're out! For this one, they reused the track field where they placed a fighting ring above it. Four Teams, four fighters and one winner…This will be a short but tough fight. William, Lena and Erich stared incredulously toward Lucas who held the sample of the all size tight body suit that was outfitted with sensors.

"…Let me guess, it's also used to measure the girl's three sizes?" Lena asked Lucas with half closed eyes.

"It's purposely made to hug their body tightly…Hmm, I see where this is going. You're a true degenerate" Erich said to Lucas while he rubbed his chin in wonder.

"Is this your fetish? Cosplays?" William asked Lucas in blunter manner while he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Wow! You people are so rude! I still can't believe you three were in the upper level of leadership board!" Lucas said in outraged tone while he frowned.

"Technically, I'm not that high in ranking. I'm just a commander" William asked Lucas as he shrugged.

"Whatever! Listen to me you uneducated uncultured swines! This tight cloth is the prototype undersuit for Plan Bellator Luminis Soldiers! This one is tailored for women that designed to hug their body, making them easier to move as if they are naked and would be very effective when used for special operations activity! Made of special composition of lightweight yet durable and thick Kevlar weave, vacuum sealed, kept the user body temperature in optimal temperature and the best of all…This cloth is almost bulletproof against pistols and SMGs" Lucas explained with pride on his tone.

"…Alright, you made your point…Doesn't mean the girls will like it" William said as he crossed his arms once more.

"That's your job to convince them Will, we're counting on you" Lucas said to William while he wiggled his eyebrows.

"No, you're counting on him" Lena said while she crossed her arms.

"Tch, you little traitor!" Lucas said to Lena while he scowled.

"…I'm so going to regret this" William's shoulder dropped then he sighed.

…It took William several minutes to reached the preparation room for the girls that will be participating in the CQC Playground while he carried a large bag, William entered the preparation room and greeted by the sight of the girls that looked at him while they still wore the school PE uniform. Team Alpha sent Hiei, Team Beta sent Wales, Team Delta sent Zara while Team Omega sent George V. All of them noticed William entered the room and they gathered around him, they knew he will be the one giving the briefing for this one.

"Milord, do you have the briefing for us?" George asked William.

"Yeah…I take it you ladies have read the rules?" The girls collectively nodded their head at William's question.

"We're glad that the weapons varies shikikan, but why do I sense that's not all you want to talk about?" Hiei asked William while she narrowed her eyes.

William kept his face composed as he took out the all size suit from the large bag that he carried, Wales was the one that took the suit first as she inspected it…After around half a minute, Wales widened her eyes at her conclusion regarding the suit she carried in her arms. The other girls also looked toward it before they widened their eyes and stared at William with accusing eyes, the poor man who was just a victim of the circumstances immediately raised his hands in the air. He immediately proceed to explain to the girls regarding the deal that Lucas offered him and how it will significantly change this base, all William asked of them is to cooperate with the idea for the time being.

"…It's not like it's all bad, we got to try bunch different outfits" George said out loud while she shrugged.

"I agreed on that, but this one makes you essentially naked!" Wales said to George while she pointed toward the cloth that she held.

"Technically we wouldn't be buck naked…but it's still embarrassing" Zara said as she rubbed her left arm.

"But with this more of our sisters could come to this base" Wales said as she rubbed her chin thoughtfully.

"…Some sacrifice had to be made it seems. Let's get this over with" George said out loud as she took the cloth.

The girls nodded their head as each one of them took the clothes from the bag, they inspected it in their hands before they realized that William is still in the room so they shoved him out to the corridor before they shut the door. William grimaced guiltily as he walked away from the waiting room after he delivered the clothes…Not going to lie William do have the desires to see the girls in that skintight suit just like Lucas because he's a man, however unlike Lucas he couldn't be as honest as Lucas himself which William respected the man for his shameless honesty…He felt bad putting the girls in this position, he will formulate a plan later as sort of compensation for all this trouble.

While walking toward the arena, William stumbled upon Illustrious who was staring at the arena from behind Akashi's shop. What is she doing out here by herself? William looked at her and her surroundings for clues and he saw that Illustrious brought a lunch box alongside a small thermos. Ah, she must be having lunch here…But lunch was over one hour ago, why did she just started now? William didn't want to intrude on her alone time so he turned around to leave, but fate said 'No, fuck you! Be a gentleman and say hi to her!' to William because Illustrious turned around and saw him.

"Lord William!" Illustrious called out to him while she smiled softly.

"…Illustrious. Enjoying your lunch time, I take it?" William asked Illustrious while he smiled a bit.

"Yes I am. George was kind enough to help Belfast and the others in preparing lunch this morning, I always enjoyed the dish they made…This particular apple pie is quite exquisite" Illustrious said while she smiled brightly.

"I see. Just don't eat too much, you could get fat" William said to Illustrious as he smiled teasingly.

"Milord, that wasn't a nice thing to say to a lady!" Illustrious said to William while she pouted cutely.

"Hahahaha! It was a jest, don't worry" William said to Illustrious while he smiled.

William sat down beside Illustrious, she opened the lunch box she had with her and took a slice of apple pie. She hold it in front of William while she smiled brightly, William could only smiled in return as he opened his mouth and Illustrious fed him the apple pie. He munched on it while he relished the taste…Hmm, Belfast and George worked together in kitchen could produce any five star restaurant tier delicious dishes, how about adding Hiei and Vestal to the mix as well? Hey, that's an idea…

"Hmm…I like the pie" William said as he smiled at Illustrious.

"How about we eat some of this for afternoon tea?" Illustrious asked William.

"Not today I'm afraid, we might be too busy in the afternoon" William said while he smiled apologetically.

"Aww, I was hoping for some 'alone time' with you" Illustrious said to William while she frowned a bit.

"Then, let's count this as one?" William asked Illustrious.

"Ufufufufu, let's do that then" Illustrious said to William while she smiled.

Illustrious took this moment to leaned herself on William's left side, William only smiled as he and Illustrious looked toward the preparation for the CQC Playground. They saw the Manjuus setting up the equipment and the spectators started gathering around the fight cage, William noted that Illustrious haven't participated in any of the competition for today, why was that? Illustrious took another slice of apple pie and started to nibble on it…William subtly glanced at Illustrious who ate her pie like a hamster, fucking cute-

"Milord, what you did for Ms. Nelson back then, how sweet of you to do that" Illustrious said to William.

"I'm just helping her" William simply responded while he smiled a bit.

"Yes, we know…But you go so far as to go down to the field personally just to teach her, may I know the reason?" Illustrious asked William while she tilted her head.

"She's a hard worker and take everything seriously, one of the few people I can't joke around or I'll get a cannon shoved up my arse…But she mostly deal with everything by her own, a bit too 'tsundere' to ask for help. Unless I shoved up my offer like before, she would refused it. I just want her to realize that there's some things in this world that you need other people help with, that asking for help isn't a weakness…" William said while he looked forward to the arena.

Illustrious hummed and nodded her head in acknowledgement, Nelson could be a little bit stubborn but she's willing to learn if she didn't know about something. That's why when William saw that Nelson seems to be lacked the necessary 'technique' to throw the javelin he immediately went down to instruct her, he had learned that Nelson's tsundere streak is the requirement when he had to deal with Nelson so he just need to get used to it…William opted to change the subject, maybe he should talk about Illustrious herself?

"So…why haven't you participate in any of the competition, Illustrious?" William asked Illustrious.

"We already divided the roles in my team milord, safe to say today is not my day" Illustrious said while she smiled.

"Is that so. Can you give me a hint on the competition you will participate in?" William asked Illustrious while he smiled a bit.

"Nope~!" Illustrious answered cutely while she smiled.

"Tch, you tease!" William commented while he smiled a bit.

…By prediction alone, William already got an idea on what competition Illustrious will participate in but he will humor her. William's attention was directed toward the judge desk where he could clearly saw Lena stared toward him and Illustrious, Lena saw that Illustrious took this chance to be alone with him…It didn't took a genius to know her intention, Lena only smiled as she returned her attention to the large crowd in front of her. Illustrious quietly took out her phone, she set the front camera and she took a picture of her leaning on William's left arm while the man looked ahead…William kept looking at the preparation process until he heard the sound of camera shutter and that's when he looked toward Illustrious, she took that chance to take another picture but this time with William looking surprised and she winked toward the camera.

"…Hey, you know taking other people's picture without their consent is considered rude?" William asked Illustrious while he smiled.

"Oh my, I just can't resist the temptation~" Illustrious said to William while she smiled.

"If you ask nicely I wouldn't mind taking a picture with you" William said to Illustrious.

"Ufufufu, but that won't give me the desired expression" Illustrious said to William while she smiled teasingly.

"…That makes sense" William said to Illustrious with half closed eyes.

"…Milord, I volunteered to be an entertainer for tonight's dinner" Illustrious said to William.

"Entertainer? Are you going to sing or something?" William asked Illustrious.

"Yes, you're right…Will you be there? Would you be my audience tonight?" Illustrious asked William with hopeful gaze on her eyes.

"Hmm, what would you do if I don't?" William asked Illustrious while he smiled mischievously.

"Now don't be such a meanie to me milord~" Illustrious said to William then she puffed her cheeks.

"Hahahaha! Yeah alright, of course I'll be there. I have to accompany two of those top leaders for dinner so I will definitely be there you know?" William said to Illustrious while he smiled a bit.

"That's a relief…Then, please stay tuned for my performance tonight. I've been practicing for these past few days just for tonight" Illustrious said to William while she smiled.

So that's what happened when Illustrious didn't ask him to join her for afternoon tea these past few days, all because she was practicing for tonight's performance. Anyone know how credible Illustrious in singing? Safe to say, she could fit in with Lexington well when she sang but she did so rarely. Not that William ever heard her directly, he heard the info from Belfast that apparently Illustrious often sang when she's… in bath…Alright, let's not go there William, you don't want your mighty capital ship cannon between your legs to activate when you imagine Illustrious naked figure. Her boobs glistening due to the soapy bath water, the inviting pink nipples, the wonderful glistening mid riff of hers, glistening plump ass of hers and the beautiful slit between her-. William quickly snapped his legs together as subtly as he could, he felt something growing between his legs and he don't want to be absent for a while from this competition just so he can have a round beating his meat into submission! Or until it puke white fluids!

"I'll be there, I expect a great performance tonight" William said while he smiled softly.

"You can count on it, my dear Lord William" Illustrious said as she raised herself.

It's almost time to begin the event, both Illustrious and William walked back toward the arena together. Both of them walked in silence, just before they parted Illustrious reached up and plant a quick peck on William's right cheek before she walked away while she winked at him. William only winked back at her as he spun his body toward the judge desk…He's not so easily flustered after what happened with Belfast and Hood, a simple kiss wouldn't faze him anymore. More than that however…William sat on his seat beside Lena and Lucas, both of them looked at him with knowing smirk plastered on their faces.

"…What?" William simply asked them both.

"You work fast" Lena commented while she smirked at William.

"It's not like I'm chasing girls left and right like the horn dog to my right" William said to Lena with half closed eyes.

"Hey now young man, I'm not a rapist-" Lucas stared at William with tick mark on his forehead while he smiled.

"Calm yourselves. Let us begin the competition" Erich said, he's not having this nonsense.

"Right…Everyone! Gather around! We're going to begin CQC Playground in few moments!" Lena said on the microphone.

Everyone gathered around the ring which also equipped with a large TV screen as the fighters appeared on the area, the other ship girls made way for them while they cheered for the fighters. Hiei waved around while she smiled softly, Zara only smiled as she kept walking toward the fight ring, Wales put on her firm face with light blush decorated her cheeks while George put on her best smile as she walked and waved at the spectators. The best part? All of them wore that skintight suit. Lucas, William and Erich fell silent as they analyzed the ship girls who wore the suit…It looked like the breast jiggle is more accentuated with the suit, each of the fighters got their curves highlighted on point and the three men judge smiled at the beautiful sight at once…

"Hehehehehe…yeah boi" Lucas commented as he chuckled perversely.

"…Is this also form of tactics against male soldiers?" Erich asked William with serious gaze on his face.

"I think so, it would be effective in my opinion. The tightness, the flexibility and the firmness could provide 'tactical advantage' for the woman operator…even better if there's a zip in the middle" William said to Erich with serious gaze on his face.

"That suit would serve well within Crimson Axis to be honest. Can we also produce those suits?" Erich asked William.

"I don't mind, but you should probably ask Lucas regarding the permission" William said to Erich as he shrugged.

"Welcome to CQC Playground ladies! Here we shall see how great each team's representative in close quarter combat! I will now explain the rules for a bit. You can't do any lethal attack in any form, you're only allowed to use your weapons to attack. Each round will last for one and half minute, maximum three rounds for each fight. If you're disarmed, you lose automatically. Each fighter have base health 100 points that would reset on each round, 10 will be taken out if your limbs are hit, 20 if you got hit on your torso and 50 if you get hit in the head so aim for those head strikes eh? Everything clear so far?" Lena explained out loud to everyone present with the microphone.

""""Clear!"""" Hiei, Wales, Zara and George said out loud toward Lena.

"Good. Let's begin the fight! Draw up the rooster!" Lena said out loud with the microphone.

Suffolk held out a small lottery cup and draw a slip while Edinburgh noted the order of the fight, they set up the fight on this order. Hiei against Wales and Zara against George, if one think about it they would realized that each of the girls sent by their representative mainly carried swords around and didn't hesitate to use it in CQC situation if forced to. That means, this would be a swordfight…First up, Hiei versus Wales and both of them walked toward the fight ring…Wait, sword fights aren't supposed to happen on a ring?! But since the area had been set up, it would be a waste not to use it.

The weapons for this one were made from fiber reinforced plastic, had blunt edge, not heavy yet strong enough to withstand harsh punishment and quite balanced so it's easy to use. However, since the representatives each team sent were swordswoman the only weapons missing from the weapon cage inside the locker room were the swords…Hiei and Wales climbed aboard the fight ring, they stared at each other to prepare themselves. Hiei slowly took out the katana from its sheath, she set her stance and swung her katana few times slowly and elegantly…Wales slowly took out her longsword, swung it downwards diagonally once and held it in front of her face.

"Are you ready, Wales-san?" Hiei asked Wales while she smiled softly.

"Anytime, Ms. Hiei…Let's have a fair one" Wales said to Hiei as she stared seriously at her.

Wales set her stance while she held her sword one handed in lower front of her, Hiei set her stance by holding the katana with her own two hands in front of her. They waited for the match to begin, Hipper wore black and white stripes polo shirt with short black pants with whistle necklace got into the arena. She stood between the two fighters as she reminded them of the rules, when both Hiei and Wales nodded their head in acknowledgement Hipper stood back for her own safety…Souryuu appeared before William and put a fight bell in front of him, Belfast had changed into a white sports bra with black bloomer pants and she went up the arena with a large rectangular plank. She raised the plank which had writing 'Round 1' while she circled the arena by walking sensuously as she put her best smile on her face, naturally William and Lucas raised from their seat with fist pumped and they roared in excitement.

"Will, bell" Lena said to William while she frowned.

"Yeah, I know. She look fine as hell, isn't she?" William said while he grinned.

"Not that white haired sexy lady, wife material and a maid in one package, you twat! The fight bell!" Lena said to William while she scowled.

"…Oh right, damnit!" William said as he used the fight bell.

DING! DING!

Hiei waltzed forward with upwards diagonal swing and Wales immediately countered by parrying the strike, that first strike was followed up by another swing from the same side, then another, then another and another while Wales parried every single one of Hiei's strikes…Hiei may look gentle and calm but her fighting style with her katana is so aggressive! To be fair though, not many of them ever saw Hiei trains or employ her skills with katana on real combat. But now they got real sense of Hiei's close quarter combat capabilities and no one would like to mess with her (Except for those who like challenges, they already made plans to ask Hiei in a sparring match).

Wales learned that Hiei's strikes only served as a test, Hiei was testing her defense. When Hiei launched another swinging strike Wales deflect the strike to her left side before she launched a stab to Hiei's exposed midriff, they heard a beeping noise a sign of confirmed hit and Hiei lost twenty points. Hiei widened her eyes as she dashed backwards, she smiled as Wales is the one going on offense now. Wales thrust forward with her blade that was easily deflected by Hiei's katana, Wales retracted her longsword while she spun and delivered an overhead strike in lightning speed. Hiei smirked as she back flipped, landed and went on offensive once more.

"Damn…This would be my first time witnessing Hiei in sword fight, she's quite deadly" William commented out loud.

"Huh? Weren't you supposed to know everything regarding your ship girls, Will?" Lucas asked to William as he cocked his eyebrows.

"Well, they do have things they kept secret too…It's just with Hiei, I mostly saw her use spatula instead of her katana" William said to Lucas with serious gaze.

CLANK!

Wales and Hiei clashed blades and locked blades in the middle of the arena, the crowds got wild as each of the spectators supported each of their representatives. Wales pushed Hiei back and launched another stab which hit her on the torso, another beep sounded and Hiei already lost forty points. Hiei stopped smiling as for the first time in public, she put on her serious face. Cold, meticulous gaze was directed at Wales as Hiei raised her katana and set her stance…Wales knew one thing, playtime is over. Hiei took a step forward, Wales did the same. Hiei took another step, Wales also did the same. Soon, both of them were in range…but none of them move to strike.

"…This is it" George commented while she watched the match.

"What do you mean?" Zara asked George while she folded her arms.

"This will be the determining blow. It's either Wales or Hiei" George said to Zara while she smiled.

The two combatant stared at each other, daring their opponent to move first…Wales moved to the left and Hiei moved to the right, Wales smiled as she made her decision. Wales feinted by putting her leg forward quickly that made her look like she's dashing forward, Hiei took the bait as she also moved forward. Wales quickly closed in with another thrust attack but Hiei only smiled confidently, Hiei quickly moved her body to the left a bit then she swing upwards. Wales dashed back but it was too late, her longsword flew in the air before it fell down on the arena…William smiled as he used the fight bell.

DING! DING!

"Winner, Hiei! For disarming her opponents!" William said out loud with the microphone.

"…She's very skilled" Erich commented while he smiled a bit.

"Yeah. The more you know" William commented while he rubbed his chin.

"First round have ended with Hiei as the winner! Now get ready for the second round!" Lena said out loud with the microphone.

The crowds cheered once more as the two fighters prepared themselves for the second round, this could be the determining round. Wales picked up her fallen longsword, she set her stance once more and Hiei did the same with her katana. The two of them stared at each other once more, blades drawn toward one another…Belfast climbed aboard once more and this time she carried the plank that had writing 'Round 2' on it while she walked around the arena, she came down after she did an entire lap and William used the bell once more.

DING!

CLANK! CLANK! CLANK!

Not even one second passed since the bell was ringed and both Hiei and Wales immediately dashed forward with blades swinging, their blades clashed between them in lightning speed as both of them try to find gaps within each other's defense to exploit. But on closer look, everyone would noticed that Hiei was the one on defense while Wales attacked relentlessly by doing heavy swings toward Hiei who had to put some strength on her guard. Wales changed her style midway, she thrust her sword to Hiei like fencers did and in just two seconds they heard five beeping noises. The crowds that supported Wales immediately cheered, the rest murmured in wonder and amazement.

"U-Unbelievable! Wales immediately flipped the table!" Lena said out loud with widened eyes.

"…That's amazing! Fencing with a longsword? Then stabbed her opponent five times under two seconds? Her strength, reflex and concentration is not to be trifled with!" Erich commented as he approved Wales's combat prowess.

"She's among the finest swordswoman among The Royal Knights according to the ladies from Royal Navy, but I never thought she could switch style midflight like that" William explained to Erich while he smiled in approval, then he ringed the bell.

DING! DING!

"Winner, Wales! By scoring five torso hit, deducting 100 hitpoints from Hiei!" William said out loud with the microphone.

William started to notice that there's a pattern, all the fight ended quickly and not as dramatic as the ones he saw in movies and anime (seriously, one of them could trade blows with one another and still have the fucking time to do flashback filler for entire episode!)…Then that means, the girls fight without holding anything back, they fight to win not for show…William felt something tugged his left sleeve, he looked to the left and saw Eldridge who wore her PE uniform…Damn! She looked like a genuine pre-schooler!

"…William" Eldridge called out to William.

"Yes Eldridge, what is it?" William asked Eldridge with soft tone.

"Hug" Eldridge simply said to William while she extended her arms toward him.

"Awww, you sweet little girl! Come here!" William said as he lifted Eldridge up while he smiled.

William lifted Eldridge up and placed her on his lap, Eldridge rested on William's lap while she dangled her legs. William took several candy out from his pocket and handed them toward Eldridge who took all of it, she unwrapped one and she immediately put it into her little mouth. William didn't seems to mind with Eldridge sitting on his lap, Lena observed that Eldridge face's doesn't changed much despite her ahoge twitched around in excitement…William asked Eldridge if she wanted anything else and Eldridge cutely shook her head sideways.

"…So, when did you become a doting father?" Lena asked while she stared at William.

"Huh? Oh, she occasionally would approach me just to do this ever since I rescued her from that island" William said to Lena while smiled a bit.

"She get attached to you huh?" Lena commented while she smiled.

"I think this is how I will become if I ever have a daughter, that typical muscly and doting father" William said to Lena

"WHEN you have a daughter" Lena said while she smiled at William.

"Heh. That's one hell of a prediction eh?" William asked Lena while he narrowed his gaze at her.

"With what I've seen and heard before? It's not a far stretch" Lena said to William with knowing smile and shrugged at him.

Lena knew its only a matter of time for that to happen, though she admitted that those girls lack aggression! Maybe that's because their opponents take their time? Maybe she have to bring that 'yandere carrier' from Sakura Empire to hastened the process? Sounds like a plan, Erich won't even mind. The judges witnessed Hiei and Wales about to go for their final round, the crowds cheered and the referee readied themselves…However, fate decided to be a cunt today. William's phone rang again and it's from Johnson, William frowned a bit as he answered the phone.

"Yeah?" William asked Johnson while he patted Eldridge's head.

"William. My corvettes just reported in, they sunk those submarines that's reported by the civilians. Good news is they're not that good in combat so they sunk easily and they barely scratched my corvettes…Bad news? They're not Sirens" Johnson explained to William.

"…Not Sirens? Then who? Oh…Don't tell me…" William said while his eyes went half closed.

"Preliminary evidence suggested that the crew were humans, no identification on their uniform, no numbers or visual signals on their subs…Crimson Cleanser is the likely candidate" Johnson said to William.

…Yeah, as far as he know Azur Lane doesn't have any submarine fleet nearby at the moment. But if Crimson Cleanser was indeed the one who owned the sub, then it's a grave news. Crimson Cleanser is a terrorist group that supposedly doesn't have much support, so how come they manage to get submarines that easily?! Someone must've been backing them financially, there's just no way they could do this within short time!

"…How did they possess a submarine? They grew too fast! Someone must've fed them, what class of subs were they?" William asked Johnson while he frowned.

"Nautilus Class, ballistic missile capable…Listen, someone want to kill all of you at once! You, Admiral Helena, High Commander Lucas and Chairman Erich get killed in one place would ensure the end of any effective resistance against Crimson Cleanser and The Sirens! Whoever they are, they knew about this event and that means…" Johnson said to William regarding his prediction.

"This event only known by High Commander Council of The Azur Lane, two of them are here and select other people from Crimson Axis Council…Crimson Axis won't benefit anything from murdering us with all of this Crimson Cleanser fiasco, that means Azur Lane is the one most likely betraying us…Someone within has turned traitor" William said as he grimaced at the conclusion.

"Good accusation, but we need proof" Johnson said to William.

"Of course…Ready an investigation squad, I'll take care of the business on my side first" William said to Johnson.

"Got it…I need to apologize to Illustrious huh?" William said out loud.

"William?" Eldridge asked William in concerned tone while she tilted her head to the left.

"Don't worry about it Eldridge" William said as he patted her head once more.

…Just when he thought he could have a day off watching the girls competing and this plot had to come up, screw you writer! William looked at Erich, Lucas and Lena who already stared at him because they knew something came up and he nodded his head once. The three of them immediately raised themselves and left for command center, William saw Belfast standing by and he instructed her to come and meet him. She widened her eyes a bit before she ran toward William, this one looked urgent.

"Belfast. I need you to take control of this event for now" William said to Belfast.

"Did something happened, master?" Belfast asked William.

"Yeah, I'll explain more later. Just keep the event running, alright?" William said to Belfast as he stood up.

"It shall be done master" Belfast said while she bowed a bit.

"Eldridge, be a good girl now" William said to Eldridge while he smiled a bit.

"Yes" Eldridge nodded her head.

William got up from his seat while he put Eldridge on it, he walked away from the dock area and straight into the command center. He entered the command center where the large screen already lit up with Johnson's face displayed on it, Manjuus around the room operated computer, Lena already on call with someone, Erich and Lucas talked about something until they heard that William have arrived on the control room…Right, it's time to leave the fun behind a bit, they got some traitors to bust down.

"Right…Let's get this over with" William said while he scowled.

"Erich and I have talked, William. You will not be participating on this one" Lucas said with a serious face for the first time today.

"…Wait, what?!" William asked out loud with widened eyes, well….that's new…

_(To Be Continued)_

.

**Some dood: Metal Gear Solid vibe huh? Got to admit, I played them (except for Survive, screw that one!) so I might get some inspiration out of it ahahahaha. Well, I'm glad you enjoyed this story mate and thank you too for taking your time reading through this story. **

…**Well shit! This one went through few rewrites, hope you guys like it. I planned to make one day out of three days of the event into one chapter, as you would probably guess that might be one of the cockiest plan I ever got. To think I could shortened the entirety of that into one chapter? Bah…Shit, well, what's done is done and I'll surely be more careful next time…Thanks for the review, follows and favorite dear readers! Let me know what you think, also, would you guys like shorter chapter or keep it as usual? **

**Until next time**

**\- Dasmara**


	14. A step forward?

"Any reason why I am not included in this one?" William asked Lucas while he folded his arms.

"You're a field commander, while this do concern everyone including you it is not by any means your responsibilities to handle…Enough said" Lucas said to William with serious expression.

"How do you plan to find them?" William asked Lucas again.

"They make a very sloppy move on this one, there's only several people that knew regarding this event and that's because in reality, this event isn't an official event held by Central Headquarters…It's an event held by me" Lucas said while he smirked slightly.

…All of this is just a trap? So, Lucas and Lena have been suspecting inside job for quite some time that they choose to held some form of event to lure an assassination attempt. Reckless? Heck yeah, Effective? Fucking yes…Looks like the plan was a success, four submarines approached their base just to kill the three of them? Most likely with cruise missile nonetheless. William had to admit Johnson's words rang some truth, not to brag or anything but if all four of them died then it safe to say the future isn't looking so bright for Azur Lane…

"…All of this is nothing but a giant trap?!" William asked Lucas with widened eyes.

"Putting it bluntly, yeah…I already suspected that ever since your release from The Deep End Crimson Cleanser have been getting even more active than ever before, they're getting desperate…They know that if we have to pull out who supposedly the most dangerous operative we got to handle this entire mess, it won't be long before all of them perish" Lucas said to William while he smirked a bit.

"…It is as we feared, Azur Lane is compromised. It's no wonder Crimson Cleanser could strike down Yuri, Michael and Charles at the same time. Why they knew about the existence of this base. There's a reason why they know where Eldridge was located…If you think about it, those locations are top secret which means there's a traitor on Central Headquarters…Now, since it's on Central Headquarters it would be more reasonable for Lucas and I to investigate this problem from within…It'll take some time, but I'm sure we'll find out who" Lena said out loud while she scowled.

Everything made sense when Lena put it like that, any of those attack won't be possible to do without some insider leaks from Azur Lane itself. If they managed to get a drop on them like that few times in the past, safe to say someone had to get past Azur Lane Intelligence Division and those who did it are someone they would want to watch out for…

"If I may Lucas, my secretary and I could help with your traitor problem" Erich suggested to Lucas with serious expression.

"While I appreciate the help, with our current situation it will be too risky with open investigation…If you still wish to help, you could do so from within Crimson Axis. You know what to do, right?" Lucas asked Erich while he smiled a bit.

"Of course…We'll see what we can do. What do you plan on doing when you find them?" Erich asked Lucas while he folded his arms.

"Make an example of them" Lena blurted out loud.

"You'll kill them?" Erich asked to Lena with intrigued look on his face.

"Not necessarily…There are other ways in ruining someone's life without having to kill them, we'll have to be careful with what we do in this situation" Lena said while she shrugged.

…William found himself a bit disappointed, honestly speaking he just found out how his three best friends could get killed like that and he felt the long dormant bloodlust that haven't awaken ever since The Battle of Verdun where he massacred an entire outpost in pure cold blooded murder. There's nothing more he would like to do than to 'talk' with these traitors and then finished them off with his own bare hands because those bastards deserved it, he'll make sure they won't be able to cause any further harm to any of them…the world doesn't need those scum-.

"…Don't give me that look Will, you know how our world works" Lena said to William with a frown on her face.

"While I do want the traitorous son of a cunt beheaded for what they did, I'll play along with the rules. But promise me one thing…Let me talk to them before you sentence them" William said while he scowled.

"Done…Now, I'll suggest you return to the event. This one event exist for the ship girls to bond, you included" Lucas said to William while he patted William's shoulder twice.

"You're not going to go back here?" William asked Lucas with widened eye.

"Well, what can we do? We got urgent matter, can't spend our time lollygagging on your base and have fun while traitors threatened to destroy Azur Lane from within" Lucas said to William while he shrugged.

"I understand" William nodded his head in response.

Lucas maybe a perverted bastard with tendency to acted not like men his age but he could be dependable, cunning and firm leader when situation demands it, how do you think a man like him could be The High Commander of Azur Lane? How did you think he raised through the ranks? Lucas may not looked like it but he's the one that Azur Lane counted on during The Great War between them and Crimson Axis…A little fun fact, Lucas and Erich often clashed with their forces on the battlefield by leading them directly…You'll be surprised to know that the two of them could be friends easily despite such history…

"Rest assured. When the time comes to bust them, we'll let you know" Lucas said to William.

"I was hoping you'll say that, Lucas" William said while he smiled a bit.

"We'll need our Ace for some cleanup. You're not getting rusty now, are you?" Lucas asked while he grinned.

"Don't forget who rescued Eldridge back then Lucas, I'm still at my top game" William replied confidently while he smirked.

.

…William escorted Lena, Lucas and Erich to the helipad where a black hawk helicopter landed and picked up the VIPs. The helicopter immediately take off when the VIPs were aboard, William then returned to the dock area. He contemplated on the fact something feels off, Johnson said that they didn't lost a single corvette during the engagement with the submarines that supposedly have cruise missiles and there's four of them…Johnson also said that the crews and the submarines didn't possess any identification signals, it's highly possible that those subs were owned by Crimson Cleanser…

But why attack them? Their entire purpose is to wage war with Crimson Axis isn't it? What good in attacking Azur Lane themselves? Because if Crimson Axis retaliate then the only thing stopping them from conquering the world is Azur Lane itself. Furthermore, Azur Lane and Crimson Axis are joining forces to face off against Sirens and Crimson Cleanser plus they knew about the attempt to make the two factions back into killing each other…William couldn't figure out what's the true purpose of those four subs, he need more evidence and proof. But he supposed he could let Lucas and Lena handle those, he got important job to do right now.

William reached the dock area and saw that the ship girls loitered around with the fight arena being empty, he cocked his eyebrows at the realization that he might take too long and now the fight was over. None of the girls seemed to noticed him arriving on the area, he then stopped to look at George who sulked a bit while Wales talked to her as if to cheer her up…Guess William knew who won the fight just from that alone.

"Is it over?" William asked Enterprise who stood beside him.

"Ah commander, we're currently resting before the final showdown. Hiei and Zara would be fighting for the last-" Enterprise explained to William.

William felt a water dropped on his nose and he looked up only to have his face swarmed by rainwater that fell from the grey clouds, fucking what mate? A storm during summer!? What the fuck is wrong with Earth's weather!? The weather is almost unpredictable and could change so suddenly! It's the definition of Mother Nature going through a period! Wait…Does the ship girls ever went through a period? Because-. William shook his head sideways quickly, got to get his mind out of the gutter!

"…Rain? On summer? Really?!" William said out loud with half closed eye.

"Those thunder clouds is almost black sir, shall we continue the match? Imagine Zara and Hiei dueled under intense rain storm, crossing swords with each other as they fought to be the best warrior on the base…Sounds poetic, don't you think?" Enterprise asked William with a hand on her chin.

"I admit that does sound admiring, but I don't want you ladies to spend some time on the infirmary later…Attention, this is William Blaze. We will stop the event for now due to the weather and will continue tomorrow at 8 AM! Change your clothes ladies, you have free time until dinner, dismissed!" William said out loud to the ship girls.

The ship girls looked dejected and some sighed as they dispersed from the area, Manjuus immediately moved in to save the electronic equipment and few things that's vulnerable to water. William made sure none of the ship girls lingered on the dock area before he nodded to himself and walked away followed by Enterprise by his side…

"Commander, where's Admiral Lena?" Enterprise asked William.

"She have to return to the headquarters alongside The High Commander and The Chairman, they got some urgent business they need to settle" William explained shortly to Enterprise.

"Oh, that's a shame, I was hoping they could stay for dinner…What are you going to do now, commander?" Enterprise asked William again.

"My room I guess, better rest for a bit…catch you later, Enterprise" William said to Enterprise while he nodded his head.

"Yes sir!" Enterprise said then she walked off to different direction.

He felt a bit sluggish today, guess his laziness instinct kicked in that he want to do nothing except for laying on top of his bed inside his own room and the cold weather really further enhanced his whims to slack off. Luckily, no paperwork to do today so he really could take it easy…William opened his room and he heard someone gasped, William narrowed his right eye as he took out his revolver and kicked the door open. William pointed his gun toward someone inside his room, a little lady with green hair, cat ears and shocked face.

"Nyaa?! Don't shoot me!" Akashi said while she raised her 'hands' upwards.

"This is trespassing, it'll be purely self-defense on my side" William said while pulled the hammer of his Colt Python revolver.

"Booo! You're one mean shikikan! Don't worry, I'm not here to steal!" Akashi said while she furrowed her eyebrows.

"So you're here to rob me?" William asked with cocked eyebrows.

"…Not exactly" Akashi said while she looked to the side.

"…What do you want then?" William asked Akashi as he sheathed his revolver.

"Lucas-sama gave me this, I'm here to consult you regarding what to do nyaa" Akashi lowered her hands while she talked to William.

Akashi took out a hologram projector, she put it on the floor and activated the device. The projection shown was a humanoid armor design (For the armor appearance just…look at the cover pic for this story, I've updated it). The armor looked balanced, not slim enough to look fragile yet not bulky enough to hinder the movement and it appeared to cover the whole operator's body so there's a huge chance of it being waterproof or vacuum sealed…Is this what the Science Division on Central Headquarters worked on? Why now? Why did Lucas give this design to Akashi and not him? As far as he could tell, this armor would definitely improve his combat prowess…

"…That motherfucker" William said out loud while he scowled.

"Nyaa? You didn't seems pleased, shikikan?" Akashi asked while she frowned.

"How hard it was for him just to give me this directly? Why gave this to you?" William asked out loud toward Akashi.

"Lucas-sama told me that this one version is free to produce and modified as we like, he said that this is his gift as thanks for today's event" Akashi explained to William.

"…That damn bastard is being too generous it started to creep me out" William commented while he scowled.

"Do you know why nyaa?" Akashi asked William with a hand on her chin.

"I think I know why, but I don't want to talk about it…Explain this armor to me, Akashi" William said to Akashi with serious expression.

"Mochiron nyaa…This is a protective armor design derived from Plan Bellator Luminis, the armor design doesn't have a name yet but initial designation for the armor is APBAM-1 or Albion Protective Battle Armor Mark One. Sleek, light but durable and hard hitting piece of hardware…What he gave me is just the shell, the outer armor part alongside the internal hydraulic system to move the armor and it still has several missing components before it could be used" Akashi explained briefly to William.

"Such as?" William asked Akashi.

"First of all, it doesn't have the power generator, Operating System to make the armor functional and the under suit. To make matter worse, those are expensive nyaa" Akashi said to William.

…See? This armor still has a lot of issue to fix before it could even function! At least the rest are quite easy to produce with the exception for the power generator which William still had no idea on what to use as one, maybe he should leave this one for the experts? Because honestly he was taught how to kill not how thermonuclear theory could be harnessed inside a small generator to produce electricity! William rubbed his chin as he contemplated the size of the generator…It has to be small enough to fit on the armor backside without making it too conspicuous to target, then the only option they currently have are batteries!

"…Do you have an idea for the power generator?" William asked Akashi.

"For the first test, we could use batteries but I'll doubt it could move for more than five minutes" Akashi said to William, that would be the case huh…

"For a prototype version, I won't mind that…How about Operating System?" William asked Akashi.

"Piece of cake nyaa, it won't take two days just to make the basics" Akashi explained while she smiled smugly.

"The under suit?" William asked Akashi with narrowed eyes.

"I could make that in just three days nyaa" Akashi answered while she grinned.

Akashi is quite intelligent, borderline genius even but her greed often gest in her way…William started to think on how much will this one armor set cost, the armor plating, the under suit, hydraulic system, Operating System for the integrated Heads Up Display, power generator or supply. All of that could cost millions and William didn't want to use his savings on his bank account to be honest, William stared anxiously at the waiting Akashi with her ears twitched in anticipation…He braved himself to ask, he need to know the cost.

"…How much does all of this cost?" William asked Akashi regarding the cost.

"Millions…But the good news is we have the necessary resources shikikan, you won't have to spend much money. Do you agree on building this?" Akashi asked William, huh…if they got the resources then-

"Of course I agree…Can you customize the design so it could be 'flexible'?" William asked Akashi while he smiled a bit.

"Hmm…You're asking a lot shikikan nyaa…" Akashi said while she smiled in scheming manner.

"…I'm willing to pay with red gems" William said to Akashi as his eye went half closed.

Red gems or simply gems were the resources someone within Azur Lane or Crimson Axis thrown in whenever they want to get shit done, exotic resources that's even more valuable than gold coins that the military used as currency. Red gems, hard to get, very useful if William wanted exotic stuff or no-nonsense transaction and he's going to give some to Akashi just to make sure this project went off without hitch huh? William remembered he didn't have a lot of those…He might need some for further project soon, he better get some ready.

"You're very dedicated one nyaa! Then in that case I accept wholeheartedly!" Akashi said while she grinned.

"…In that case I want the best result even for a prototype, as soon as the prototype is a success I want improvement immediately for a functional armor" William said to Akashi while he foled his arms.

"Thank you for your patronage and consider it done nyaa! Well, that's all for now. Matta nyaa!" Akashi said then she stood up.

"Bloody capitalist cat…" William muttered to himself.

Akashi grinned as she exited William's room, that cat is going to be the reason why he's broke. He thought to himself on how he would look with that armor, yeah…He felt like a space marine already, all he need after that is a jet thruster…Yup that's an idea that could be implemented later in the future when they could solve the power issue, with that he could move freely with the ship girls on top of the water and that could be a game changer…Though, facing off with Sirens ship girls is still something he didn't want to do anytime soon. His mother might know something, William pulled out his phone and dialed his mother's number.

"Mom?" William asked when he heard his call was picked up.

"Will. Been a while since you called" Diana said to William.

"Yeah. Hey, I was wondering, did you know anything regarding APBAM-1?" William asked Diana as he laid himself down on his bed.

"Albion?! How did you know that!? Supposedly that's an unfinished design! Who told you that!?" Diana asked William in exasperated tone.

"…Who do you think?" William asked back with half closed eye.

"…Ah of course, that jackson bollocks! I told him already that the design is still unfinished and it would take additional few months before it could be finalized!" Diana said then she sighed loudly.

"Don't worry about it mom, we'll conduct our own research here. Maybe in few weeks we'll get result with Albion" William said while he smiled a bit.

"I don't mean to be pessimistic Will, but not even the brightest scientist on Central Headquarters could make the armor work without running into power issues. The hydraulic system, the armor Operating System all require lot of juices, something only a nuclear reactor could provide for long term use" Diana explained to William in matter of fact tone.

…Well, William sure that Akashi could solve that problem and The Manjuus certainly could do the heavy work much faster than those eggheads on the headquarters. Besides, Akashi was the one who often had to deal with basically new technology that their best scientist may take some time to understand while she could implement it into their arsenal easily…at least that's how Hood described what Akashi had done for them, since he trusted Hood's judgment so by extension he trusted that Akashi could deliver.

"We'll get around that, first we'll prove that the armor could move then we'll solve the power related issue" William said to Diana.

"You sounded so confident, does that Jenny girl would be involved with this one?" Diana asked William with unsure tone.

"That's all according to Lena but I figured we could manage by our own here…I'll let you know if the armor works properly" William said to Diana while he smiled a bit.

"Yeah, thanks for that, what you did just take a load off from our research priority list so thanks a lot Will" Diana said to William with soft tone.

"Don't mention it mom…I'm looking forward to use it too" William said while he grinned.

"Ah of course you'll use it…But you're no Ironman Will, so don't go overzealous okay?" Diana said to William.

"Hahahaha, will do mom" William said to Diana after he chuckled.

.

…William opened his eyes so suddenly, did he just fall asleep!? William looked around and noticed that it's already dark, he checked his wristwatch and it said 06.51 PM…Great, he fell asleep after calling his mother and he completely forgot about the dinner event which would start in nine minutes. William immediately entered his bathroom when he smelled something bad and it's him…He sighed as he took off his clothes and took a shower, after he got himself cleaned he opened his wardrobe and noticed…He lost most of his clothes, are they still at laundry? William grabbed a white shirt, black pants, black shoes and a crimson vest…This is all he got huh? Semi-formal outfit? Better than dressing up with t-shirt and short pants.

William exited his room and he immediately went to the dinner event that's currently held on the canteen which had been modified a bit, he strolled casually with hands inside his pocket when he noticed a movement near the rear entrance of the canteen. William narrowed his gaze as his right hand reached for the revolver strapped on his back while he walked slowly toward it. He saw the thing that caused movement near the rear entrance, she was Hipper who checked on the electric box with a flashlight on her right hand and board clip on her left hand. She heard William's footsteps and she turned toward him, William smiled a bit at Hipper.

"Ha? What are you looking at!?" Hipper asked William with narrowed eyes.

"Hello to you too Hipper. I was wondering, where are the others?" William asked Hipper while he smiled a bit.

"Already inside, I'm running last minute check for the power adaptor. Well what are you waiting for!? Get in!" Hipper told William while she pointed the board clip at him.

"Right, thanks for the hard work!" William said while he waved and grinned at Hipper.

"I don't need your praise, dummkopf!" Hipper shouted to William with her cheeks reddened a bit.

"…Was it that hard to be honest with herself?" William muttered to himself while he smiled.

The door to the canteen was opened and William entered the canteen, he witnessed that everyone was already on site. Most of them already sat while enjoying their buffet dinner served near the entrance, William took a glance at the assortments of meat, vegetables, cakes and fruits waiting to be grabbed and consumed which caused William to smile widely…Oh this is going to be good! He was about to head toward the buffet table when he saw someone walked toward him, Belfast dressed on her usual maid clothes walked toward William with a smile on her face.

"Welcome, master" Belfast greeted William while she bowed her head a bit.

"Hey there Bel…Everyone is already here" William greeted Belfast back while he smiled.

"Yes, I think you're the last one to arrive. Did something happened?" Belfast asked William with curious eyes.

"I…fell asleep, what can I say? The weather is very comfortable" William said while he grinned and shrugged.

"I agree…If you need something please don't hesitate to call for us the committee members" Belfast said as she left William to attend another matter.

"I'll keep that in mind" William said then he smiled a bit.

The buffet table was so tempting that William walked towards it while he grinned at the thought on what should he eat first, the beef, the chicken, the fish…Okay, that's all meat, he have to eat some vegetables before Belfast found out and told him off again for not eating vegetables then threaten to shoved some down his throat when he's being jackass about it…William quickly grabbed an empty plate, he started filling his plate with assortments of meat and some vegetables to the side. He's so engrossed in his anticipation to eat that he didn't hear someone approached him from behind, that person only smiled at what they saw…

"I suggest you don't eat too much, milord" Hood said to William from his back side.

"Are you underestimating my stomach capacity, Hood?" William asked her while he turned his head around to meet her.

"On the contrary, the night is long so you might want to save some room for deserts" Hood said while she smiled softly.

"Desert goes to different part of the stomach you know?" William asked Hood while he smiled.

"Is that so? Then by all means…That also means you should refrain from drinking this 1945 Speymalt that Admiral Lena gave to me, you could get sick" Hood said to William while she smirked a bit.

…Did William heard her right? Did Hood just said that she got a rare and expensive brand of alcohol that was made decades ago with her at the moment? William stopped what he's doing as he slowly looked at Hood straight in the eyes with a deadpan stare, he then slowly put down his full plate to the table and he witnessed Hood pulled out a bottle from her purse that William immediately observed…Yup, that's indeed the real deal but just to be safe William still felt like asking.

"…What did you say?" William asked Hood.

"1945…Speymalt" Hood said while she smiled then shook the bottle a bit.

"…What do you want Hood?" William asked Hood as he averted his eyes to his left side.

"Oh? You know I'm currently bribing you?" Hood asked William while she cocked her eyebrows.

"You damn well know how to butter me up…So, what do you want from me?" William asked Hood again as he picked up his plate.

"Nothing much. How about the seat beside you and your attention for the night?" Hood asked cheekily while she smirked.

"Lady, you just got it" William said as he approached Hood.

"…But still, it kind of worries me that it's so easy to bribe you" Hood commented while she frowned a bit.

"Don't worry…Only a fine lady such as you could do that to me" William said as he stood beside Hood and pecked her on the cheek.

"Flatterer" Hood said to William while she smiled softly.

A bit farther from that location two maids observed what happened between Hood and William, both of them had varied expression between each other. Edinburgh put a hand over her gaping mouth with widened eyes, Belfast stared at what happened between her master and her friend with shadow casted over her eyes with serious expression and little frown on her beautiful face. Edinburgh noticed that her master have been getting some attention from the ladies around the base, but she never expected that Hood would be the one in offensive position like tonight…

"…Did you see that? Did you see that!? Lady Hood can't be underestimated, she may not looked like it but she's quite aggressive in her own sense!" Edinburgh commented while she shook Belfast's left shoulder.

"Ho…" Belfast commented while she stared at two of them.

"…Bel? What's wrong?" Edinburgh asked Belfast when she noticed that Belfast doesn't commented much.

"Oh nothing dear sister, I just remembered that master's room may need some caretaking. Would you please take charge here for a bit while I go check? Thank you" Belfast said quickly to Edinburgh before she walked away.

"Wha? Wait, Bel?! Sheesh, I could never know what she was thinking" Edinburgh said out loud with hands on her hips.

Hood and William walked to an empty table while they greeted the ship girls that they passed along the way, they choose a table close to the stage where several Manjuus played soft jazz song. William pulled up a seat for Hood to sit, once she sit down William sat on the opposite of her while he put down his plate on the table. William took a spoon and a fork and he's going to stab on the lamb chop when he saw someone approached from Hood's backside, red hair, big tits and soft scheming smile, yup she's Zara…

"Zara?" William asked Zara.

"Mind if I join you, comandante?" Zara asked while she smiled.

"Errr…" William said while he stared at Hood.

"It's fine Ms. Zara, please have a seat" Hood said while she looked at Zara and smiled a bit.

"…I thought you're going to mind about it?" William whispered toward Hood.

"I'm not so unreasonable to hog you to myself all night, milord. The others would undoubtly-" Hood said to William with serious expression.

"May I sit here, shikikan-sama?" Shoukaku asked William from behind.

"Errr, sure" William said to Shoukaku.

Zara and Shoukaku sat at William and Hood's table, they carried their own plates filled with their own dinner. They stared to eat while occasionally talked about mundane things, William himself started to calmly eat his portion because Hood observed him while she elegantly ate her own portion…She would told him off if he wolfed down his food, that happened once and William didn't want to talk about it.

"You seems to like the beef slice, Zara-san" Shoukaku commented to Zara who enthusiastically ate her portion.

"Why yes, I'm quite hungry since the fight this afternoon…Too bad comandante, you couldn't see the fight happen" Zara said while she frowned a bit and stared at William.

"…Yeah, I got held up a bit with official business" William said to Zara while he cringed.

"What happened?" Hood asked William with cocked eyebrows.

"Putting bluntly something happened on Central Headquarters, that's why Chairman Erich, Admiral Lena and High Commander Lucas left this base in hurry…Shame, the committee team went all out with their dishes" William explained to the girls who nodded in affirmation.

Hood took out the alcohol bottle from her purse and William nodded his head while Zara alongside Shoukaku oohed in approval, they each grabbed a glass as Hood poured the smooth brown liquid to each glass. William raised his glass and the two others toasted then downed the content of their own glass, William felt the nicest and strongest kick he ever experienced because he had to wince a bit when he downed the entire content in one big gulp.

"This is delicious!" Shoukaku commented after she downed her glass content.

"I approved of this one" Zara said then she licked her lips.

"Wow…what a strong kick. What are you waiting for Hood? Come on drink up" William commented before he suggested to Hood.

"I'm not too fond of alcohol, milord…" Hood said sheepishly while she rubbed her left arm.

"It will be another story if it's tea, am I right?" Shoukaku asked Hood while she poured more liquid to her glass.

"That's not true, I do drink other stuff you know?" Hood said to Shoukaku while she narrowed her eyes.

"Mineral water doesn't count, Hood-san" Shoukaku said to hood while she wiggled her eyebrows.

"You make it seems like I'm obsessed with tea" Hood said to Shoukaku with a little frown.

"Aren't you indeed obsessed with tea?" Shoukaku asked Hood with a little smirk on her face.

"What makes you say that, Ms. Shoukaku?" Hood asked Shoukaku while she pouted a bit.

"Half the time we see you, a cup of tea is on your hand" Shoukaku said to Hood while she smirked.

"That's simply-" Hood said to Shoukaku in firm tone.

"Alright alright, as amusing as this is I have to stop this from going any further. Shoukaku, don't tease Hood so much" William said to Shoukaku while he grinned.

"Tch, I got found out~" Shoukaku said cutely while she looked to the left side and pouted.

"…All of that just to bait her?" Zara asked out loud while she sipped her drink.

"Teasing someone is a methodical practice Zara-san, hook and sinker wouldn't do much without first baiting them to the spot. Once you got your victim on the kill zone, you could toy with it however you want" Shoukaku explained with half opened eyes and menacing smile.

"Ah…You've been hanging out with Prinz too much" William said to Shoukaku with half closed eye.

"I admit that she and I are becoming fast friends~, I'm interested in learning her method…She said that it even works on you~" Shoukaku said to William while she stared…with scheming eyes…

"…When Shoukaku mastered that art, I'm in serious trouble" William muttered to himself while he looked downwards.

The Manjuu band stopped playing as red curtains behind them raised upwards, someone walked out from there as everyone's attention were directed at them. Illustrious walked out into the stage as a Manjuu turned on a spotlight and directed it toward her, she was dressed in her usual clothes without her large hat. In her hand she carried a mic, she played it in her hands a bit to stave off her nervousness…She never performed in front of the crowd before and she's not immune to embarrassment, Illustrious however determined to see this through since she registered her name for the performance.

"Someone on stage?" Zara asked out loud while she looked at the stage.

"…Illustrious?" William said out loud in wonder.

"Ah, so she's the first performer" Hood said out loud while she smiled widely.

The band started to play a soft song, the melody was so familiar to William that he instantly remembered his mother since she often watched the movie where the song was heavily used. My heart will go on, Titanic and man he heard it often enough back during his teenage years since it's his mom favorite movie. Illustrious spend no more time as she walked forward, she spun once to follow the song's rhythm then she stared at her audience with the mic grasped firmly between her two hands and held in front of her pink lips.

"…Every night in my dreams, I see you, I feel you. That is how I know you go on…Far across the distance, and spaces between us. You have come to show you go on…" Illustrious sang beautifully in soft tone.

The audience clapped when Illustrious begun singing and William was no exception, he found that the rumor was right regarding Illustrious being good at singing. Her tone was soft, she synced well with the melody of the song and her gentle smile as well her subtle sways were definite plus. William leaned on his seat, he poured his empty glass another dose of alcohol and he sipped on the liquid while enjoying Illustrious' surely radiant performance.

"…Near, far, wherever you are. I believe that the heart does go on…Once more, you open the door and you're here in my heart and my heart will go on and on…" Illustrious sang as she held her right hand upwards diagonally, she's like drowned herself into the song.

"…Blimey, she's good" William commented while he smiled in approval.

"Illustrious is secretly a good singer after all" Hood said to William while she leaned back on her seat.

Illustrious noticed that William was among the crowd and she smiled softly, her confidence just got a massive boost to sing the next line while she poured out her feelings and do her best to immerse the song that she's currently sing. William noticed that Illustrious looked straight at him, he raised his glass while smiled then winked at her. Illustrious smiled widely when she saw that, she stepped forward to get a closer look at his face…

"Love can touch us one time, and last for a lifetime. And never let go 'till we're gone…Love was when I loved you, one true time I'd hold to. In my life we'll always go on…" Illustrious sang while she swayed her body to the sides repeatedly.

"…Did she indirectly just…" William said to himself in low tone.

"…Near, far, wherever you are. I believe that the heart does go on…Once more, you open the door. And you're here in my heart and, my heart will go on and on…" Illustrious sang as she closed her eyes while she smiled.

"Whoa, she held nothing back huh?" Zara said out loud while she rested her head on her right hand on top of the table.

William got a feeling why Illustrious choose this song and safe to say his hunch screamed 'Damnit man! Don't be so dense! You know why she choose this song!', William smiled softly as he watched Illustrious preparing herself for the end part. The music picked up as the song nearly reached the end, Illustrious opened her eyes once again and she locked her eyes toward William's wide right azure colored eye who stared at Illustrious as if he's been bewitched by the charm she radiated somehow. She took a deep breath, this one would require quite some energy to sing.

"…You're here! There's nothing I fear! And I know that my heart will go on…We'll stay, forever this way! You are safe in my heart and my heart will go on and on!" Illustrious sang while she extended her right hand forward, as if offering her hand toward William himself while she smiled softly.

There's a bit of silence as the crowds waited for the end of the song, few of them had their mouth agape in amazement…The song ended, Illustrious performed curtsy while she smiled widely and the crowds exploded in appreciation while they clapped furiously. Some even gave Illustrious a standing ovation like William who got his cheeks reddened a bit, though he wasn't sure whether that from the implication of the song Illustrious sang or the alcohol that he drunk.

"Huh, damn…Once a knight in shining armor, stays a knight in shining armor huh?" William said while he clapped his hands in standing ovation.

"Bravo!" Zara said out loud while she stood up and clapped her hands.

"Encore! Encore!" Saratoga said out loud while she clapped her hands.

"Illustrious-san is quite bold huh?" Shoukaku asked out loud while she clapped her hands.

"Well played Illustrious…" Hood said softly while she clapped her hands.

While they clapped their hands, some of the girls know why Illustrious choose that song and they smiled in respect at her while vowing to themselves that they won't lose. Hood smiled as she took an empty glass, she poked William's right hip and he looked toward Hood with a glass on her hand, William cocked his eyebrows at his thought on why the hell Hood changed her mind regarding her drinking?

"…Hood?" William asked Hood.

"I'd like to drink, mind pouring me a glass?" Hood asked William while she smiled a bit.

"Huh? Okay? Just don't drink it in one go-" William said to Hood as he poured the alcohol to her glass.

…As it turns out, even Hood couldn't follow instructions properly in some cases. She downed the entire content of the glass without reservation that Zara stared in respect at her while Shoukaku whistled in awe, it didn't take long for her to fell on the table with red cheeks. William sighed hard as he took Hood with her and excused both of them from the canteen, midway through getting out from the building William bumped into Belfast who just entered the canteen.

"…Belfast, there you are. Mind helping me with Hood here?" William asked Belfast while he carried Hood with his left shoulder.

"Oh my, did she drink?" Belfast asked William with a hand over her mouth.

"Yeah…Is she this weak to alcohol?" William asked Belfast back with half closed eye.

"In a sense…She touched black tea more often than mineral water too, I'm not surprised" Belfast said to William while she shrugged.

If that's the case then none of them should be surprised…Belfast looked at Hood who groaned as William supported her to stand, she figured that Hood won't get far even with William helping her walk so she motioned William to lifted Hood in his arms.

"Come, I'll guide you to her room" Belfast said to William as she started to walk ahead.

"Right…hmm, she's lighter than I thought" William said as he switched to carry Hood in princess carry.

"Don't judge a book by its cover" Belfast said to William while they walked.

"…Where have you been Bel? I didn't see you during dinner" William asked Belfast with cocked eyebrows.

"Oh, I went ahead to check up on few things" Belfast said to William without looked at him.

"Okay…" William answered while he pouted a bit.

The walk toward the Royal Navy's dormitory was filled with nothing but footsteps, crickets singing and occasional faint sound of waves on the beach. William occasionally checked on Hood to see if she's getting sick or anything, but she's quite strong that even when she's almost completely wasted she managed not to puke…Belfast glanced sideways to looked at Hood, why did she drink? Hood by no means a lightweight so she's getting drunk when it's not even pass 9 PM yet confused Belfast quite a bit.

"…Hood supposedly isn't this weak to alcohol, what did she drink?" Belfast asked William while she looked back toward him.

"1945 Speymalt, downed an entire glass" William said to Belfast with half closed eye.

"…I am not surprised in that case" Belfast said to William while she frowned a bit.

Hood stopped her groans as she stared at William from below, she's so out of it with flushed face while she reached out to William's cheek with her left hand. William widened his right eye as he stared down at Hood who stared at him with a drunken gaze, she then suddenly giggled uncontrollably that baffled William as he's confused on what did she find so funny that she managed to laugh like he just told a killer joke of the century. William and Belfast both waited for Hood to clarify herself while they walked, all the more reason to bring Hood inside her room as soon as possible.

"Ufufufufufufu! Milord, you're making funny face! Ufufufufufu!" Hood said to William as she giggled.

"…Giggling uncontrollably? Yep, you're drunk, Hood" William commented while he smiled bitterly.

"I am not! I could still take on Avrora…and Prinz…on drink duel!" Hood said as she poked William's right cheek multiple times.

"Not those two because that's a death wish for you Hood, you better rest. I'm taking you to your room" William said to Hood with firm tone and furrowed eyebrows.

"Ah? Are you going to fuck me? I feel little horny though…Let's fuck~" Hood said to William in drunken sultry tone.

Almost slipped, that's what happened to William when he head those words came out from supposedly one of the most composed and polite lady on his life. Even Belfast who's known for her composure was shocked when she heard Hood said that, she turned her head toward Hood so fast it should gave her a whiplash. William sighed hard while Belfast smiled bitterly, that was quite unexpected…

"What the hell woman?! Why are you so vulgar when you're drunk?!" William asked Hood back with faint redness on his cheek.

"Admit it! You want to don't you!?" Hood stared at William accusingly while she grinned.

"…You need to sleep…" William choose not to continue this conversation.

"But I don't want to go to bed now~!" Hood said out loud in whining tone.

"…Is she this blunt, clingy and spoiled when drunk?" William asked Belfast with half closed eye.

"Yes…There's a reason why she didn't drink, when she's drunk Hood is anything but what she preached" Belfast said to William while she smiled.

"Elegance huh?" William said out loud with half closed eye.

"Awww don't be shy, give me a kiss, let's start…with that" Hood said to William while puckered her lips a bit.

"I'm not kissing you when you're drunk" William said in firm tone with serious expression toward Hood.

"Tch, stingy bastard…" Hood clicked her tongue then she pouted, oh hell that was cute!

"Wow…I'm so regretting not recording all of this" William said out loud while he smiled.

They finally reached The Royal Navy's dorm, the building was empty as almost everyone attended the dinner event so Belfast and William who carried Hood could freely entered without having to stumble upon anyone. After long walk throughout the main corridor and climbed the stairs both reached a door near the end of the hall, it's Hood's personal room...Honestly speaking William had never been into the private room of the ship girls, this would be the first time he did that.

"Through here" Belfast said as she led William into Hood's personal room.

"…She's quite handful when she's drunk" William commented as he put Hood above her bed.

"I admit she is" Belfast said to William as she looked at Hood.

"…Milord…where are you going?" Hood asked William with tone full of mirth.

"I'm heading back to the dinner event, Hood. You'll stay here" William said to Hood while he turned around.

"No, you. Stay!" Hood said as she sat up on her bed.

"Wha? Don't say that like I'm a dog or-" William stopped and turned around with furrowed brows.

"Stay!" Hood said while she pointed her right index finger on him.

"Gah for fuck sake…Fine, here I am!" William said as he approached and stood by Hood's bedside.

"Lie down, here!" Hood tapped the empty spot beside her on the bed.

William shrugged then his shoulders dropped, this may cause further problems but eh fuck it because Belfast still in the room and she could prevent any mishaps from happening. Because he felt confident with Belfast being present he then choose to stayed in the room, William lay himself on top of Hood's bed and rested his head on one of the pillows there.

"…Bel, what is she doing?" William asked Belfast who stared at him with amused eyes.

"I don't know, but let's see how this goes first" Belfast said to William while she smiled.

"You want me to go along with her drunk wishes?!" William asked Belfast with disbelieve laced on his voice.

"Yes. Maybe she will calm down after you did what she wants" Belfast said to William as she stared at him.

"…I'm counting on that hypothesis" William said then sighed as he laid back down.

"…Ehehehehe…You're so warm…you smells good, William" Hood said to William in giddy tone as she snuggled on his neck.

"…Oh that's just not fair, only when you're drunk that you called me by name?" William asked out loud while he frowned.

"Shut up! You're only my hugging pillow…The one I named Willy, doesn't talk back, not muscly enough, not handsome, doesn't smells good and can't even drink tea properly" Hood said to William with drunken haughty tone.

"…Ouch?" William said out loud while he cringed, that hugging pillow is obviously supposed to be him…

Hood apparently squeezed William tightly, her well-endowed breast squeezed his right arm tightly, her legs tangled on his right one, her scent combined with her perfume enticed his nose, her alcohol laced breath tickled his neck and that caused his mind to take a nose dive downright to inappropriate area where his imagination become wild enough to caused his pants to tighten. William widened his right eye when he felt it, the familiar sensation that he interpreted as a sign of fuck up in this situation. He looked down and saw his crotch had bulged painfully, Belfast stared at William's crotch that had large bulge that it threatens to unzip his pant's zipper by itself…the testament on how big his main gun was, the size of Yamato's main gun.

"…Shite…Um, Bel, could you please look away a bit?" William asked Belfast politely.

"Hmm…Did Hood arouse you, master?" Belfast didn't do that as she asked and kept staring at William's crotch.

"If I have to be honest, yes! Could you free me from her grasp? She's quite strong and I don't want to lose control then do something inappropriate to her!" William said to Belfast with serious expression.

…Belfast may have vowed that she belongs to her master both body and soul but she never said that she will fully obey her master orders, a privilege she could take advantage when she saw something that will benefit greatly to herself or her master. Perhaps this will finally pushed him over the edge, her master couldn't be horny while pretending to be otherwise forever and there's a limit on how long masturbation could help him. Belfast already noticed the subtle details that he indeed longed for a woman touch, but she'll play this methodically...Blazing straight to her end goal would be boring, she should tread slowly with him.

"…I have a suggestion" Belfast said while she smirked.

"Spill it" William said to Belfast.

"According to research, if a human male penis stood erect for few hours without rest it could cause some permanent damage on the tissue. Seeing the situation now, it is possible that your penis would be erect all night and it could cause impotency in the end" Belfast said to William as she approached his side on the bed.

"That's not helping at all Bel! I need solution for this mess!" William said to Belfast with widened eye.

"We have to calm your penis down, that's the solution" Belfast said to William as she kneeled by his side.

"How?! Do you want me to masturbate here?!" William brazenly asked Belfast.

"Even better…I'll help you out" Belfast said to William while she smirked.

"Huh?" William could only let out that sound in his brain crash.

Belfast climbed aboard the bed and sat on William's legs while carefully positioned herself so Hood won't be disturbed, luckily for her Hood untangled her legs away from William's own and Belfast could sit freely on top of his leg. He felt that Belfast up to no good, the one person he trusted to guard his back turns out to be the one who's going to messed him up.

"W-W-Wait a second! You're not serious are you!?" William asked Belfast in shout whisper to avoid waking Hood.

"No master, I am Belfast. Sirius is still away from this base" Belfast answered cheekily as she smirked.

"Ha? Who the hell-" William narrowed his right eye toward her.

"Now…Let this head maid service you…I'll make sure to make master satisfied" Belfast said to William while she smiled…seductively.

Belfast wasted no time as she approached William's crotch, she took a whiff on it as if to ingrain the smell directly to her brain…the head maid is secretly a pervert. Methodically and seductively, Belfast went out to reach William's zipper with her mouth, she bit on the zipper before she slowly pulled it down and exposed the bulge covered in white boxer that already wet due to pre-cum staining it. Belfast undo William's belt then pulled down his pants and boxer, she gasped a bit at the rising monster that appeared from it's hiding place.

18 centimeter, pulsating, circumcised penis stood erect in front of Belfast's face. She smirked a bit as her right hand gently touched William's cock, the owner of that beast was in dilemma between stopping what Belfast did or let this continue because damn it's been a while since he rubbed one out! She started to stroke the cock gently, moving her hand up and down slowly and William felt a pleasure he haven't experienced ever since years ago…Belfast increased her stroking pace, her glove made of silk enhanced the stimulus around William's penis.

"B-Bel…" William groaned as he stared at Belfast.

"You're quite big aren't you master? This one over here would definitely please any woman" Belfast said to William while she smirked seductively.

William widened his eye when he felt something warm wrapped his cock, Belfast used her tongue to wrap his cock before she gave a through lick from the base all the way to the bulbous tip. She used her tongue to lightly prod on his urethra before she used her tongue to licked the penis tip in circular motion, she then gave the tip a wet and powerful sucking kiss that forced William to growl in pleasure. Belfast continued to stroke his rod, she set the speed in random so William couldn't know when she will speed up or slow down…He had a hard time controlling his ejaculation.

"H-How are you…so good at this?" William asked Belfast.

"I've looked through some references" Belfast said to William while she smiled.

"That's your favorite pastime or somethi-. Oh!" William said before he groaned in pleasure.

Belfast didn't want to hear any of it as she put the penis tip inside her mouth while she licked it in circular motion, she stared at William directly in the eye before she slowly bobbed her head slowly up and down…Fucking sexy! That's what ran inside William's mind when he saw Belfast gave him (quite possibly) the best blowjob he ever got while she stared sexily at him, he briefly looked at Hood beside him who still asleep despite the constant slurping sounds Belfast made…She also took the liberty with her left hand and grabbed him by the balls, naturally that sentence described that he fucked up big time but on this context he felt extra pleasure from the gentle testicle massage he got from her. William sure Belfast already trained for this, he have a hard time restraining himself from cumming!

"How does that feels?" Belfast asked William while she smirked.

"…Really good" William admitted to Belfast.

She put William's penis back on her wet and wrapped it with her pink tongue, she then combined everything by licking the tip, bobbed her head up and down while she massaged his balls. That's what people would call an all-out blowjob right there and man William who haven't gotten some action for two fucking years was helpless against Belfast full frontal assault. He felt something bubbling and he know he won't even last for a minute, but he got his own pride because no way in hell he's going to ejaculate this quickly when this hot maid gave him a blowjob…Oh who was he kidding, the dam will broke loose like Niagara falls at this rate!

"Bel, I'm cumming!" William said to Belfast while he gritted his teeth.

Belfast widened her eyes as William's penis spurted thick ropes of cum like a dam broke loose, William became tensed as he came inside Belfast's mouth. Belfast felt her mouth filled to the brim and she swallowed the thick sperm inside her mouth while she kept pumping William's penis to make sure everything was let out…What a release! William felt he came much more than when he rubbed one out by himself, she's just basically milked him! Before long Belfast stared at William directly in the eye as she swallowed the rest of the load of thick cum, turns out he wasn't finished yet because as soon as Belfast released his cock from her mouth he released the rest of his load…William coated Belfast's beautiful face with his cum, giving her a nice facial release and believe it or not it's in complete accident. Belfast looked like she didn't care, she gulped down the load of cum inside her mouth effortlessly...

"Did you just…" William was left speechless at what he saw.

"Mhm~…So thick, like jelly…You're quite backed up, master" Belfast said to William with sultry tone then she licked her own lips.

…That's a big mistake he made tonight because that's all it takes for him to get hard again, though not as strong as steel yet William's main gun did get erect and ready to fire another salvo. Belfast smirked while William frowned in embarrassment, that gun of his was so honest! But man, he had to admit, if Belfast willing to go for another round even after he came he's more than willing to do it now because screw it, he's in knees deep already.

"…Oh my, looks like once is not enough? In that case, I might need to redouble my efforts. Ufufufu" Belfast giggled while she once more stroked William's cock.

.

…William woke up feeling fresh to be honest, last night he had to ejaculate three times before his erection died down and he could be freed from Hood's tight grasp after an hour. He didn't rejoin the event as he immediately head back to his room, he sat and contemplated what really happened because holy hell he got a blowjob and what kind of sane man won't be happy about it?! But really, that was really risky what he did with Belfast and he stumbled upon this question…Was that a onetime thing only or did Belfast willing to do it again if he asked her? No, he know how this works…Belfast did subtly dropped the hint back then that all he need is to ask her if he need some release for his 'pent up frustration'.

But he still felt like he should be careful, there's no way in hell he reported this to Lena or High Command because god knows what kind of plan they got for him if they know he was involved sexually with the ship girls. In a sense he was spoiled already by Lucas regarding the grand plan, William was sure that if Lucas got a wind that if William started to get sexually involved with them he will surely tell him to had sex with the intention to impregnate the girls…That caused him to sweat in nervousness but aroused at the same time, he imagined himself pinning down Belfast in mating press position while he filled her womb to the brim with his load of fertile sperm to impregnate her while Hood laid down beside them waiting with her legs spread open with her vagina drenched as she fingered herself in eagerness to be fucked-

SMACK!

…William slapped himself as hard as he could with widened right eye as he regulated his breath, WHAT THE FUCK WAS HE THINKING SO EARLY IN THE MORNING FOR FUCK SAKE?! God! His libido wasn't getting any better with that blowjob, it gets even worse now! The fault of active man with raging hormones! He need to calm down his overly eager main cannon strapped on his crotch, William looked at the clock on his bed stand and his problem was solved immediately as his erection died on its own because it reads 08.22 AM so that means he missed the final fight between Zara and Hiei. He quickly bolted to the bathroom, took a quick shower, dressed quickly and left his room to head toward the dock area…Guess what happened next?

"How is this possible? Did you not want to watch me fight? How can you overslept?" Zara said to William while she pouted and folded her arms.

"I uh…" William failed to come up with an excuse, he as well try to avoid looking at her giant boobs that was emphasized by Zara by folding her arms underneath it.

"Is that an attempt for excuse that I hear? Don't you have something else to say to me?" Zara asked William with cold menacing tone and shadow casted on her eyes.

"Yeah…Zara, I'm terribly sorry for what happened alright? I'm willing to do anything to make it up to you…" William said to Zara while he stared at her straight in the eyes, he genuinely felt bad for missing the fight.

"…At least you got the guts to admit your mistake…Bene, you owe me for what happened comandante so clear your schedule tonight!" Zara said to William while she pointed her right index finger to William's face, man she must be pissed…

"Will do ma'am" William said to Zara while he nodded his head.

Zara didn't spare him any smile as she left him alone near the empty fight arena, she walked quickly and still in full of fury that William wasn't brave enough to call out to her…Man, he screwed this one, he also need to apologize to Hiei too. Fortunately he didn't need to look very far as he noticed Hiei stood on the pier while she stared toward the sea, all by herself under the grey clouds with strong winds and waves crashed into the concrete pier around her. William braved himself, he's at fault and as a gentleman it's his supposed nature to apologize. He made it close enough to touch her, but he didn't tapped her shoulder instead he called out to her.

"…Umm, Hiei?" William said her name with unsure tone.

"Ara, shikikan-sama" Hiei said as she turned around while she smiled a bit…Damn, even she could still smile despite him messing up.

"Look…I'm sorry for not witnessing the final battle, it was my fault and uh…I was hoping that I could make it up to you" William said to Hiei while he shuffled his right feet a bit.

"…I was hoping that a certain shikikan could witness me during the fight. I think if he did, the fight would be more intense than before" Hiei said to William while she stared at her sheathed katana.

"Oh…Is that so" William said out loud while he looked to the right side.

"Because of the absence of that man, I was not able to perform at my very best…That certain man better take responsibility~" Hiei said to William while she pouted.

"…A stroll this evening, what do you think?" William asked Hiei while he smiled a bit.

"Ufuufufu…I would love to go" Hiei said while she smiled.

Honestly speaking, Hiei was a lot gentler and she could still smile so from that interaction William could come into conclusion. Zara won the fight, she's pissed that he wasn't there to congratulate her directly. Hiei lost the fight, she wasn't pissed but instead dissatisfied with her result and lack of apparent 'motivation'…William thought that there's something wrong alright, Belfast didn't come to wake him up for some reason. Usually when she couldn't do that she would send someone else to do so, but she didn't so something is up…Someone hid behind stack of boxes near William and Hiei, her yellow eyes stared toward William while she noted down several things on the notepad she carried.

"…Guilt tripping shikikan is the best way to get what you want, this info will sell nicely…Mwehehehehe" The stalker said while she laughed evilly.

"Did you hear something?" William asked Hiei while he looked around.

"…No?" Hiei said to William despite the fact she saw pair of green cat ears behind the boxes.

.

…A girl with waist long crimson hair, blue eyes behind black oval glasses, who also wore Azur Lane Blue Officer Uniform stared intently at the monitor in front of her, she inputted several commands on her keyboard concerning the program she ran on the computer. The girl sighed when the program displayed 'No match found' writing in bright red, she took a glass of coffee on her table's left side and sipped on the cold coffee which she blanched upon tasting it. She put the glass back on the table as she returned to type new set of command, it's been a long day and her coffee already went cold…She heard some footsteps from her back and she looked behind, she saw Lena approached her while she yawned…Looks like she haven't gotten enough sleep too.

"Hey Lena" The girl said to Lena while she smiled a bit.

"Do you have results, Nora?" Lena asked Nora as she looked on Nora's display screen.

"Just some bits and pieces, at least now we know a bit about those subs…Those Nautilus subs that Commander Johnson sunk near the isle? They were the subs that we 'thought' to be sunk during Operation Guillotine" Nora said to Lena while she kept typing.

Operation Guillotine was a failed naval operation during the Great War where a combination of Royal Navy and Eagle Union fleet assaulted an island controlled by Ironbloods on Gulf of Aden, they set up a naval base over there in preparation to rendezvous with Sakura Empire fleet that crossed the Indian Ocean as reinforcement. Both forces clashed to wrestle control of the area, Azur Lane even brought thirteen submarines for the operation that unfortunately were sunk with depth charges by Sakura Empire cruisers and destroyers. One of the most devastating naval defeat Azur Lane experienced in Middle East campaign, the whole campaign was a mess to begin with.

"That operation is a total clusterfuck, you're telling me that from thirteen submarines reported sunk four of them reappeared just like that?" Lena asked Nora while she folded her arms.

"With the chaos that's going on during that operation, it'll be easy to sneak out four subs out of the combat zone. We're currently running through our entire database to search for any appearance of the missing crew members of those subs" Nora explained to Lena.

"This makes the theory regarding traitor inside Azur Lane even more likely...Do you have a list of suspects?" Lena asked Nora while she rubbed her chin.

"I've did what you told me to do and so far no one came up yet…I might need to be more creative in my approach" Nora said to Lena while she pointed toward her computer screen.

Lena stared at the computer screen and inspected the program that Nora ran, Lena wasn't that good with computer but even she could noticed that the analytical program that Nora ran lacked good evidence to came up with conclusion on who is the traitor among them. Lena knew few things to begin with, the traitor have high rank since most of the info that was leaked only known to those in the upper management, the traitor is quite adept with computer because they bypassed Azur Lane Battle Network security system without being flagged and one thing that really concerned her, this traitor is quite possibly knew how the bureaucracy within Azur Lane works so they could always find a gap to exploit in order to do their activity…Lucas and her were being quite careful to the point of paranoia.

"Alright…Keep your eyes and ears open, I want anyone who accessed the database regarding 'that' specific part other than Lucas and I to be tagged" Lena said to Nora as she tapped her left shoulder.

"Whoa, don't you think you're being paranoid, Admiral?" Nora asked Lena with cocked eyebrows.

"At this point I'm not taking any chances-" Lena said to Nora with serious expression.

Alarm blared all over the room and everyone scrambled to their station, all of the operators quickly crosschecked with everyone inside the headquarters as well checked on their system. Nora was about to sip her coffee immediately put her glass down as she changed the display from analytical program into Azur Lane Battle Network specified for Central Command Operation, by now everyone was sure that this is not a drill and someone really pushed the alarm button for real.

"…What the hell!?" Lena asked out loud.

"Alarm over sector A-17!" One operator shouted from across the room.

"Isn't that our archive room?! Lock down the whole headquarters, no one gets in or out!" Lena said out loud

"But ma'am, some of the cargo planes are going to take off soon-" One operator said out loud to Lena.

"I'm initiating Overlord Protocol, I'm taking direct command until High Commander Lucas arrive on site…I want the entire headquarters locked down!" Lena said to that operator with serious expression painted on her face.

Overlord Protocol, a protocol created in time when High Commander of Azur Lane couldn't take command and dire situation happened so someone high ranked need to take control of the situation management. Naturally, only those within Azur Lane High Command Council such as Lena could initiate this protocol and since Lena was the only high ranked personnel who were on the control room she have to do it…So far this protocol never had to be initiated since Lucas usually bolted his way to this room whenever emergency happened, his office was only few meters away from the control room after all. But Lena haven't seen him even after half a minute pass, he leave her no choice.

"Yes ma'am!" The operator immediately obeyed her.

"Send a squad to sector A-17 immediately, non-lethal takedown only" Lena said to Nora while she scowled.

"Fireteam Nordic, you're the closest to A-17. Head there and apprehend the intruder, non-lethal force only" Nora said to a fireteam leader through radio.

"Roger that ma'am, we're on it" Leader of Fireteam Nordic immediately responded on the radio.

To think someone would dare to infiltrate Azur Lane Headquarters? They asked for death, unless given explicit order to any infiltrator would experience shoot on sight welcome policy from the guards. Lena watched as the whole headquarters locked down any entrance and delay anyone who either try to get in or out from the site, she looked to the large screen in front of her to witness another alarm tripped on Sector A-17 and this one section on that sector being breached make her came to a conclusion that gave her goosebumps.

"…Further intrusion detected over archive room, ship girl's documents section!" Nora said out loud while she monitored her screen display

"Whoever that asshole is they're up to no good with the ship girls! Intercept them at all cost! Double time it!" Lena said to Nora.

"Fireteam Nordic, what's your status?" Nora asked the leader of Fireteam Nordic again on radio.

"Still searching for the intruders Olympus, we'll notify you as soon as we-" Leader of Fireteam Nordic said on the radio before they heard something fell to the floor.

"Lead is down! I repeat, lead is down!" A member of Fireteam Nordic said on the radio.

So the infiltrator set up ambush for the security team, Lena heard gunfire on the radio and Nora displayed a screen from a CCTV on the area. They saw several Azur Lane Personnel who carried MP5 SMGs taking cover behind walls while being fired at by one person with an MP7 fired in one handed toward the guards, everyone assumed that the lone man is the infiltrator. The guy went back inside to the archive room, the guards immediately pursued the infiltrator while one stayed behind with the wounded leader of Fireteam Nordic.

"Contact! Contact! Fireteam Nordic in pursuit! Eyes on intruder! Caucasian, blonde haired, around 180 centimeters tall and wearing Azur Lane Urban BDU! Armed with MP7!" Another member of Fireteam Nordic said on the radio.

"Roger that Nordic, we're sending backup…Myrmidon Guard Brigade, you are cleared to mobilize and apprehend the intruders. Secure the area! This is not a drill! I repeat, this is not a drill!" Nora said out loud on the radio.

Myrmidon Guard Brigade is the guardians of Azur Lane Central Headquarters, the brigade is consisted of elite unit that specifically tasked to guard central headquarters and its surroundings. Trained to be the most elite among Azur Lane unit, they however lacked real combat experience since let's be honest…no one really want to fuck with Azur Lane central headquarters which looked like an impenetrable fortress. These men and women on the elite guard brigade spend majority of their day training and they naturally itched for some action, all of them quickly sprang into action when they heard that the headquarters got some intruders…Finally, some real shit to shoot.

"Understood ma'am, moving to sector A-17 now" One member of Myrmidon guard said on the radio.

"We will now seal every entrance to Sector A-17, good luck everyone" Nora said out loud on the radio.

"Alright…This should restrict that intruder's movement" Lena said out loud while she narrowed her eyes.

"Activity…Experimental research document section, someone is up to no good huh?" Nora said out loud while she scowled.

"No kidding. What's your thought on this, Nora?" Lena asked Nora as she also looked at Nora's computer screen.

"Well, I got two conclusion. First, this is all part of their plan to infiltrate our central headquarters and get their hands on hard data copy. Two, we got too close to the traitor that they panicked and strived to escape from here…Actually, make that three…This is but a start to an attack, a diversion" Nora said out loud while she typed on her keyboard.

The large screen displayed two sector of the central headquarters suffered some damage and the operator quickly displayed the large overlay of central headquarters and focused on the sector near them, the two displays shown that the maintenance access way doors were blown off as several men dressed in black poured out of the doors carrying various small arms weaponry. Lena felt like one of her veins just popped trying to contain her frustration and stress, Nora sighed because she probably just jinxed their whole situation with her hypothesis.

"…I hate it when I'm right" Nora said to Lena with her eyes half closed.

"Security breach detected over sector D-6 and C-17!" One operator said out loud.

"CCTV feeds on main screen for those two groups, now!" Lena quickly ordered the operator.

The large screen in front of them displayed two CCTV view where they could see group of armed men dressed in black moving in tactical formation while they shoot their guns at the employees, many of them fight back by using their sidearm but they were still affected by the suddenness of the attack to coordinate any effective resistance. Lena grimaced at what she saw, this is not good…Just as she thought that the door to the command center was opened as Lucas entered the room running, the man's face looked serious as he looked at Lena.

"…What are they after?" Lucas asked out loud as he approached Lena.

"There you are! Where have you been?!" Lena asked Lucas with hands on her hips while she scowled.

"I was on the toilet alright! My asshole won't cooperate…what's the situation?" Lucas asked Lena again.

"We got initial breach over sector A-17, we suspected the intruder was accessing documents regarding the ship girls and experiment records. A fireteam currently pursuing the intruder, that until we got two security breach over sector D-6 alongside C-17 and that's the display in front of us. Overlord Protocol is in effect sir, shall I hand the authority back to you?" Lena explained the whole situation before she asked Lucas.

"Yeah. Attention everyone, Overlord Protocol is no longer active…High Commander is retaking direct command from Admiral Helena" Lucas said out loud and the operators quickly relayed the message to everyone.

Ship girls document section and experiment records? Well, Project Custos Terrae wasn't exactly a secret among them in Azur Lane so Lucas didn't worry too much about it. What worried him was the fact that he kept the plan for genetic modification a top secret project and several files on the records could be tied to that experiment attempt, if it leaked out then safe to say it'll be a complete uncontrollable mess that will fuck up everything they have planned and caused some unforeseen consequences.

"…Get me Commander William Blaze" Lucas said to Nora with calm tone.

"He's on the line sir" Nora said to Lucas while she smiled at him.

"You have his number on speed dial huh?" Lucas asked Nora while he smirked a bit.

"Well you often contacted him, it's only natural that I saved his numbers" Nora said to Lucas while she shrugged and smiled.

"…Commander William Blaze here" William answered the call.

"This is High Commander of Azur Lane speaking…Commander Blaze, I want your base on alert and the ship girls on stand-by for sortie in case the situation escalated" Lucas said to William with calm tone.

"Did something happened? I need the details first before I could take any further action" William asked to Lucas with concerned tone.

"Central Headquarters is under attack by infiltrators and we're currently try to control the situation, there's a possibility that your base would also get hit. I want everyone to be ready for any possibilities" Lucas explained to William the outline of the situation.

"…Got it, you could notify me for an update over the battle net. We'll prepare ourselves here, good luck central command" William said to Lucas with serious tone.

Lucas smiled, William did knew when he have to act serious when he could fuck around regarding his relation with central command. Lucas racked his brain to think, who are these people who attacked them? Crimson Cleanser is surely a prime candidate but frankly speaking they lacked any elite personnel that could execute this kind of attack that require high coordination effort, are they The Gemini Squad that managed to kidnap Eldridge? Seems likely, but not even he could be sure without additional evidence.

"Sir! We lost a fireteam over sector D-5" Nora said to Lucas while she stared at her computer screen.

"I see…Nora, can you predict their movement?" Lucas asked Nora while he folded his arms.

"…Still too abstract for the moment sir" Nora said to Lucas in dejected tone.

"Hey…I think this would help" One operator said out loud.

The operator switched the display of the large screen in front of them, the screen shown them a YouTube page with a live broadcast video. The video shown them a perspective of the attacker, this one guy carried G36C with red dot scope and he mercilessly fired at anyone even when they're unarmed. Lucas scowled, a rare sight coming from him. If there's one thing he couldn't tolerate is the massacre of the non-combatants, even though he knew sometimes it is necessary when there's no other option but these people did it because they can…an honorless cur like them don't deserve any respectful treatment from him, he'll make sure of it.

"…Live broadcast over YouTube?" Lena asked out loud while she squinted her eyes.

"Yeah ma'am, transmitted directly from one of the intruders…Must've had a Go Pro strapped on their helmet" One of the operators said to Lena.

"Look at the title 'It will be done, Azur Lane Central Headquarters Assault'…These guys either way too good or they are cocky as fuck" Nora said out loud while she scowled.

"Broadcast this information over our battle net, tell the guards to use this broadcast as reference to hunt them down" Lucas gave his order to the operators in the control room.

Everyone immediately get to work by coordinating with everyone to put a stop to these attackers, Lucas observed the broadcast as he try to learn anything…These men knew the layout of the headquarters which could be disorienting for newcomers, they've been planning this attack for a while. They shoot their weapons precisely toward the center of the mass, they are trained bastards. They shoot anyone who stand in their way, they are merciless killer. Safe to say, who they fought here were won't surrender that easily…Lucas felt that these men won't stop until they die.

"…They're good" Lucas commented as he narrowed his eyes.

"They keep advancing sir! Multiple targets passing sector B-9!" Nora said to Lucas while she typed on her keyboard.

"Seal off all entrance to sector A-1" Lucas said to Nora.

"…Control is not responding!" Nora said out loud with a surprised tone.

"What do you mean it doesn't work?" Lena asked out loud to Nora.

"Someone jammed it! I-I can't get a lock on who! We lost control around sector A!" Nora said to Lena with serious expression on her face.

"…The traitors?" Lucas asked out loud.

"It's possible…Nora?" Lena asked Nora.

"…I got their movement pattern, they have passed every important section before us…There's a huge possibility they are heading for section A-1!" Nora said to Lena and Lucas.

Both Lena and Lucas stared at the large screen again as they watched the simple simulation of the infiltrators movement prediction that Nora created, they all came to same conclusion that their target is the command center. If they targeted the control center directly then there's a big chance that they will attempt to assassinate Lucas, this is not a silent assassination attempt but a loud one gun blazing to spread terror and send a message.

"…What's the status of the guards on entirety of sector A?" Lucas asked out loud to the operators.

"…They're not responding to our hails sir! The jammer must've also disabled our radios!" One operator responded to Lucas.

"Then contact them through the battle net!" Lena said out loud to the operator.

"Stand by…Its message only, ma'am" The operator said to Lena.

"Doesn't matter! Tell The Myrmidons to gather around our control room immediately! We're under imminent attack!" Lena said out loud to the operator.

"Yes ma'am!" The operator responded as he begun to type rapidly.

The entire control room heard automatic gunfire just outside the room and all of the personnel inside the control room looked toward the entrance behind them, more than one of them stood up from their station while they looked at the double door entrance nervously. Lucas took out his custom built S&W 500 Hand Cannon from a sheath underneath his jacket, checked the rounds on it's cylindrical magazine then set it for fire. Lena reached for her FN Five Seven handgun she has on her back hip and took it out, she disengaged the safety and pulled the slide to load the first 5.7 caliber rounds to the firing chamber.

"Get ready!" Lucas said out loud to everyone inside the room.

Everyone took out their sidearm and take cover on anything that could potentially shield them from bullets, their working station, concrete pillars and some even huddled close to one another trying to make use of their chair…Lena hid behind a work station with Nora who nervously took out her USP.45 handgun while Lucas was just across her also hiding behind a working desk. Both of them waited patiently for the attacker to breach their only entrance to the room, as soon as that door was breached dozens of guns inside this room would surely be fired…But the attacker haven't breached the door, even after one minute had passed.

"…They took their time huh?" Lena said out loud with her gun pointed toward the entrance.

"…I don't like this" Lucas commented as he tighten the grip on his revolver.

BOOM!

"Here they come!" Lucas said out loud as he started to fire his revolver.

"Grenades! Get down!" Lena shouted to everyone on the room.

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

Flashbangs exploded and it did blinded several operators while those who were quick enough emerged from their cover then started to fire their sidearm, the attacker and the defender exchanged bullets and harsh language but the defender knew they are severely outgunned. Most of them were operators who spend majority of their time with their computer instead training on the firing range so they are basically fucked, that's why most of them pinned down by precise fire from the attackers…saved for some people. Lucas rapidly executed six attackers in quick succession with his hand cannon that McRee would yell 'Damn son!' if he ever saw what Lucas just did.

Lena fired her handgun rapidly but she still scored headshots each time, she ran out of ammo on her magazine so she ducked down for cover, ejected the magazine, inserted the fresh one, disengaged the lock and fired at the attacker again all in under three seconds. A bullet grazed her hair but that didn't deter Lena from aiming her handgun toward the bastard who shot her and put two rounds on his forehead, two more attacked appeared from cover near the door but before Lena could shoot them Lucas steal the kill by rapidly fired his revolver again.

Lucas ducked down as several burst of bullets hit the desk in front of him, he looked at Lena who nodded her head once toward him. She raised out of cover while she fired several shot and Lucas followed suit by fired at four attacker who died when the large magnum bullet penetrated their head and throat, the remaining attacker were about to attack again but they had to cancel it because dozens of Myrmidon Guards arrived on site and they don't mess around by shooting anyone who dare pointed their guns toward them. The operators alongside Lucas and Lena still fired at anything that moved near the entrance, that's until one of the guards shouted out loud.

"Stand down! Stand! Down! We got them! Contact eliminated!" One Myrmidon Guard shouted out loud.

"Alright! Double check every single one of those fucks! If any of them is still alive, make sure they don't die! I want them interrogated!" Lena said to that Myrmidon Guard who could only nodded his head.

Lena heard someone groaned beside her and she saw that Nora got hit on her upper left chest area, she quickly set Nora who leaned on the table down to sit on the floor and leaned on the table. Nora trashed around in pain while Lena tried to put some pressure on Nora's wound, based on the size it looked like she got hit by a 5.56mm caliber rounds so someone who shot her used a rifle. Lena checked on the wound and noticed that the bullet went through her and exited to her back, won't be a pretty sight but at least her chance to live is quite high.

"Nora, it's okay! It's okay! It's just flesh wound! You'll live!" Lena said to Nora with calm tone.

"…It hurts, Lena!" Nora said to Lena while she gritted her teeth in pain.

"Wait a bit…" Lena said to Nora while she stood up.

Lena went and grabbed a first aid kit by the wall then she took out all the stuff inside the kit to treat Nora's gunshot wound, she will administer first aid efficiently and effectively. Her knowledge she get from basic training and experience really helped her, Lena successfully treated the entry and exit wounds to buy Nora some time and prevented her from bleeding out…Lena stared at Nora's clothes which was drenched dark blue by Nora's blood, Lena frowned as she helped Nora sat on an empty chair and leaned her on it so Nora could rest.

"…You're a lifesaver…Thanks a lot, Lena" Nora said to Lena while she smiled.

"Don't sweat it, friends helped each other. Now relax, the medic will be here in a moment" Lena said to Nora while she smiled.

"Sir, we got the first intruder. He's apprehended on sector E-1" One Myrmidon Guard reported to Lucas directly.

"Take him in and make sure he can't escape, I don't care how you do it" Lucas instructed to The Myrmidon Guard calmly.

"Sir!" The Myrmidon Guard saluted at Lucas and left the area.

Lucas opened his revolver cylinder chamber, he ejected the empty bullets before he pulled out a moonclip fresh with bullets. Lucas inserted the rounds on the moonclip to the revolver's empty round chamber, he closed the cylinder chamber and spun the gun on his right hand twice before he gripped the gun again and sheathed it on the holster hidden on his back belt. Lena approached Lucas who stared at her to see if she's injured, looks like she didn't and Lucas sighed a bit in relief...

"…Nice rapid shot back then" Lucas commented to Lena while he smiled a bit.

"You're not so bad yourself with the revolver" Lena said to Lucas as she shrugged.

"I've gotten a bit rusty though, should practice more often back on the range…Who taught you to shoot like that?' Lucas commented and asked as he massaged his right temple.

"Will did, back when Task Force Nimbus was just formed" Lena said to Lucas while she smiled a bit.

"Heh, the man is a pro with guns" Lucas snorted as he walked and looked at the large display screen.

"…So? What's the purpose of all this?" Lena asked Lucas while she folded her arms.

"…I think it's some form of message, the fact that they could strike us so easily, hacked our system and not afraid to publicize it around the world…These bastards aren't afraid to die too…" Lucas said out loud while he rubbed his chin in deep thought.

"Agreed…I'll handle the interrogation with that first intruder. You, you, with me, there's a possibility that's not the last of them" Lena said to Lucas then the guards as she walked toward the entrance of the control room.

"Just don't kill him, Lena" Lucas said to Lena while he smiled bitterly.

"I won't do that…yet" Lena said while she scowled then she inserted a fresh magazine to her FN Five Seven handgun.

.

"This is just in, an unknown armed group just assaulted Azur Lane Central Headquarters and broadcasted the attack directly on YouTube. The video quickly goes viral as people begun questioning Azur Lane's competency in their security measure since it appears these people managed to breach their central command relatively easy, so far there's no official statement yet from-" The reporter on TV said on the news channel.

"…This world isn't any better than the one I left two years ago…" William commented as he turned off the TV inside his office.

"…Shikikan-sama, the event is already canceled as you instructed" Souryuu said to William.

"How are the ladies reactions?" William asked Souryuu curiously.

"Disappointed for sure…Even Bismarck-sama looked dejected, I guess she really wants to show off her cooking prowess" Souryuu said to William with while she flipped several page on her board clip.

"I see…we have no choice on this one, Central Headquarters was attacked and there's a possibility that they will attack this base too" William said to Souryuu.

The world can't catch a break it seems, just as William thought things could be peaceful for a bit another mess appeared to show its face. William already sent a message to Lena, he asked her condition and brief situation that happened over on the central headquarters but so far he haven't received any reply from her. He couldn't blame her for the lack of response since she's probably busy cleaning up the mess and maybe gathered some information from those surviving attacker if there's one…

"I will go over and make sure the defenses are active" Souryuu said to William while she bowed a bit.

"Alright. Thank you, Souryuu" William said to Souryuu while he smiled.

Souryuu exited William's office and leave only one other person inside the office beside William, she's Enterprise who still contemplated the current situation while she stared at her phone. Enterprise just witnessed the live broadcast few seconds before it was taken out from the website, she gripped her phone at the thought that peace won't be something they could get anytime soon…Enterprise rose up from the couch as she stared at William who frowned as he walked toward his seat, he looked worried and pissed at the same time.

"…Have you seen the YouTube live broadcast, Enterprise?" William asked Enterprise as he sat on his seat.

"I did just now, commander" Enterprise said to William as she put her phone on her pocket.

"Your thoughts?" William asked Enterprise while he leaned on his seat.

"Professional, precise and they know where they're going…In my opinion, they're professionally trained unit" Enterprise said to William while she frowned a bit.

"Mercenaries is the most likely possibilities…But how much they were paid to execute that suicide mission?" William said out loud while he nodded his head

…Everyone automatically assumed that Crimson Cleanser was the responsible party for this attack, it also possible for them to hire mercenary service though William didn't know any mercenary group who bold or dumb enough to accept a job in striking Azur Lane Central Headquarters that not even Crimson Axis dare to knock on the back door. William thought on Lucas words back when he called, there's also a possibility that his base would come under attack so he better be prepared…William looked at Enterprise who stared at him, she would be best suited for this task.

"In any case, I want everyone to be on standby. Everyone should be ready for immediate sortie if required or ground combat like last time we are assaulted...Enterprise, I hope you don't mind but I want you to patrol the nearby area for any hidden threats. Take several others with you, make sure that you ladies are equipped to deal with anything from jets to submarine" William ordered Enterprise on what to do.

"Sir yes sir! How long should we patrol the area?" Enterprise said to William as she saluted at him.

"Two hours would do…Sorry to send you and the others out in bad weather like now, seriously, something is really wrong with Mother Nature this year" William said to Enterprise while he stared at the window behind him.

"Don't worry about it, I'm more than happy to ensure our safety. I'll be going now, we'll notify you if we found anything" Enterprise said to William while she smiled confidently.

"Got it, good luck out there" William smiled as he nodded his head.

Enterprise quickly exited William's office, William was alone at last…Belfast couldn't be reached, Hood also couldn't be contacted, Prinz was busy on the dorms for something, Kongou was busy with Haruna and Zuikaku…None of his secretaries is currently available, granted there's no work for today but he still felt something was off in this case when none of them dropped by for even once to his office today. Perhaps it's a sign that he should enjoy his alone time? Didn't he kind of complained to god that the girls didn't give him some space? William thought on what to do but he couldn't find anything to do except for…Yeah, fulfilling his promise to Hiei, that could work…William grabbed his phone and quickly dialed Hiei's number, asking her for a simple date shouldn't hurt.

"…Hiei? Hey, the weather is kind of bad but I still want to fulfill my proposal. How about we chat on my office? I could brew us some tea" William said to Hiei while he smiled.

"Just the two of us shikikan-sama?" Hiei asked William in soft tone.

"Yup, no one else around" William said to Hiei while he leaned further to his seat.

"I'd love to…I'm on my way, shikikan-sama" Hiei said to William.

"I'll be waiting" William said as he hang up the call.

.

**Warning! Viewer discretion is advised! Oh wait, I should put that at the start of the chapter? Too bad…Anyway, that's my first attempt at writing 'steamy scenes' which in actuality I want to make it longer but I realized that I've went pass 15k words on this chapter so I cut it short…sorry about that, I regretted the fact that I underused Belfast's greatest assets. **

**I also updated the profile picture with visual representation of William's upcoming battle armor, a bit clunky and minimalistic but that was caused by my lack of current drawing skill. Had to draw inspiration from Command and Conquer 3 TIberium Wars GDI Commando (goddamn I always like that unit!) to create the armor, I'd say it turned out pretty well despite the hiccup with the coloring (something I always struggled with)**

**Nevertheless, I want to thank you readers for your review, follow and favorite with this story and I really appreciate your feedback. Let me know your thoughts, I'll get the next chapter out soon (I hope) so stay tuned until then!**

**Until next time!**

**\- Dasmara**


	15. A slow day full of thoughts

BZZZZZZZZTTTTTTTTT!

"GRAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" The manly scream reverberated around the dimly lit room.

"Who?" A manly voice asked out loud.

"…F…Fuck off" The previously screaming voice said out loud.

The blonde man who said that was dressed with Azur Lane Urban BDU sat on a chair with his limbs cuffed to the chair, yes he's the infiltrator that went inside the archive room. He's sweating heavily, his breathing ragged, his nose bloodied, his mouth equally so and he stared at the man in front of him. The man wore black t-shirt, grey pants and black combat boots stared at the infiltrator directly in the eye. The man snorted as he turned around to look at the table behind him, the table were filled with dozens of tools…torture tools and he put down the taser on his right hand. He then walked to the door beside a one way mirror, he entered it and close it again.

Inside it he saw several people who watched the whole thing from behind a one way mirror, several military personnel who stood up and few analyst who worked on the console directly behind the mirror. The man who tortured the infiltrator approached the only commanding officer in the room, that person is Helena McAllen. She watched the whole thing and must say that she's impressed, for a man to persevere like that infiltrator and sat through Azur Lane torture session? He's a special force rating. Though, Azur Lane was mild in their torture technique compared to Crimson Axis which won't hesitate to use illegal drugs in their effort.

"Admiral, that man is quite resistant. I've tried several techniques and he didn't break yet, it's possible he received a training or consumed some kind of drug before...Should I use off the record method?" The man asked Lena while he frowned.

"…Don't worry, I'll take it from here. You three, with me…we're going to coax info out of that guy's mouth" Lena said to the two men beside her.

Lena entered the room with three other men, the torturer approached the strapped infiltrator before he launched a right hook at his face which caused the infiltrator to grunt in pain. The infiltrator fell to the floor due to how hard the man hit him, the two other raised the chair upwards and the previous man launched another right hook and the infiltrator groaned in pain as fresh batch of blood spewed from his mouth due to the teeth that was dislodged by that powerful right hook. Lena raised her hand a bit to signal the men to stop, she looked at the infiltrator straight in the eyes.

"Do you know who I am?" Lena asked the infiltrator with calm tone.

"…Heh" The infiltrator snorted.

"Answer me, do you know who I am?" Lena asked the infiltrator again with calm tone.

"You won't get anything from me bitch!" The infiltrator said to Lena while he scowled.

"…Why do you people always insist on walking the hard way?" Lena sighed then said before she pulled out her FN Five Seven.

BANG!

"ARGH!" The infiltrator shouted in pain.

Lena just fired a single shot from her trusty handgun, the bullet hit the infiltrator on his lower right leg and several men around her flinched in surprise. The men around her have never been under her command before but rumor said that Lena could be a mean commander if she want to, though some dismissed that rumor because there's no way a beautiful and charming woman like her could do something atrocious. Those men surely weren't with her during The Great War where she displayed her ruthlessness, she's about to display that here if the interrogation goes south…

"Don't make me do this please, I had enough in one day with you and your friends messing up my second home" Lena said to the infiltrator while she frowned.

"…What…do you want?" The infiltrator asked Lena while he gritted his teeth.

"Same as before…Who do you work for? Give me names. Azur Lane treated their friends with utmost care, you could even work for us after all of this. We could use someone like you among us" Lena asked nicely to the infiltrator while she sheathed her handgun.

"Bullshit!" The infiltrator said out loud to Lena.

"Oh you don't believe me?" Lena cocked her eyebrows and folded her arms underneath her chest.

"You don't hesitate to shoot me!" The infiltrator said to Lena while he scowled.

"That's because you're still an enemy according to us, switch side now and we'll get you the proper medical aid…So which is it? Gentle medical care or do you prefer a straight amputation?" Lena asked the infiltrator in light hearted tone, she then snapped her finger.

…The infiltrator noted the two men behind Lena who moved toward the torture desk, one carried a first aid kit while the other one took out a machete. The infiltrator noticed that Lena wasn't kidding, she will ordered her men to cut his leg off if he didn't choose so he would need something to fend off the execution while get an advantage for himself. He only have info to offer toward Azur Lane, but the info he has itself may benefit them greatly. The infiltrator looked at his bleeding right leg, he need to make his choice here.

"…I need guarantees first" The infiltrator said to Lena.

"Oh now we're talking…Well, spill it, what do you want?" Lena asked the infiltrator while she smiled.

"…I want ten million grand and an ID change alongside plastic surgery, I need to disappear" The infiltrator said to Lena.

"That's it? Bwahahahahaha!" Lena asked then she laughed…out loud, not a single grain of woman elegance exist in that laughter.

Lena found the infiltrator's wish to be hilarious as hell, ten million grand? That's nothing compared to Azur Lane's total coffers. ID change? Azur Lane have made a lot of people disappear or faked their deaths by changing their ID's, it's so easy to do too. Plastic surgery? Pffftt! This is the cause of Lena's laughter the most, the man in front of her seriously thought that plastic surgery is going to save him from being hunted by Crimson Cleanser? Since she's greatly amused with all of this, Lena decided to play along for a bit.

"…I thought you're going to ask something even more brazen, what you ask is mere child wish for us…Fine, we could get you all of those. Ten million grand alongside ID change for you to disappear, plastic surgery could be done on Korea if you want to…Hey buddy, take care of that. Write it on check, paper appointment for the surgery and…where do you want to go after this?" Lena said to one of the men then asked the infiltrator.

"…Norway" The infiltrator said in low tone.

"And notify The Norwegian Embassy that they get a special guest coming in few days" Lena said to the man while she smiled.

"On it ma'am" The men saluted at her before he walked out of the room.

Well that was easier than the infiltrator thought, he was surprised to know someone with the rank of Admiral within Azur Lane High Command would want to negotiate with someone like him. Is she that desperate for some information? Then again it's unheard of for an Azur Lane admiral to participate in interrogation directly, maybe she's just inexperienced. Lena noted that the infiltrator looked confused at her, was granting what he wants as payment for information wrong?

"…You're willing to grant all of those for me?" The infiltrator asked Lena with unsure tone.

"If you're willing to speak. We are desperate for additional info, we can't exactly just let this attack goes unanswered so we would need something to work with. Please, help me and I'll help you…I'll be honest, you got one of your major leg veins popped so you don't have long before you bleed out" Lena said to the infiltrator.

"I want the proof for my payment first!" The infiltrator said to Lena with firm tone.

"Ah, as much as I want to give it quickly it of course would need time to prepare especially for the appointments. Clocks ticking buddy, don't do this to yourself" Lena said to the infiltrator while she smiled somberly.

"…F-Fine…I'll tell you" The infiltrator then said to Lena.

"Excellent news! Corporal, patch up his leg please" Lena said out loud then to the men behind her.

"Yes ma'am!" The corporal responded to Lena's orders.

"I want some tea, you want anything?" Lena asked the infiltrator while she smiled a bit

"…Tea sounds good" The infiltrator said to Lena.

"Wow, we have the same taste eh? Good, you'll need some drink to replace your lost fluids. Get us some tea and cookies from the pantry" Lena said while she smiled then ordered the men behind her.

"On it ma'am!" The man took off from the room.

The corporal went to patch the wound on the infiltrator's lower right leg while few others entered the room while they carried a table, they put the metallic table between Lena and the infiltrator then they undo the cuffs on the infiltrator's hands before they stood behind Lena. After some time the previous man returned with a tray filled with a plate full of chocolate chips cookie, a tea pot, two cups and a small bowl filled with sugar cubes. Lena decided to poured a cup for herself, she's quite thirsty since the firefight an hour ago.

"You got family?" Lena suddenly asked the infiltrator.

"Y-Yeah" The infiltrator answered Lena.

"Really? Wife? Children?" Lena asked the infiltrator again then sipped on her tea.

"…A wife" The infiltrator answered with hesitant tone.

"Ah…You know I also have a husband, he worked as a CEO for a certain corporation. Funny thing is, I'm still trying to love that man and this job didn't really give me a chance to do that…so I really value my day off. I married him due to obligation set by my bastard of a father who didn't think about her daughter happiness, that old shit bag didn't want to admit he fucked up either!" Lena said out loud then sipped on her tea.

"…Why are you telling me this?" The infiltrator asked Lena with hesitant tone.

"Just hear me out first, let me vent a bit here…Anyway, this marriage is lifeless and almost dull even! I've been married to that man for two years and I still didn't feel any sort of connection to him, it's a shame since he's a nice gentleman who often urged me to take extended vacation so we can spend time with each other…But, fate says no! My responsibility overlapped each other so much it will cause Grand Mac to look at itself and feel shame at it lacks of height! You will do me a great favor by doing this, I could just then hand over this entire mess so I could be free for a bit" Lena said as she put her cup of tea down on the table.

…Why the hell did she said all this to someone who could potentially kill her? But really, when she's frustrated she need to vent out somehow and beside what she said were all the truth. Who would want to stick on a lifeless marriage that started as a political and business marriage in the first place? Gold diggers for sure but she's not one despite her husband being filthy rich, she just want a husband who loved her back equally and someone who could be there for her when she need it! Hey, that sounded like the commander of that base filled with ship girls!

"I see…You said that you married your husband because of responsibilities?" The infiltrator asked Lena.

"Yeah! Even though I already have a man that I love! A Special Forces Commander! Tall, well built, handsome even and that guy loved me back from the bottom of his heart! We are one inch away from being married for fuck sake, but fate told us both no! Worse part is I have to work closely with him, bah! How am I supposed to move on from him?!" Lena said as she folded her arms.

Damnit, this entire situation really screwed her over. Who was she kidding? She still loved William from the bottom of her heart, working together with him makes it even harder for her to move on and she's pretty sure that the ship girls already flocked around him! Hood and Belfast were the one she suspected to be the most aggressive in getting close to him, she could see it. Prinz, the woman constantly teased him on purpose to get him to notice her. Illustrious? She may not look like it but she's not going to back down from the race. Bismarck? It's only a matter of time until she realized her own feelings. Shoukaku? Given the gap she'll swooped in to get her chance. Atago? She would strike him like a hungry lioness when he's alone…Let's not account the others that Lena isn't aware yet, he would have one girl that occupied his bed in daily basis in no time or even more!

"But enough about that, tell me about yourself" Lena said to the infiltrator.

"I uh…" The infiltrator said while he looked toward his feet.

"I see, not exactly comfortable yet huh? Well, fine by me, we'll get some time later to know each other" Lena said while she shrugged.

"…Admiral-" The infiltrator was about to speak.

"Ah, barley tea and chocolate chips cookie is a match made in heaven! Go on, you're missing out" Lena said to the infiltrator.

Lena took the cup and sipped on her tea, she then took a chocolate chips on the plate and bit on it to savor the chocolate bits then hummed in satisfaction. She munched on the cookie while the infiltrator stared at her, he thought that this admiral in front of him was too relaxed for someone who's going to interrogate him…the infiltrator hesitantly took the cup, filled it with tea and drink it down to stave off his nervousness. He then proceed to nibbled on the chocolate chips cookie, Lena smiled when she saw that the infiltrator is in fact a cooperative man.

"Now…Who do you work for exactly?" Lena asked the infiltrator with calm tone while she held her cup of tea like a fucking British lady!

"…We work for Crimson Cleanser, this operation was planned for months already. When we heard someone that our boss named 'Nimbus Knight' was freed from hell, we were anxious. Our boss revered this man as Azur Lane's 'last resort' and they freeing him would means that our time grows short" The infiltrator explained to Lena.

"Oh, did you mean Ronald?" Lena asked the infiltrator with offhanded tone.

"How did you-" The infiltrator widened his eyes in shock.

"Yeah, he's used to be one of us in the past…So anyway, he's the one who proposed this plan?" Lena asked the infiltrator again.

"As far as the majority of the people in our base knew, yeah. But I happened to meet someone he's familiar with, the man held some kind of power over our boss" The infiltrator said to Lena who furrowed her eyebrows.

"Really. Did you know who he was?" Lena asked the infiltrator then sipped on her tea.

"…I saw the man and I heard the boss mentioned the guy's name, 'Anton'. A big bald man with a mustache like those commissar you saw on old Northern Union movies" The infiltrator described the man.

Lena widened her eyes a bit as she was honestly chocked on her own tea, who the infiltrator described might be someone Lena's quite familiar with and she thought that she's quite a dimwit for not realizing it sooner. She took out her phone and opened it's gallery, there's a photo of a big bald man with thick mustache that shook hands with Lucas. She immediately shown the photo to the infiltrator who widened his eyes when he saw the pic, Lena's quite on point with her deduction just from the description…The infiltrator just didn't know that on Azur Lane Central Command there's not many a high ranked personnel with the name Anton, Lena liked it when things goes simple.

"…This guy?" Lena asked the infiltrator with a small frown.

"Yeah, yeah! That's him! That's the guy!" The infiltrator pointed his right index finger to Lena's phone screen.

"Alright…Do continue" Lena said to the infiltrator while she stared at the photo.

"We met at a hotel at that time and this Anton guy, he need our boss to cause some ruckus on Azur Lane Central Command. He didn't say why but our boss agreed without much questioning, at the expense that he's willing to give our boss a hefty payment" The infiltrator explained to Lena.

"What's the payment?" Lena immediately asked the infiltrator.

"In few days since the attack on this place, our boss would receive a cargo that's codenamed 'Marry'" The infiltrator said to Lena.

"Do you know what it is?" Lena asked the infiltrator.

"No" The infiltrator said to Lena while he shook his head sideways.

"Then where would the cargo delivered by Anton?" Lena asked the infiltrator again.

"Somewhere on Copenhagen" The infiltrator immediately answered.

…That's it, Lucas nightmare have become a reality. An exchange between traitors and terrorist within a neutral country would be a mess that everyone wished to avoid, but they saw no other means other than handling the mess directly. You wonder what's the problem? Azur Lane had to deploy a strike team to a neutral country, to handle an exchange of package that could very well be a weapon of mass destruction, they lacked actionable Intel and who knows how much influence Anton's treachery within Azur Lane itself? They could only assemble few teams and with minimum gear to handle this without drawing too much attention…Furthermore, Ironblood is just south of Copenhagen so if they want to do terror attacks they'll be right in Ironblood's front door! Damn, Lena hoped that things didn't go even worse!

"Huh, is that so…Anything else you could give me?" Lena asked the infiltrator.

"Location for our base of operation…We have one in New York, two in London and another one in Osaka" The infiltrator explained to Lena who folded her arms.

"Ho…Why did you access our archive room?" Lena asked the infiltrator again.

"Boss told me that if you want to get Azur Lane to panic then the best option is to breach their archive room, especially the ship girls section" The infiltrator said to Lena.

"I see…You really helped us, a lot. I respect someone who could be honest for the greater good" Lena said to the infiltrator while she smiled a bit.

But really, FOUR OPERATIONAL TERRORIST BASE on three major cities across the earth. Alright, Azur Lane has significant presence on New York, London is basically a fortress so two terrorist base on London is a definite red code and Osaka, if Lena's not wrong Sakura Empire possessed a research lab over there…Nothing looks good and the theories regarding the connection with all of these that swirled inside Lena's mind are not pretty, she need to warn Lucas immediately and they need to formulate immediate plan of action! She don't want any mass terror attack to happen, they already got Siren to deal with! The man that Lena sent out came back with a light brown folder, he handed it to Lena who checked the content of the folder then she smiled.

"Here's everything, you could check it yourself" Lena said while she throw the folder in front of the infiltrator's table.

"…It's all real" The infiltrator said out loud while he checked the papers within.

"Hey buddy, this is business. We don't want bullshit between us to happen right? Now, what do you say of becoming our informant in Norway hmm?" Lena shrugged then asked the infiltrator.

"…I'll pass" The infiltrator said with hesitant tone.

"Aww that's a shame! You have so much potential! But oh well, that's your choice…Do you promise not to cause any further trouble for us?" Lena asked while she grinned a bit.

"I promise" The infiltrator said to Lena.

"Not to rat us out to your former buddies?" Lena asked the infiltrator while she smiled.

"I promise that" The infiltrator said to Lena then packed the documents.

"Splendid!" Lena said while she grinned.

BANG!

…The infiltrator looked at Lena with shocked expression as fresh blood spurted out of a hole right on the center of his forehead, he leaned forward and he fell on top of the table lifelessly. Lena stared at the infiltrator with furrowed eyebrows and a scowl on her lips, in her hand was her FN Five Seven handgun with smoking barrel aimed toward the infiltrator. The men around her froze again, did Lena just basically broke the rule of war where you can't kill a prisoner? No one dare to speak as Lena raised herself from her seat while she sheathed her handgun, she stared at the dead infiltrator with eyes full of contempt.

"While I do respect someone honest I despise traitors with every inch of my being, you're only being honest when your life was threatened and weasel your way out of a situation to avoid responsibilities. You have no standings nor resolve! Someone who stays true to themselves even when they died while being interrogated have higher standings and honor than you! Did you really think we'll let you go after all of that? Pathetic piece of shit like you didn't deserve to live after what you've done!" Lena said to the infiltrator while she scowled.

"…Lena, what did I told you about not killing the infiltrator!?" Someone said out loud from Lena's back.

"I said 'I won't do that…yet' to you if I remember correctly" Lena said out loud without looking back.

"Hah…Damnit Lena, at least tell me you got something from him" That someone stood beside her, it's Lucas who looked at the dead infiltrator then sighed.

"Technically speaking, I do. We need to find Major General Antonio Lockwood and monitor him since he's dealing with Ronald to organize this attack, Crimson Cleanser would receive a package around few days from now on with codename 'Marry' on Copenhagen and we got four locations for their base of operation on New York, London and Osaka" Lena explained to Lucas while she looked at him.

…Lucas stared back at Lena with his mouth wide open then he facepalmed at the info he just heard, Antonio Lockwood? Lucas knew the man. Major General Antonio Lockwood is a decorated veteran of The Great War, the man and his forces were the one who held the frontline against Sardegna Empire army invasion near Iris Libre southern border. The man is a talented leader, cunning strategist and glory hound in a sense…If Lucas thought about it, him as a traitor within Azur Lane made sense in theory. Anton had never been a fan of Crimson Axis ever since before the start of Great War, what if the man was the one who formed Crimson Cleanser?

Also, Lucas would need to contact Erich regarding the problem with a cargo with unknown content being so close to Ironblood northern borders. Whatever Marry are, if Crimson Cleanser want it then it's nothing good. Furthermore, there are four operational Crimson Cleanser base and it's all within major cities where they could easily do any attack…The big question that also came up with this info, why CIA or MI6 didn't notify Azur Lane regarding those bases? Either they didn't know or something even more sinister is happening with them…Copenhagen, Lucas thought there must be a reason on why did those terrorist assholes pick Copenhagen as a place to do the exchange and he hoped it didn't involve civilians.

"Goddamnit, do they have to pick Copenhagen for this one? Fuck…But, good work…The man is quite cooperative, I can see why you kill him" Lucas said to Lena while he folded his arms.

"We got his phone which currently under analysis by our tech team and we're piecing every single info we got on this guy, it'll take some time before we could get additional Intel…What now?" Lena asked to Lucas with cocked eyebrows.

What indeed? Lucas racked his broken and perverted yet competent mind on the plan to fix this entire mess…Right now, they're in the dark with several branching paths to take and there's no sufficient Intel to light those pathways. Their priority is to find out what 'Marry' really is, then they need to either seize or destroy depends on the situation. While they do that, they need to make sure that Antonio Lockwood kept under constant surveillance so if he bail the fuck out then Azur Lane would know. Then they also need to plan an assault operation against four operational bases…Bah, there's no way they could do this quietly so they have to do all of those quickly while being under wraps as much as possible.

"We'll play Observe Then Bust The Nut game. I want Hunter Seeker unit on the road, hunt for those bases that the guy spoke of. I want Intel Division to find out what the hell is this package called 'Marry' and I want eyes on Antonio Lockwood…We don't have long so let's move it" Lucas said to Lena with somehow relaxed expression on his face.

"Should we secure Copenhagen or at least notify Denmark Authorities?" Lena asked Lucas while she frowned a bit.

"Nah, it'll spook those terrorists and this could be our only chance" Lucas said to Lena as he started to walk away from the dead body.

"Then should I inform Will at least?" Lena asked Lucas again while she followed close behind.

"Nah, let's not bother him. Until we have some solid lead, he could relax for a bit" Lucas answered Lena while he put on a smug smile.

"…That's not the face of someone who's about to let his trump card relax for a bit…What do you have in mind?" Lena asked Lucas, she know that face meant he had a plan in mind.

Yeah, what Lucas meant as relaxation doesn't mean William could relax however he likes because Lucas in his infinite wisdom have a plan for him. If he remembered correctly, Lucas promised William something and to do that they will need to make sure their base is 'empty' without him or the ship girls loitering around…Hold the fuck up Lucas, how could he empty an entire military base subtly? Simple, Lucas took out his phone and went to the gallery. He swiped the screen to side few times until he stumbled upon a picture of an island taken from the bird eye view, he handed his phone to Lena.

"I owe the ship girls some kind of compensation after canceling that friendship event and blowing the budget over set of clothes that my secretary had to drill my ass for two days, with construction drill if she could get her hands on one" Lucas said to Lena while he shrugged.

"Oh…This? A tropical island?" Lena asked out loud to Lucas.

"Owned exclusively by me, my pride and joy called Eden…And don't give me that accusing look, I'm not a corrupt bastard, I saved that island for my retirement plan and it took me ten years of saving up to buy that" Lucas said to Lena while he stared at her with half closed eyes.

"What? So you can spend the rest of your days inside a mansion on the island with curvy girls who are looking for sugar daddy surrounding you then open a resort with those girls as your employees dressed in bunny suit?" Lena asked Lucas in sarcastic tone while she stared at him with half closed eyes.

"Mother of god Lena, that was very specific…Thanks for the idea though, I'll be sure to do that later!" Lucas said to Lena while he grinned.

"Gah, you pervy old man…So, you want to clear out their base? What for?" Lena threw her hands up before she asked Lucas.

"I thought you already figured it out, I owe him something too" Lucas said to Lena with a meaningful smile on his face.

…Lena rewind every memory she stored up inside her head regarding every interaction between Lucas and William and her eyes widened in realization, she remembered the deal that Lucas and William made regarding the base expansion, increase in funds and the promise to give them any experimental result from their research. Looks like Lucas about to implement the first one, William was given a special treatment by Lucas and Lena started to get suspicious on why did he willing to go this far for William? This expansion plan would be enacted in few days, in order to use the treasury budget for the expansion plan then they will need to talk about it during the monthly meeting in a week…In conclusion? Lucas used his own asset to do this.

"…Lucas, you're a saint" Lena said to Lucas with a deadpan stare.

"Bah! That's too nice of you!" Lucas said to Lena while he blanched and walked away while he waved dismissively at Lena.

"No, really! You spent so much of your own money for him and the ship girls! The amount would be so much that it can't be called philanthropy anymore!" Lena said to Lucas with serious expression.

"Not like I ever got any real use for it except for alcohol, porn subscription and occasional hazardous fun anyway, the one I want to give my love and money to already essentially killed me with the only thing preventing me from killing myself physically is my duty to protect humanity…Might as well put it as investment, to those who might be our world's savior" Lucas said to Lena while he smiled a bit.

The woman who hated him to the core, his ex-wife…The divorce really fucked him. Lucas have his overwhelming wealth that he have collected for twenty years, twenty fucking years of secretly gathering his wealth! He could buy anything in the world with that amount of money he have and he's about to share the wealth with his wife…But yeah, she choose to divorce him then choose a replacement who's younger than him, who got more time to pamper her, cooler than him, more handsome than he is and probably have more stamina during sex than him. Lucas used to love his now ex-wife from the bottom of his heart, he pleaded her that he will fix everything with her and he got a smack to the face with a frying pan as an answer…repeatedly. He loved her too much at that time to report her for domestic abuse.

What was he thinking when he took this job as the leader of Azur Lane? He did this, he took this job and sacrificed so much so his wife and children could live peacefully! He fought tooth and nail, commanding his men directly in multiple occasion to ensure the decisive battle would be won by Azur Lane. But it looks like his wife can't appreciate that, turns out in reality she hated him and she put up with him just because she saw no other option to marry than him back then…He's just a last option for her, how she put up with him by acting lovey dovey for sixteen years of marriage baffled him. That revelation fucked him up, he took extended leave for ten months after that and couldn't even do what needs to be done properly when William was being court martialed two years ago…he owe William big time for that fuck up.

Since then, he was never the same man. He decided that he won't have another relationship with real woman, Central Headquarter mental health counsellor even stated to Lena that Lucas was 'broken' in a sense. When Lena heard what really happened from Lucas, she was pissed so much that she want to meet his ex-wife directly and beat some sense into her because believe it or not Lucas have become some kind of father figure to her. She was relieved in the end because the fucking bastard persevere through that shit storm of his civilian life, even when he lost his motivation to fight. Even though he's a different man than the one they knew in the past, he's still the man known as Fleet Admiral Lucas Carville who was the one nicknamed 'Cavalier' and the one Azur Lane always counted on in any situation.

"…There's a reason why you're the chosen one among us, Cavalier" Lena said to Lucas while she smiled softly.

"Well clearly Azur Lane overestimate my value, I'm just someone who's willing to share and got almost nothing to lose…Anyway ready The Manjuus because they'll be working overtime for this project, and make sure the info stays here until I say otherwise. I'm going to talk to Erich" Lucas said to Lena then exited the room.

"Aye aye~" Lena responded while she smiled.

.

"Ufufufufu! That really happened, shikikan-sama?" Hiei asked William after she giggled.

"Yeah! The bravest mad lad I ever knew back on high school, barged open a toilet stall when the teacher used it, throw a balloon filled with yellow paint toward him and bailed out from school under three minutes! That's when I decided I would never participated in any truth or dare game" William said to Hiei while he smiled widely.

William and Hiei sat on the sofa inside William's office, they talked about a lot of things while they drink tea that William brew few moments ago. They first talked about the cancelled cooking event that Hiei expressed her disappointment that it had to happen, then they talk about food where William said that he pretty much eat everything except for broccoli and then the talk went on until William tell her a story from back when he's a high school student. Hiei had never hang out with William directly before, now she knew why the other girls liked to hang here whenever they can. Their commander possessed a lot of stories, he's quite the comedian if he wants to and he listen whenever the girls spoke about something…

"Hearing your stories from back then, you have a childhood full of experience…It got me thinking if I'm just an ordinary girl who met you back then, will you be friends with me?" Hiei asked out loud while she smiled.

"I have not a single doubt that we will" William said to Hiei while he smiled back.

"We could even become lovers?" Hiei asked William while she grinned a bit.

"That's a likely possibility…" William said out loud immediately.

"So you do have interest in me" Hiei said to William while she smiled and narrowed her gaze.

"A man who don't is straight up gay" William responded while he sipped his tea.

…Prinz was right, there's a lot of girls that started showing their interest already and deep inside his mind he didn't realize that even Hiei would be interested in him. What did she see in him really? Sometimes William is confused on what did women see in him that they deduced him as 'boyfriend material' because honestly he's far from one. He can't cook that well, he's bad at golf and his face is frightening on occasions. Hiei is a woman that any man would kill for, she's gentle, awesome cook, sexy even and she's kind.

"Ufufufu, is that so…Oh, it's time already. I better head back to the dorm, I already have something to do with Kongou nee-sama" Hiei said to William as she stood up.

"Speaking of her, I haven't met with her lately…Is she alright?" William asked Hiei while he frowned a bit.

"She is, she's just a bit confused on something" Hiei said to William with a gentle smile.

"She did know she could talk to me if she have problems?" William asked Hiei then downed the rest of his tea.

"Despite her intellect she might need some direction with this one, I think only girl talk that could solve the problem…Later then shikikan-sama, thank you for the tea" Hiei said while she smiled then bowed at him before she exited the office.

…He have to admit that among his secretaries Kongou was the one that he rarely interact with, she could be a bit too serious sometimes and her duty didn't involve paperwork so most of the time whenever he met her it's usually outside. Did he wronged her before in any sense? Kongou also didn't speak to him that much, she might be the few girls on this base that didn't have interest to him? No, jumping to conclusion would only worsen everything so he need to find out directly…She won't mind if he invited her out to get to know each other right? He should do that tomorrow. Just as William thought that the door was knocked, William looked at the door wondering on who is it.

"It's open" William said out loud.

"Excuse me" It's Vestal who entered his office.

"Vestal? Rare for you to drop by here" William commented as he sat on his office chair.

"I happen to be nearby and I want to ask, did you ordered Enterprise to sortie on this weather?" Vestal asked William with shadow casted over her eyes…Shit, she's pissed!

"Okay…um, I know that it seems cruel but-" William said to Vestal while sweated a bit.

"She could get sick! I don't care how tough she said she is! She could still get sick if she's exposed to this rainstorm for too long! What were you thinking commander?!" Vestal asked out loud while she grabbed on the office table in front of William.

Okay, now might be a good time to hit the window behind him and bail the fuck out all the way from the third floor of the building just to avoid Vestal's wrath. But remember, Diana raised no quitter as a son and that's why he will stood his ground because as a commander of the base sometimes William had to deal with something that require calm explanation instead locking up his troops in the bridge for questioning his orders…Nah, compared to executing on the spot that was quite merciful. But he would never do that, he didn't have the heart to be mean to his ship girls.

"She's quite versatile so she would be invaluable unit to patrol this isle, Vestal. Please, it's alright, I believe she can handle it…I know you care a lot about her Vestal, but you just have to trust her on this one" William said to Vestal with calm tone.

"…Fine" Vestal finally said to William after she thought for a bit.

"Is that all?" William asked Vestal.

"That would be all, thank you for your time" Vestal said to William.

…Vestal realized that she's being overprotective in a sense when she heard that Enterprise went out on sortie despite the harsh weather, after the attack on Central Headquarters it should be natural for William to send out a patrol fleet around the isle to see if there's any hidden threat. Enterprise is one of the best fighter they have, sending her out alongside an entire fleet fully equipped to handle anything is a logical choice. Vestal went out of the office and she almost bumped into St. Louis while she walked out, St. Louis looked inside the office while she carried short stack of papers on her hands.

"…Hmm? What?" William asked St. Louis out loud.

"Did Vestal just vent out on you?" St. Louis asked William while she smiled.

"Basically" William simply answered while he shrugged.

"Don't blame her for it alright, she's just cared about Enterprise and being in that time of the month too" St. Louis said to William while she smiled.

"I see…wait, she's having period?" William asked St. Louis with cocked eyebrows.

"Of course we got one each month" St. Louis answered William coyly.

Okay…well of course they get one each month William fucking Blaze you absolute dumb piece of fucking dorky shit! Why do you think Lucas mentioned about pregnancy with ship girls? If they could get pregnant then obviously they ovulate! If they ovulate then they have period! If they have period then William better be careful not to incur their wrath when they have one! Did you even pass your biology class on high school!? Of course he did, but he's just a bumbling idiot in some cases whenever he had to deal with women…Guess some of that awkwardness from his teenage days as a nerd still there, William thought he had fixed that when he joined the marines basic training!

"Ho, I see…Anyway, anything I can help you with?" William nodded his head then asked St. Louis.

"Oh nothing, just passing through. I'll be going now, commander" St. Louis said to William while she smiled softly.

St. Louis closed the door to William's office while she smiled and the man leaned back on his seat, he shouldn't brazenly asked if the girls had period…Oh well, what's done is done. William took off his white officer jacket and put it on his office chair, he reached for the small fridge on the corner of the room near he door and took out a large bottle of grape soda and a bag of potato chips. He threw those items on the coffee table as he looked at the console under the TV, gaming console that he purchased three days ago without Hood's and Souryuu's knowing about it…He's been a bad little bastard. William sat on the couch, opened the grape soda bottle, drank from it, put his feet on the table as he grabbed his wireless controller.

"Ah! Five hours until my appointment with Zara, let's do this!" William said while he grinned and put on his headset.

"Huh? Wait, its MobiusZero! Guys! MobiusZero is online again!" One guy on said to William the voice chat.

"Hehey! Dude! You went missing for two years! Where have you been!?" Another one asked William on the voice chat.

"Stuff and some shit happened but hey, I got some time to spare now. Go easy on me alright, its been years since I held a controller" William said on the voice chat while he grinned.

"Oh no buddy, we are having hard time! We plummeted from global ranks without our killer! We used to be in top ten clan and now we're stuck on fifty!" The guy said to William through the voice chat.

"Really? I left you guys for a bit and this happened?! No! This doesn't sit with me! I got five hours, let's take back that top ten spot!" William said on the voice chat while he scowled.

"HUZZAH! Now we're talking! Send a wakeup call to everyone else! Tell chief that his champion have returned!" One guy said out loud on the voice chat.

…Illustrious walked on the administrative building while she looked outside through the window to noticed that the rain only fell even harder than before, looks like she'll be here awhile so why not bother her commander for a bit? She smiled at the thought, too bad she didn't brought anything with her-. Oh right! She remembered that William did kept a lot of snacks or drinks inside his office, one of the reason why the destroyers littered his room in the late morning whenever they don't have classes. Illustrious reached his office front door, she knocked on it several times but William didn't answer…Illustrious raised her eyebrows in wonder, she then opened the door-

"OH YOU PIECE OF CUNT! HOW MANY TIMES I HAVE TOLD YOU!? FLANK RIGHT GODDAMNIT! FLANK! RIGHT! MACHINE GUNS! DEPLOY ON THAT HIGH GROUND AND START RAINING ON THAT FORTIFICATION! HEY! SQUAD C! WHERE ARE THOSE BEACONS FOR AIRSTRIKE!? OUR A-10 PILOT WAS WAITING WHILE HE JACK HIMSELF! NO! NO! NO! TANK COLUMNS BEARING 310! COME ON! HUSTLE UP LADS! THE CHIEF WANT THIS BATTLE WON QUICKLY! YEAH YEAH YEAH! NOW THAT'S HOW YOU KICK ARSE GENTS! CONGRATUFUCKINGLATIONS IT'S YOUR PAYDAY! WOOOO!" …William was engrossed on his game way too much.

Illustrious stared at William with her mouth opened wide at the sight William fist pumped numerous times at the sight of his TV screen showing words 'Victory! Objective completed!' then he turned around and that's when he saw Illustrious, William widened his eye as he stared back and forth between the screen and her until he grinned sheepishly.

"Umm…sorry" William said to Illustrious.

"It's alright milord but that was some serious anger there, are you alright?" Illustrious asked William with concerned tone.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just gamer rage, we always did that whenever something went wrong" William explained to Illustrious.

"Hey, who you're talking to man?" One guy asked William on the voice chat.

"A friend of mine" William answered on the voice chat.

"Awww, just a friend~? After I poured my heart and feelings last night?" Illustrious asked William while she smiled softly, William's cheeks went red a bit.

"Whoa whoa whoa, you guys hear that!? Mobius got some serious girl trouble over there!" One guy said out loud on the voice chat.

"Yeap, bye man you're on your own!" One other guy said out loud as William got kicked out from the voice chat.

"Some friends you guys are! I shouldn't expect so much from online friends!" William said out while he scowled.

"…Ufufufufufufu, I'm terribly sorry for that milord~" Illustrious said to William after she giggled cutely.

"Bah, we're done playing anyway…What time is it?" William asked Illustrious as he sat on the couch.

"It's five in the afternoon. I came here to ask if you want to drink some tea with me?" Illustrious asked William while she hid her hands behind her hips and leaned forward a bit.

"I just did with Hiei…But I guess we can spend some time together, want to try?" William said to Illustrious while he held the game controller.

"Video games? I must say that I don't have a single clue on what to do with it, it's more of Ms. Long Island's business right?" Illustrious asked William while she smiled a bit.

"Yeah and that's why I'm going to teach you. Come and sit here" William said to Illustrious as he patted the spot on the couch beside him.

William don't want Illustrious to come here and only watched him play, he want her to get involved too. Illustrious had never been someone who play online games, the one she played were those color matching games where she rarely plays all because Elizabeth once ordered her associates to install the game so they could play together. But she won't pass up the chance to spend some time with William especially with this lazy afternoon decorated with harsh rain, Illustrious sat beside William and leaned on the couch.

"Here's the controller" William handed Illustrious the controller.

"So many buttons…" Illustrious commented while she stared at the controller.

"You'll get even more bewildered if you have to play using computer then, hehehe" William commented then he chuckled.

"What game are we playing right now?" Illustrious asked William.

"A third person shooter game, you controlled a character from a floating camera behind it…Okay, let's get to the training level first" William said to Illustrious.

"...Alright, what should I do now?" Illustrious asked William for instruction.

"First you have to learn how to walk, use that left stick to move your character around" William said to Illustrious.

"…He moved but how can I make him change the direction?" Illustrious asked while she did that.

"Use the right stick for that" William said to Illustrious while pointed toward the controller.

"Ah! Now I see! You have to coordinate the two stick in order to move effectively!" Illustrious said out loud while she smiled.

"You're a fast learner Illustrious, I like that…Now, move forward while holding this button" William instructed Illustrious.

"I just sprinted" Illustrious said to William.

"Press this one" William said to Illustrious.

"He jumped!" Illustrious said to William.

"Yes, now press this button" William said to Illustrious.

"That's crouching" Illustrious said to William.

"Now, try to sprint then press the crouch button" William said to Illustrious.

"Wow! He just slide on the ground!" Illustrious said to William.

"Yeah, one way to quickly move around the area so you should know when to move with proper speed…Now, follow the marker on the floor to get to the next section" William instructed Illustrious.

"Alright" Illustrious said while she nodded her head.

William found that Illustrious is a fast learner, she managed to do everything he instructed easily and after getting some sense of familiarity with the controls she experimented by moving around the area. She get used to the character's walking and running speed, how he moves to how agile the sensitivity of the controller she held right now. Illustrious followed William's instruction as she moved her character to the next area, she found her character stood inside a firing range with weapons laid out on the table in front of her.

"…There. Now, the purpose of shooter game is basically to defeat your enemies' right? In this section, you'll learn how to shoot your weapons" William said to Illustrious.

"I see, then what should I do here?" Illustrious asked William.

"Pick up the weapon at the table, grab that pistol" William said to Illustrious.

"Um, what's a pistol?" Illustrious asked out loud.

"That small gun over there, that's called pistol" William said to Illustrious while he pointed at a Glock 19 on the table.

"Done" Illustrious said as her character approached the gun and picked it up.

"Okay, now that you got it. Press this button to aim, if you pressed it once you'll aim through the sight of the weapon" William said to Illustrious.

"Done, now I can shoot?" Illustrious asked William.

"You can actually shoot your gun without aiming but that would be very inaccurate, unless you're forced to then make sure to aim down your sights. Now, press the button here to shoot" William explained to Illustrious.

"I did it!" Illustrious said after she succeeded firing a shot.

"Great! Keep firing" William said to Illustrious while he smiled a bit.

"…Eh?! It won't fire anymore! Did it run out of bullets?" Illustrious asked out loud when her Glock stopped firing despite she pushed the fire buttons multiple times.

"Yes. The difference between ship girl's riggings and conventional weaponry is located here, mostly you'll need to reload conventional weaponry often since the ammo it could carry is quite limited. Press this to reload" William said to Illustrious.

"Right…He's ready to fire" Illustrious said after her character reloaded his gun.

"As long you have reserve ammunition you could keep reloading your weapons, that's why you need to strategize your shots and pay attention to your ammunition reserves…Now that you could aim, fire and reload I want you to pick up the gun beside it" William explained to Illustrious.

"It's a bigger gun than pistol" Illustrious commented as her character picked up an M16A4 Assault Rifle

"That gun is what we called assault rifle, standard weapon issued to infantries on our regular armies. It has more bullets than pistol and more damaging. But, the accuracy get progressively worse the longer you fired it so it is recommended that you fired it in short burst…But for now, I want you to empty your bullets to that target" William explained then instructed to Illustrious.

Illustrious wondered on what's the difference between the gun she previously used, then she realized the theory regarding that the bigger gun then the more powerful it is. This M16 that her character held in his hands even has thirty bullets instead of fifteen on her Glock 19, Illustrious then did as William instructed and she pressed on the fire button and thus she witnessed her character firing his rifle in full auto as the gun spewed thirty 5.56mm rounds on the target in front of him. Illustrious noted that the shots were horribly inaccurate! The Glock was more accurate and controllable than this rifle (She forgot that she didn't aim through her sight and the fact she also fired the gun in full auto, Illustrious could be silly at times).

"See? Now, try to fire by controlling the trigger. Pressed it once quickly but three times" William said to Illustrious.

BANG BANG BANG!

"It's more accurate" Illustrious said to William while she smiled a bit.

"Yes, it's better to do that when your target is quite far away. But if your target is close enough" William said as he put his hands on Illustrious' so he can used the controller for a bit.

BRATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

"You could practically killed anyone in front of you with bullet barrage" William said to Illustrious.

"I see…It's quite hard for you to sit like that when you teach me right?" Illustrious asked William with concerned tone.

"It did strained my back a bit but nothing I can't handle" William said to Illustrious while she smiled a bit.

Yeah, William had to lean toward Illustrious so he could properly instruct her and that did caused his back to strain. Illustrious noticed this and that's why she moved her from her seat then sat on William's lap, her soft butt squeezed nicely on William's thighs that he had to control his breathing and cleared his mind from any impure thoughts which ready to invade his mind any seconds now…Seriously, Illustrious' ass were soft! William's hands itched as it moved on it's own to fondle it and to prevent it from doing that it took him all of his willpower! William closed his eyes, he activated his combat mode where he basically switched persona to his battle hardened warrior side so he won't think any perverse thought…What? First time you ever hear that?

"Whoa…" William muttered to himself.

"This is easier, don't you think?" Illustrious asked while she smiled.

"Right…Now, move to the next section" William said to Illustrious.

And this mode works effectively, William was able to focus on instructing Illustrious fully without distraction and prevented his main gun from standing at attention ready to fire...But no matter how hard he did it, there's several traitorous thoughts that invade his mind though it's more on a lovely side compared to lustful. For example, instead of fondling her ass William was tempted to hug her from behind, instead of nibbling on her neck he's tempted to straight up kissed her from behind, instead of fondling her large boobs from behind he's tempted to caress her stomach region…Wait a fucking second, WHAT'S THE FUCKING DIFFERENCE?! Well fortunately god is merciful to him and that's why god sent a distraction so William won't slowly lost his mind due to the temptation.

"Kyaa! I'm under fire! The screen turned red! What should I do!?" Illustrious asked as she randomly moved around to avoid bullets.

"Your character have limited health Illustrious, once that health bar on the top right depleted your character will die. Bullets is almost impossible to dodge in this close range, move to that small wall over there then press this button when you touched the wall" William explained to Illustrious.

"Ah, he hides" Illustrious commented as her character hid behind a low wall.

"That's taking cover, cover provide protection against most bullets. But remember, explosives could destroy cover and potentially damage you. Also, if your cover is made from thin materials like plastic or wood then the bullets could still went through it and damage you. Now, press aim button but hold it down then fire at that target" William explained to Illustrious.

"The camera overlooked his shoulder" Illustrious commented as she did what William told her.

"If you hold the aim button it'll be like that, it's designed for quick accurate shot. Switch your weapon with this button and select a grenade" William said to Illustrious.

"How do I throw it?" Illustrious asked William as her character held the grenade.

"Hold down the fire button, you'll see a trajectory prediction. Aimed it to that target and release the button to throw it, be careful the grenade has timer so don't keep it too long in your hand or it'll blow up the character" William said and Illustrious quickly threw the grenade at the target.

BOOM!

The target exploded to pieces…Illustrious wasn't familiar with infantry combat so this really enlightened her, all this time she fought ships and only heard regarding how the regular division fought on the frontline. Illustrious especially heard regarding the combat on The Northern African Continent when Royal Navy troops fought against Ironblood's army, the desert combat, the town battles and the battle between tanks combined with airplanes on open ground were ferocious…There's also the fact that the man she sat on was a very experienced soldier, all these things the character did on the game must've been nothing new to him as he surely experienced it himself…

"Nice. Now, move over to that humanoid dummy target, you'll be learning CQC" William said to Illustrious

"CQC?" Illustrious asked William.

"Close Quarter Combat, sometimes on the battlefield there's an occurrence where you faced an enemy up close and using guns might not be as effective as using your own fist or melee weapons. You're not carrying any melee weapons at the moment so you'll use your fist, approach that dummy and press this button" William instructed to Illustrious.

"I hit it!" The character Illustrious controlled launched a jab at the dummy target.

"Good! Again! Keep doing it!" William said to Illustrious while he smiled.

"Oh dear, that looks painful…" Illustrious commented after she witnessed her character performed punch combo that knocked down the dummy target.

"If you pressed the button rapidly you'll execute combo melee attacks, now try to hold down that button and then move your right stick anywhere you like" William said to Illustrious.

"I brought down the dummy hard!" Illustrious commented as she witnessed her character slammed down the dummy down on the floor.

"That's called takedown, it's the quickest way to make your enemy fall to the ground and if you approached them from the back" William used the controller on Illustrious' hands.

"Oh my!" Illustrious commented as the character snapped the dummy's neck.

"You could assassinate them. Assassination would instantly kill your opponent if done successfully, be mindful that any of these melee attacks could be interrupted so don't over rely on it" William explained to Illustrious.

"Alright, I understand" Illustrious said to William while she nodded her head.

"Good. Time to test everything Illustrious, go to the next area. In that one, you'll have to take down five targets without your health being depleted. Use everything that I've taught you before, I won't help you this time so you'll have to do this without guidance…After that, we'll face something that will try to kill you" William said to Illustrious as he grabbed her shoulder.

"Understood…Here we go!" Illustrious said while she nodded her head then smiled confidently.

And thus Illustrious went on to play on the training match with several bots opponents, she learned the basic of the game of death match because there's no way he's going to let Illustrious immediately face off in a Operation Game Mode where you would require your entire clan to do one. After that, she went to face off against real opponent and she fought valiantly, Illustrious is a quick learner and she managed to get herself familiar with how the combat works depending on the map, weapon load outs and the tactics when she faced off against an enemy…William was impressed to be honest, she may not be as good as him yet but she could pull off her own weights in a standard match. Illustrious decided to stop after she fought off in three consecutive online match in row, there's something that she came to realize after she played the game…

"…Is this what you experienced in the past milord? Fighting directly in the front with rifle in hand? Danger lurks on every corner with single enemy bullet or blade could kill you?" Illustrious asked William while smiled sadly.

"…Yeah, it's what I do. Years I've done that and sometimes it went just from a simple run and gun, sometimes I have to pretend to be civilians, infiltrate an enemy base to either kill someone, steal or destroy something, there were times when I have to drive a vehicle during combat…I've experienced it all, Illustrious" William said to Illustrious while he played with her ponytail, he twirled the hair on his left hand.

"I looked on this game and thought on how you fight milord, you're putting your life over the edge in every battle. I thought I could imagine it, but I could say for certain that the real thing is far worse than what was shown on this game…" Illustrious said to William while she looked at his face.

"Agreed. To be honest, warfare had changed me Illustrious. Warfare had changed how I look into some issues, how I view civilian lifestyle to how I feels regarding killing" William nodded his head once while he smiled somberly.

"…You've been through a lot, milord" Illustrious said to William while she smiled.

"So are you" William said to Illustrious.

"But I don't have to witness it directly, my airplanes could do that for me. But you had to be there, personally took someone's life, for the side you're on…It feels wrong, when I take down targets it's fine but when I had to face human enemies even though they're controlled by computer…It unease me when I fired my gun toward them" Illustrious said to William while she caressed his left cheek softly with her right hand.

Illustrious never saw direct combat where men and women killed each other with guns in close quarter combat, she witnessed how it happened with the game she played so needless to say it's quite horrible in her opinion and she never want to be there at all. She felt uneasy just by murdering a human character on the game, could she able to do it in real world if she have to? She don't know…Illustrious stared at William, how did he manage to do what he always do? Fight directly against humans or Sirens in close quarter and from what she heard from Takao and Sheffield William didn't shown any sign of fear on the field of battle. He didn't hesitated whenever he fought his enemies directly, he never wavers whenever he had to fire his gun. What did he went through in order for him to be that composed and steady?

"…At first, I felt the same…Back in the academy we were prepared by the instructors for that, we were given training to prepare taking someone's life but no amount of training could deal with the real thing. During my first combat mission, after I murdered my first 'enemy combatants' I froze a bit while I stared at my rifle in my shaking hands. Felt wrong? Yeah, but I don't have the luxury to mull over it at that time. It's either me or them so I get to work, I thought nothing, discarding my personal feelings and thoughts aside as I put bullets on the enemies…Then, when I went back to the base I came to realization that this is how it works. Either you lose to your guilt or you adapt and turned that guilt into your driving force to fight. But even that didn't work…At first it feels wrong, but as time goes on and the longer I'm on the battlefield it started to feel like victory whenever I survived against my foes…Three months since my first kill, I'm used to the idea and to the deed. I felt it's justified since they threaten my life and could potentially hurt those I care about, that's what I used to 'right' what was wrong" William said to Illustrious as he looked at the TV screen.

…Damn, talking about that reminded him about his first mission back when he was freshly recruited by Azur Lane High Command. It was actually a test, for the formation of Task Force Nimbus around sixty men and women were selected by them to do one thing…an assault on Ironblood's forward operation base on their northwestern border to stall their invasion toward Iris Libre. They said that the defensive 'Maginot' line would be impenetrable by Ironblood's army, frankly speaking they were right…but the analyst on the headquarters forget one thing and that is Ironblood's tactics known as Blitzkrieg. To stall their invasion from circling around the Maginot line and buy time to reinforce Belgium, Azur Lane sent in a strike force.

Sixty men and women recruited from various branches within Azur Lane led under Captain Helena McAllen, they were tasked to do the impossible and it's up to them how to bring the base down and Lena for the first time shown that she wasn't a graduate with outstanding marks for nothing. The unit infiltrated the base, disabled their communication, their power plant and take out their defensive emplacement all under a minute before they stormed the base. Sixty troops successfully took down an entire garrison with two thousand personnel inside it in less than an hour, something as bullshit as that would be laughed at by everyone else because it's obviously a hoax but the survivors of the attack and Azur Lane High Command knew better…Whoever these people were, Crimson Axis knew that they're not the one they could fuck around with.

That time, William got his first kill. He was the one who had to stormed the base and that means he got the heavy duty part, if he wasn't mistaken he made around sixty total confirmed kill while inside the base with his M16A4. That first mission of his haunted him for quite a while, the recruits that weren't shaken up after that mass killing were obvious liars. Lena did helped him back then in alleviating the guilt and nervousness for doing something wrong, he got a reason to do all of this and so he had to carry on…Now, as he looked back to his first mission William couldn't help but to think that how far have he grown into Azur Lane lethal terminator, someone they're even willing to release from prison when the worlds called for him to act…

"Sorry, I'm kind of rambling there…You must've think me as some of those bitter veterans huh?" William said to Illustrious while he smiled bitterly.

"…No, in contrary I found you admirable milord…You know what you did was wrong, but for the sake of the future and those who you cared about you're willing to do all those things. A sacrifice you make so others could live safely, I admire your efforts…You even brought that trait with you here. You saved me during our first sortie together despite not knowing each other for long, you involved yourself heavily within our sortie to command us directly that we could fight effectively so we didn't take any casualties and you're still a caring man despite what happened to you in the past…Honestly, I was attracted to you…But now" Illustrious said to William with soft tone.

Illustrious reached up for William's face while she sat on his lap, she put her hands on his cheeks as she slowly brought his face down to meet hers. William followed along with Illustrious' action, Illustrious finally brought him down close enough where she can finally pressed her soft, tender and pink lips against his. It was practically a short kiss because Illustrious is naturally an affectionate woman yet inexperienced with this sort of thing, Illustrious however dared to kiss him because she need to show him that her feelings are real and she's not afraid to show it…for that, she's even willing to give him her first kiss.

"Lord William, from the bottom of my heart, I adore you~" Illustrious said to William with half-lidded eyes and soft tone.

"…You adore someone like me?" William asked Illustrious, speechless at her bold actions.

"Yes…I only have one word for that trait milord, I called it courage. A courage to do the things other hesitant to do, courage to face the consequences, courage to accept the truth and the courage to persevere no matter what you face be it humans or Sirens" Illustrious said to William as she rested her head on the crook of his left neck.

"…Feels good to hear that from you" William said out loud while he smiled softly.

"So, if you need someone to listen or to talk to…I'm here for you and I don't intend to leave" Illustrious said to William with soft tone.

Damnit, among the ladies Illustrious was certainly the most upfront with how she feels and honestly speaking William couldn't put his answer on hold forever. But just like the situation with Belfast and Hood, he don't want to take any chances without some kind of deal with Central Command because deep down inside he knew that politics would screw him over without any sort of legal documents. Lucas and Lena might be on his side, but how long until someone had enough with their favoritism and started a power shift on the central headquarters? If his two best allies in the realm of politics failed to protect him, it'll be a sign of doom because it won't be long until William would be dismissed as the commander of the ship girl's base…Pardon his selfishness, he honestly didn't want to hand over the ladies to someone else. And pardon his cynicism plus his pessimism, he just didn't want the girls to have another commander that acted like William's predecessor or worse only took the job so they could take advantage over the ship girls…be it their body or their strength.

"…What a declaration" William said to Illustrious while he smiled softly.

"It's my true feelings~" Illustrious said to William while she smiled sweetly.

"I see…Illustrious, thank you for consoling me. I'm sorry I couldn't give you any direct answer for now…But know this, the same thing goes for you too. If you need someone to talk to, I'll be here for you" William said to Illustrious, he then leaned in and pecked her forehead.

"…I understand…then don't mind me if I drop by your office more often. Ufufufufu~" Illustrious said while she blushed a bit and then giggled sweetly.

…William's office door was slightly ajar and it was closed gently, a hand fitted with black and red gloves grabbed on the handle and refused to budge despite already closing the door and the owner completed whatever mission she has. Prinz frowned a bit upon what she saw, she clicked her tongue as she walked away from William's office. She's not quick enough, Illustrious got a head start from her and that's not the end of it as she heard that William got a plan with Zara this evening. Prinz is patient and methodical in her approach, but it seems she might need to step up her game…But unlike Illustrious, Prinz thought on something…she did find William attractive, but what did she especially feels about him? Is it respect? Admiration? Love? Lust? She still have no idea…she need to thought some more and find out what she really felt about her kommandant.

.

Evening rolled in, William sat on his bed after what happened in the afternoon with Illustrious and he knew it won't be long before the other girls did the same thing as her. But damn was he confused on how to progress with all of this, back during high school he's considered to be on the 'dork side' and thus no girls ever confessed to him despite his attractive figure…girls don't like the nerds huh? Maybe that's because the girls on his school were narrow minded (except Lena of course). But because of that, William had zero fucking clue on what to do when multiple girls potentially have feelings for him. If he want to be brazen, he'll answer their feelings and perhaps immediately acquired one of the greatest harem ever formed in the face of the earth! But as someone who cared about the long term consequences, he need to tell that option to fuck off for now…

"For fuck sake! God why did you do this to me?!" William said out loud then he sighed.

That's it! Tactical retreat! William better stop thinking about all of this for a while and just have some dumb fun once in a while. Shit! That won't be possible because of his appointment with Zara! William looked on his phone, there's a chat message from Zara telling him to go in her room in five minutes. William shrugged as he took off his officer clothes and switched to his newly delivered laundry by Sheffield, he grabbed a navy blue polo shirt and brown slack then equipped the clothes. Decided that he's dressed for his appointment with Zara, William walked out of his room and approached Zara's room just few steps away beside him…William checked the corridor he's in as it's so quiet it made him anxious for a bit, if that woman sedated him then he's in deep shit…No! William believe that Zara is a nice woman, because of that William knocked on the door. It didn't even took five seconds before it was opened by Zara, the woman was dressed with green hoodie and black shorts…Casual Zara?!

"My, comandante. You're punctual this time huh?" Zara asked William while she smiled.

"Yeah, not keen on repeating the same mistake…May I come in?" William asked Zara.

"Of course" Zara said as she stepped aside from the door.

William went inside Zara's room and he looked around a bit, hmm she still used the basic paint job but she already put few things to decorate her room. There's a small bookshelves that's filled with several literatures and is that novels? There's a small flatscreen TV in front of a white couch and white coffee table, her bed sheets were changed into light red color with flowery pattern on it…Wait, William missed it for the first time round but there's two plates and large bowl alongside large bottle of wine on top of the coffee table. He looked on what's inside the bowl, its spaghetti coated in its sauce alongside meatballs to compliment it…

"Spaghetti?" William asked out loud.

"Hope you haven't had dinner yet comandante" Zara said to William as she closed the door to her room.

"Nah I haven't…Smells delicious" William commented while he smiled a bit.

"I may not look like it, but I can cook" Zara said to William while she smiled.

"I'll be the judge of that, Zara" William said to Zara as he sat on the couch.

And so the dinner began, William was now fully confident with the fact that Zara indeed could cook because this spaghetti were fantastic! Well of course it would, it's the food from her homeland so surely she knew how to make the taste really authentic. Both William and Zara ate while occasionally talked about something light such as the weather, the latest rumor, few short stories here and there that involved food…overall it's quite pleasant. When dinner was done, William sat with Zara as they enjoyed the wine with the glass on their hands. Zara surely knew how to pick out her drink, the wine she brought tonight tasted great. William sipped on his while he stared outside through the window, he saw that the rain had stopped…Yeah, finally, as much as he liked rain he didn't want it to rain constantly either.

"The stars were visible tonight" William commented then sipped on his drink.

"Is it? Does the clouds absent from the sky?" Zara asked William as she also looked outside.

"Seemed so. Want to look outside?" William asked Zara while he smiled a bit.

"…Yeah, if that's what you want" Zara answered William.

If that's what he wants? That's a strange answer, but William didn't thought about it too much as he opened Zara's room double window and stared outside. The wind was quite strong but that didn't deter William as he looked up and saw the stars glimmering in the skies accompanied by crescent moon, he smiled a bit as Zara joined William beside him and also looked outside.

"Yup, a beautiful sight" William commented then sipped on his wine.

"…Agreed" Zara said to William while she joined him.

"Something on your mind, Zara?" William asked Zara who was beside him.

"Nothing…" Zara said to William while she stared the dark seas in front of her.

"Are there any particular reason for tonight other than…the incident this morning?" William asked Zara with calm tone.

"…No, I just want to spend some time with you" Zara said to William.

"Oh…I see" William answered as he drank his wine.

"Though may I ask you something? Assume I got a gun to your head, have you ever thought about marrying someone in here?" Zara brazenly asked William.

PRRRFFFFTTTTT!

William chocked on his wine and spurted out everything inside his mouth due to the suddenness of the question, he coughed several times then stared at Zara with bewildered face while the one who asked the questioned kept her composed face with small smile formed on her lips…What's with the question?! William found that the ladies acted a bit strange today, what's with the talk about the topic that involved 'romance' being directed at him? Nevertheless he choose to answer her, honestly.

"…I haven't thought that far up ahead" William simply answered.

"Are you not interested in marriage commander?" Zara asked William with slight frown on her face.

"Not like that…I just thought that The Sirens should be the top priority for now, like it or not we have to accept the fact that we're on a losing fight. I'd like to turn that around first before I ever thought about settling down" William said as he leaned on the window's frame.

"What if by that time it's too late to do anything? What if by that time you didn't realized that you've passed the chance to actually settle down? This war, we could never know what will happen. Either of us could die tomorrow and no one would know"

"…If that's what happened, then it's regrettable…Zara, as much as I would like to do what I wished to do I can't do it so brazenly. Just being the commander of this base who got direct ties with Azur Lane means I have to obey set of protocols and take orders from High Command. Good news is, I could receive directive when I feels lost. Bad news is, there are those who have bad intention and will try to take advantage of us…What I'm trying to say is, unless we have solid foundation and concrete front against those scums who want to use us then I couldn't do much" William said out loud…now he felt he said too much.

"I see…" Zara said out loud in low tone.

"…It's getting late, I should rest up" William said to Zara as he put the wine glass on the coffee table.

"Oh yes, thank you for your time tonight comandante" Zara said as she smiled softly.

"The food is delicious and your wine selection is splendid, I won't mind eating more of your cooking" William said to Zara while he smiled a bit.

"My! Is that a marriage proposal I hear?" Zara asked William while she smirked.

"Now don't take it out of context yet! Night Zara" William said to Zara as he exited her room.

"Good night, comandante" Zara said to William while she waved a bit.

Well that was awkward, William thought that Zara surely knew what he did was chickened out from confronting the situation because Zara surely has more questions now that he spilled some details to her. Damnit, guess the wine did affected his judgment and lie filter. William entered his room and immediately went to sleep, he had enough thinking for today and he surely left all of this shit for tomorrow him to handle…Back on Zara's room, Zara sighed a bit as she closed the opened window and the door to her bathroom opened. Out of the bathroom there's Prinz who came out then looked at Zara who folded her arms.

"Hah…That confirmed it" Prinz said out loud while she frowned.

"If you're so curious on the reason then you should just asked him directly, Ms. Prinz" Zara said out loud while she frowned a bit.

"Perhaps I was being unclear when I requested this little operation Ms. Zara, kommandant William won't talk regarding his reason directly unless he's forced to and as much as I like to slowly tease him for an answer…it won't be effective to wring out direct confirmation" Prinz explained to Zara while she took the wine bottle.

"Why is that if I may ask?" Zara asked Prinz while she cocked her eyebrows.

"He haven't been fully honest with us" Prinz said to Zara then she drank the wine directly from the bottle.

"And how do you know that?" Zara asked Prinz again while she folded her arms.

"Because of this" Prinz said to Zara as she took out something from her backside.

Prinz threw a light brown folder to the coffee table which Zara took and opened the folder, she looked through the content of the document which was a copy of a draft. Zara saw that it's some form of draft for some sort of pact and the content caused her eyes to widen…Most of the content talked about the future children between him and the ship girls! He was trying to make a pact to protect any of their future children from being freely used as tools of war! So that's why William said that they would need some solid foundation and concrete front first! He don't want to take any chances, he was planning to answer their feelings from the start…he cared so much about their future…

"…Where…did you found this?" Zara asked Prinz with low tone.

"Well I just got a copy, it wasn't me who found that" Prinz said to Zara while she shrugged.

"Who then?" Zara asked Prinz in curious tone.

"It's Belfast who found it, she found it while she cleaned his room…Kommandant have been careless" Prinz said to Zara.

"…Although I don't approve any snooping on our commander's personal belongings, this really shed some light on the situation that he didn't talked with us. Who know what kind of political battle that happened between him and the high command without us knowing?" Zara said to Prinz while she smiled a bit.

"Really, that man" Prinz said while she smiled a bit.

"Who else knew about this?" Zara asked Prinz.

"Just the secretaries and you, for getting along with my little scheme I think you deserve something for the reward…Now that we knew his reason on why didn't he respond with our advances as quickly as a normal and hormonal man, I think it's time we helped him out" Prinz said to Zara as she stood up.

"How?" Zara simply asked Prinz.

"Admiral Lena would be a good start" Prinz said out loud while she smirked.

* * *

…**Welp, that does it and hoo boy this one chapter was quite the excersise. Thank you for the review, follow and favorite dear readers! The heat is on and safe to say it won't be long before something happened, what would it be? Close Quarter Battle? Firefight? Murder? All out war? Stay tuned then! Mwehehehehe! Also, should I include a little fact corner for the OC's at the end of the chapter for future release or should I keep the revelation through the storyline? Anyway, let me know your thoughts and I'll see you next time dear readers!**

**-Dasmara**


	16. Now it's personal

…It's been few days since then and things were as normal as ever, no words have arrived from Central Headquarters and William could take it easy. But that was subverted by the amount of paperwork that caused William to mutter 'bloody hell' at the Burj Khalifa level paperwork stack on his desk when he entered the office yesterday, Hood who also apologized to him regarding the mess she caused when she's drunk helped him out with the paperwork. Even with his personal secretary, the job took an entire day and safe to say William went to bed too tired to move a muscle yet relieved…Tomorrow would be his day off and he planned on relaxing as much as he could, that day is today and he already initiated it by not setting up an alarm…But there's one alarm he couldn't shut off and forgot yesterday, that alarm was in the form of a busty white haired maid who just entered his room.

"Master, it's time to wake up" Belfast said to William while she smiled.

William felt like being an ass in the morning so he did what everyone do when they are woken up without consent, he pulled his blanket to cover his face while he grumbled in annoyance. Belfast smiled while she tried to shake William up but he won't respond, tick mark surfaced on Belfast's left cheek because she's honestly annoyed and she had enough with this nonsense because she still got lot of things to do today. Belfast grabbed on the blanket before she yanked it and that resulted with William got thrown to the cold hard floor, she comically able to pull the sheets hard enough to cause the giant wrapped on it to fell down to the floor. William groaned as he felt his forehead throbbed in pain, he looked toward Belfast who smiled smugly at him.

"I do hope that wakes you up, master" Belfast said while she smiled smugly.

"…Yeah…that wakes me up alright…Isn't today my day off or something!?" William asked Belfast while he rubbed his forehead.

"That is not an excuse to sleep until noon, master" Belfast said to William with closed eyes.

"Hah…I just want to relax, Belfast" William sighed in annoyance while he frowned as he responded.

"Even though it's your day off, it would be wise if you spend it outside. You've been inside your office too much these days and perhaps, outdoor activity might be refreshing for you" Belfast suggested while she smiled softly.

"Outdoor activity huh…What do you suggest?" William asked Belfast as he stood up and started to do some stretches.

"There's plenty you can do around here, master. Surely you have something in mind?" Belfast asked William while she smiled.

"…Fishing" William said to Belfast with deadpan stare.

…Dressed in his white t-shirt, short green cargo pants, flip flops, wearing straw hat and that's how William found himself on the docks trying to put the bait into the hook under the morning sunshine, believe it or not he rarely fish and that caused him to be this awkward when he had to handle the preparation. The base was currently enjoying the clear morning and the ship girls were out doing their usual activity, most of them were currently in canteen enjoying their breakfast and despite Belfast's suggestion William choose to went out with a box of tuna sandwich, French fries and several baked bread to serve as his breakfast complimented with a large bottle of water. If Belfast put him up to do some outdoor activity then he's damn well going to do it without reservation, William concentrated as he stared at the wiggling worm on his left hand and the fish hook on his right.

"Come on you bloody worm, work with me. You are to perform your duty to the fullest as a BAIT!" William muttered out loud as he finally succeed putting the bait on the hook.

Finally, the bait is set and William took a stance before he threw the hook as far away as possible. If he's not wrong there's a reef formation just under the docks so you could be damn sure there's a lot of fish to bite his bait and now William sat on the edge of the dock on top of a small chair, he opened the lunch box he have and took out a sandwich because he better filled his belly for this patience game…While he waited he didn't realized that the ship girls were done with their breakfast and some of them headed for the dock area, Enterprise walked alongside Hornet while they talked and Enterprise stopped when she saw the familiar figure seated on the docks. Hornet also noticed and both sisters decided to stop by and greeted their surely commander who seemed to be staying still for a reason…

"Commander? What are you doing?" Enterprise asked William when she's close enough.

"Ah, morning to you Enterprise, Hornet" William answered as he looked back at them with small smile.

"You're fishing huh" Hornet said as she stared at the fishing equipment.

"An hour ago Belfast kicked me out of my bedroom and told me to do something outside, she might use that reason just to clean my room without hindrance" William said with half closed eye and small frown.

"Hahahaha, sounds like Belfast alright" Enterprise laughed then commented on the all too familiar events.

"So…catch anything yet?" Hornet asked William.

"Check that bucket" William simply said to Hornet.

"Would you…Wait, it's empty. You've been here for approximately an hour and still got nothing?" Hornet commented while she stared at William's back.

"Basically. So, any tips?" William asked the two ladies.

"I heard that big fish occasionally would pass near the reefs looking for their prey, I suggest you get one small or medium sized fish then use that fish as your next bait if you want to catch something big" Enterprise said to William while she smiled a bit.

"…Yeah, good idea" William commented as he felt a tug on his rod.

…That was real right? That was fish and not submarines right? William waited a bit more and he felt the tug get stronger, the man immediately yanked the rod and then reeled the fishing line quickly with a smile on his face. Enterprise smiled widely while Hornet grinned that William finally caught something, he reeled the line as fast as he could and then yanked it for the last time to see one medium sized fish flapped around with hook stabbed on its mouth region. Not too shabby for a first catch of the day, but the day is still long and so William aimed for more…or bigger.

"Yes!" William exclaimed as he saw the fish.

"Wow! Nice catch there commander!" Hornet commented as he patted William in the back.

"That was quite big" Enterprise commented as she looked at the fish.

"Yeah it is" William said while smiled.

William brought the fish on top of the dock, he pulled out a knife and severed the fish head in one stroke. He meticulously opened the fish guts, took out it's inner organs then chopped the fish into several parts…You're wondering how did he did this without any problems? First of all, his mother taught him how to do some simple dish in case he lives alone so he do know how to work a fish. Second, biology class taught him a bit about dissection of living creatures. Three, he's not a chef but his knife wielding skills were sharpened and tested all the way back during basic training so his work with it is precise and efficient…William then put the fish parts into the hook, he then set it nicely as a bait for the bigger fish.

"Right…let's try this" William said out loud then threw the hook back to the seas.

"…Your knife work is impressive, commander" Hornet commented out loud.

"Thanks…It's due to muscle memories" William responded while he smiled a bit.

"You've been using knifes for a long time huh" Enterprise also commented out loud.

"Knifes, machetes, swords, baton, sticks and even crowbar…Don't expect me to fight you ladies and came out on top though, compared to you ladies my techniques are pretty clunky and sloppy" William said as he smiled wryly at the two of them.

"Even though you could hold your own against Zuikaku?" Enterprise asked William with cocked eyebrows.

"If it's a serious fight I would've died easily" William answered while he cringed at the thought.

"Is that so…Oh we've got to go for now commander, catch you later" Enterprise said to William after she checked her wristwatch then dragged Hornet away who also said her short good bye.

"Sure" William answered as he returned to his current activity…

Some time passed after that as William took out a cigar and light it up…Now that William thought about it? Were there any fish that's big enough to eat other fish but safe for consumption? His fishing rod did built to withstand a medium sized shark but is there even a big fish with that size? Ocean were vast and his knowledge on marine biology was quite limited, William just prayed in his head that he'll-

BZTTTTT!

His fishing rod suddenly jerked downwards and the lines were rapidly being pulled, William had to quickly grab on the rod and yanked it back while he reeled back the fishing line. That's when he realized that this catch is in the heavyweight class because it took almost everything he had to prevent himself from being pulled along into the water and he's by no means light! Endurance battle? He's definitely going to lose because he have no one to switch up to, he tried to reeled the fish before he heard something snapped…William looked at his fishing rod and noticed it's very light despite it being fine, he reeled the lines back in and he noticed that the lines had snapped.

"…Son of a bitch" William cussed while he scowled and stared at the snapped line with murderous intent.

"My, having fun fishing?" Someone said from William's back.

"I think he just lost his catch" Another one said from William's back.

"…Hey there Prinz, Hood" William greeted the two of them without looking back.

"Awww, why the long face? That wasn't the only fish in the seas, you know?" Prinz asked William while she smiled smugly.

"I know…But you couldn't help to feel dejected when you're that close to catching it" William said as he set up his new fish hook.

"How long have you been here, milord?" Hood asked William while she smiled.

"What time is it?" William asked Hood back.

"Eleven o'clock" Hood said to William.

…Actually, both Hood and Prinz knew how long William had been on the dock to try and get some fish for a while, both did passed Enterprise and Hornet when they returned to the dorms after all. Hood was on her way to meet with him and she only found Belfast and Prinz talking in front of his room, no they're not talking about that secret because they talked about his current whereabouts. Belfast said that he went fishing, Enterprise and Hornet told them where exactly and the two of them also took their time to looked at him as he battled with the fish.

"That means I've been here for three hours…Well, another hour shouldn't hurt. Did you two need me for something?" William asked them both.

"Actually, yes. Mrs. Lena just contacted me, she said that she sent an agent here in order to get you a classified information without running risk of being intercepted…and the fact you're a 'bastard' for not bringing your phone outside" Hood said to William with wry smile on her face.

"Ouch, thank Belfast for that…But, good old standard Intel exchange huh? When will they be here?" William asked Hood after he cringed for a bit.

"Tonight…on The West Best Casino" Hood simply answered William.

"Casino? Could they make it anymore classical?" William said then he snorted in amusement.

"Milord, I strongly suggest you not to go alone" Hood said to William with serious expression on her face.

"…I know, you don't want me to go by myself because someone might kill me…So, who wants to go then?" William asked Hood and Prinz after he threw the fish hook back to the sea.

"I said that but…Casino isn't really my kind of place" Hood said while she looked to the left side and subtly held her left wrist in discomfort.

"Figured as much from you and the other royal ladies, Hood" William said to Hood with half closed eye.

"I would love to but sorry that I can't accompany you tonight kommandant, I actually have homework to do tonight" Prinz said to William while she smiled wryly.

"Homework?" William cocked his eyebrows in confusion.

Prinz then shown him on what she currently carried, stack of papers, a book with decent thickness and what appears to be a skill book that Shiranui sell on her shop…Prinz actually studying and not lazing around on his office as usual? That's new to William, but he's pleased that she did try to learn and put some effort to it that he gave her a pass. If the two ladies in front of him can't accompany him, that means he could freely pick anyone to go with him, right?

"…Then it's up to me to pick someone to accompany me?" William asked Hood while he smiled a bit.

"Yes, that will be the case. Unfortunately, the secretaries are all currently busy milord so I think it would be best to get someone else who is free tonight…Here's the schedule" Hood said to William as she shown him her phone.

"Hmmm…Casino…gambling…luck…I think I know who to bring, please notify St. Louis that she have a date with me tonight" William said after he checked on the list, St. Louis would be his best bet in this situation.

"Ah, I expected as much. You're trying to win big tonight huh?" Prinz asked William while she smirked.

"In more ways than one" William said to Prinz with confident smile.

"Huh?! Does that mean-" Hood said out loud with widened eyes.

"I'm sure that's not what kommandant is insinuating, Hood…But do pray tell, what do you mean by that?" Prinz asked William as she tapped her lips…Hood looked to the side while cursing her 'impure' thoughts.

"Hood, you said that Crimson Cleanser has sleeper cells on this island, right?" William then asked Hood.

"…But that was based on the Intel given by Commander Johnson and that alone is still unproven even now" Hood said to William with serious expression.

"It's a good time to test it out, if what I assumed happened so far is correct then tonight would be the proving ground" William said as he returned his gaze to the sea.

"For what?" Hood asked William with cocked eyebrows.

"To see if there's any mole within Azur Lane Intelligence Division" William said while he frowned.

…It's more than likely, no, William is absolutely sure that Intelligence Division was compromised already but he need direct proof before he could passed it from a theory into a real fact. William only trusted Lena and Lucas when it concerned information nowadays and he would double checked every Intel he got, this was even far worse than the situation back on Operation Dradetheus, at least back then he know his foes and he knew he couldn't rely on anyone as not even High Command would be much of a help and their decision would came far too late. William felt another tug on his rod and he excitedly yanked the rod upwards, the line started to get reeled again as he excitedly battle this another big fish.

"Oh, another bite!" William said while he grinned and stood up from his seat.

"I think that fish is quite big" Hood commented when she saw how the fishing rod was bended.

"Agreed! I'm not letting you off this time you wanker! Bloody hell, this one is even stronger than the previous one!" William commented as he struggled to reel the lines.

"Hee, maybe we'll get some fish for lunch today" Prinz commented while she smirked a bit.

"Prinz! Hold this for me!" William suddenly held the fishing rod to Prinz.

"Eh? Kyaa!" Prinz unconsciously held the rod and she was being pulled toward the sea.

"Prinz!" Hood said out loud as she grabbed on Prinz's waist to help her.

Prinz didn't expect for the fish to be that strong as she could almost get pulled by it in surprise were it not for Hood holding her in place, how can something this big ever get close to their docks?! But Prinz didn't take too long being surprised as few seconds later she started to battle it out with the fish, despite her natural strength as a ship girl it looks like this fish could match her easily…or that simply because she lacked muscle training and endurance. Prinz noted that William was laying prone on the docks while he observed the waters for any signs of the fish, Prinz couldn't help herself to ask in exasperation.

"Kommandant, what are you doing?!" Prinz asked William while she furrowed her brows and gritted her teeth in her effort.

"I'm going to make sure it's not going to escape…Come on, show yourself…Reel the line Prinz!" William said to Prinz.

Well he better compensate her for this! Prinz thought that as she started to reeled the fishing line while Hood helped her steadied the rod from behind, Prinz grunted as she slowly pulled the fishing rod further from the edge of the dock. William kept his vigilant right eye on the surface of the water when he detected something big on his vision, he grinned viciously as he pulled out a USP handgun from his back hidden just beneath his t-shirt.

"Aha!" William said out loud as he aimed at the big object.

BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG!

Prinz widened her eyes as she felt the struggle died down on the fishing rod she held, Hood's mouth went wide open at the unexpected action William took because she honestly thought he's going to dive in and wrestle the fish…William sat up as he wiped his brows from his own sweats, he stared at the dead fish before he looked back and stared at two ladies with mixed reaction.

"…Do not make me do this again, ever!" Prinz commented while she rubbed her aching left wrist.

"…Milord, that was overkill" Hood said to William with deadpan stare and low tone.

"Just in case it tries to escape…Well, I think we'll have fish as lunch" William said to Hood while he cringed.

…And so, William dragged the fish over his shoulder as he walked toward the canteen and entered it through the back door. Needless to say Shoukaku who was the one in charge for today's canteen duty went wide eyed with flagsberated smile when William dropped the fish on the kitchen with the biggest smile she ever saw on his face, normally a fish this big would be quite the hassle to work on but since he's being cute with that smile Shoukaku called in few favors with the other girls and thus that how they managed to turn the fish into an actual lunch under two hours. The news travelled fast and the canteen was swarmed by ship girls as soon as lunch time rolled in…Enterprise and Hornet returned from their morning patrol and they headed for the canteen after reporting back to Hood, that's when they were surprised with everyone having fish for lunch and the fact they could still saw some part of the fish being cooked on the kitchen.

"…What kind of fish did you cook back there?" Enterprise asked Shoukaku with cocked eyebrows.

"No idea since Shikikan-sama was the one who caught it. We have enough! Don't be shy Enterprise-san, eat as much as you want!" Shoukaku said to Enterprise as she happily put a large slab of fish meat on Enterprise's tray complimented with huge pile of rice and side dishes.

"Oh…Okay, but um isn't this too much?" Enterprise smiled anxiously while she asked Shoukaku.

"Nonsense! This much should be fine for you who just returned from your patrols, don't be modest!" Shoukaku said to Enterprise while she smirked a bit…she felt being playful today for some reason…

Enterprise nodded her head, she briefly stared at the large portion on top of her lunch tray before she walked away to find a seat…Man, Shoukaku and Nevada were no different whenever they gave the meal portion to her as she always got this much whenever she returned from a sortie, commissions or patrols. Thanks to William's little trick however she managed to eat more than she used to, she should probably measure her weight soon because she felt she already gained several kilos ever since that fateful day…Enterprise kept walking until she saw William on the corner of the canteen who sat with his phone on right hand, a burning cigar on his left hand and a cup of coffee on his table.

"Commander, to think you'll catch a large fish like that. Congratulations" Enterprise said while she smiled then sat in front of William.

"Yeah, thanks Enterprise. Go on, enjoy, the fish was delicious" William said as he smiled a bit.

"…Hmm, it is delicious" Enterprise commented after she got a taste on the meal.

"Shoukaku said she'll make Sakura Empire style dish today, apparently the fish could last us until tomorrow" William said to Enterprise as he leaned on his seat.

"No wonder everyone from the Sakura Empire dorm shows up, I think we know what to expect for tomorrow's meal huh?" Enterprise asked out loud then she continued to eat.

"Yeah…The news of me catching something that big spread quickly too, the Juustagram notifications were insane…Oh yeah, I just remembered something. Did Shoukaku took out the bullets?" William asked out loud while he rubbed his chin.

CLAK!

Both William's and Enterprise eyes widened when they heard that sounds but for different reasons, Enterprise took out her tongue and noted that she just bit on a .45 caliber Armor Piercing Bullet. Enterprise spit out the bullet and inspected it, she then glared in disbelieve at William who facepalmed then sighed at Shoukaku's carelessness or trolling habits. Enterprise remembered that William went to the docks with fishing gear and not his firearms!

"Bullets?! On a fish?!" Enterprise asked William with disbelieved tone.

"Guess she's not, that little troll...Erm, I can expIain, you see I was a bit desperate so I emptied the magazine at the big fish to kill it" William explained to Enterprise as he started to sweat a bit.

"…Wha?" Enterprise let out a sound of confusion.

"Ouch! Kami! Who put a bullet on my lunch?!" Takao shouted as she rubbed her left cheek after the shoot the bullet out of her mouth.

"Yeouch! My bloody teeth!" Nelson shouted in fury after she spit the bullet out of her mouth.

"Gah! What the fuck?!" Hornet shouted after she took out the bullet from her mouth.

"Shoukaku! What's the meaning of this!?" Hipper shouted as she stormed inside the kitchen.

"…That wasn't very wise of you, sir. This is dangerous especially if swallowed you know?" Enterprise said in disapproving tone to William with half closed eyes while she folded her arms.

"…I admit, you're right but you have to admit that it's not completely my fault here" William said while he looked to the right while sweating nervously.

…Things calmed down after Shoukaku explained that they missed several bullets and William had to apologize then urged them to ate the fish carefully, Enterprise returned to eat and she did so while she carefully inspected her fish for any signs of stray bullets. After she found none she resumed eating normally while William sipped on his coffee while he contemplated on that decision of his to use handguns being dumb as fuck…He should've called Javelin, borrow her javelin or he could call Eldridge to paralyze the fish with her electric powers. He's might not be the smartest man alive but at least he shouldn't be this dumb either…

"Getting off topic here, Hood have asked us The Eagle Union to support you for tonight's mission sir" Enterprise said to William who widened his eyes when Enterprise managed to finish her portion.

"Oh, so she did…Well for starter, I can't bring all of you inside the casino" William said to Enterprise while he frowned a bit.

"Don't worry about that, we'll stand guard outside…Not exactly fond of that kind of place either" Enterprise said to William while she shrugged lightly.

"Good…So, who do you bring?" William asked Enterprise as he sipped on his coffee.

"Hood said that St. Louis will be accompanying you personally. On the outside you will have Cleveland, Baltimore, Hornet, Arizona and me" Enterprise said to William as she drank her water.

"A little too prepared in my opinion, we don't expect any Siren to attack, right?" William asked Enterprise while he smiled wryly.

"The thing with Sirens is, we can never know" Enterprise responded while she smiled somberly a bit.

This is not officially a military operation, it's simply a retrieval mission that he and St. Louis could do by themselves. But as few people on the base knew, Hood is quite a worrywart on occasion so she wanted William to have a reinforcement ready nearby. If that's the case then the safest option for them are the rooftops, from there they could engage any hostile without revealing themselves to the public. There's a reason why their identity remains undisclosed to the general public even though revealing them would bolster the morale in the fight against The Sirens, but William didn't know why and he did thought that keeping them secret is the best decision for now…

"I guess so, the place is on the beach area too…Alright, I guess we're set. I do hope I could enjoy my day off some more, but I should rest up before the game tonight. Enterprise, there's one more thing I should tell you…Unless I specifically ordered you or the others, do not barge inside the building even if firefight erupted" William said to Enterprise with serious expression.

"Why is that sir?" Enterprise asked as she leaned forward on her seat.

"Your identity is a military secret after all. But if they're outside, they're free game" William said to Enterprise.

"Got it commander. Let's do our best then, shall we?" Enterprise asked William while she smiled.

"For sure" William returned the smile with his own.

.

"And don't forget your napkin" Hood said to William as she tidied up his blazer.

"Hehe, you started to sound like my mom" William chuckled as he looked at Hood who was so close to him.

"That means I'm doing my job well, since I can't come with you personally I should at least help you prepare for the mission" Hood said as she tidied the crook of his shirt.

"But, I didn't expect for you to have a blazer ready so quickly" William commented as he looked on his black blazer.

"Courtesy to Belfast, she's really prepared for any situation" Hood commented while she turned William around.

"Speaking of her, is she also busy?" William asked as he turned around.

"Like I said this morning, all of the secretaries are currently handling their duty so we're pretty busy" Hood said to William while she tidied his backside.

"…Everything went well?" William asked while he stared at the white walls of his bedroom.

"Why yes, the base doesn't lack any supplies and everything functioned as it supposed to be" Hood said as she turned William around to face her.

"Just…don't overworked yourselves, I don't want that incident with you to happen again" William said to Hood while he smiled somberly.

"Calling it incident is a bit much" Hood said to William with soft tone while she looked at him straight in his right eye.

"It is to me…" William said to Hood while he nodded his head slightly.

…Hood smiled softly as she tiptoed and planted her lips on her commander's own lightly yet long enough for the man to widen his eyes in surprise, William found himself caught off guard as he did not expected Hood to do this. Hood pulled back after a bit, she made sure that William is well dressed. Hood set him up in semi-formal devil may care style with top unbuttoned white shirt, unbuttoned black blazer, black pants and black shoes. She put on hair gel on him and combed his hair neatly in laid back style, Hood even personally put on William's trademark left eye patch…Come to think of it, she never asked him on why he wore that all the time?

"…For good luck. Now, go out there and be careful. Don't be reckless and return home safely" Hood said to William while she smiled softly.

"I think I should hit the slot machine, I could win the jackpot from that kiss alone" William said to Hood while he smirked confidently.

"Now don't misuse that blessing I just bestowed upon you!" Hood pouted at William's words cutely.

"Hahahaha…I'll be going now" William said to Hood while he smiled.

"Take care" Hood nodded her head while she smiled.

Just like before William walked past Hood but not before he planted a soft grateful kiss on her right cheek, the said woman of course went rigid in shock with widened eyes, reddening cheeks and she could only stare in speechlessness as William went off his own room with victorious smile on his face…He had heard that tonight is the night where those rich and famous would came to that casino in order to gamble their fortune away, they'll be dressed for the occasion so he better blend in with the crowd. He walked outside the administrative building and found someone already waiting for him on the front door, she turned around and smiled at him.

That someone was St. Louis who wore strapless blue dress that matched her hair colors and tied in high ponytail for the occasion, she carried a purple purse with her which has ropes and she slung it on her left shoulder like a bag, St. Louis also wore purple heels and she walked forward toward William sensuously as William could very well noticed her figures swayed around in smooth movements. When St. Louis was close enough, William could pick up her scent…she smelled so nice, but he can't stood here and admire this view in front of him forever as they got a job to do.

"…Louis, you looked magnificent" William complimented her while he smiled.

"You also looked dashing commander, or should I call you…William, for tonight?" St. Louis asked coyly while she took in the view in front of her.

"I don't mind. Shall we?" William offered his right hand to her.

St. Louis wordlessly took on his offer as they walked together to the vehicle depot with arms linked, they get into one of the SUVs and drove toward The Best West Casino on the western part of the island. The drive was filled with occasional comments and chatter on the scenery or the situation on the road accompanied by soft music coming from the radio, at least that's what happened until William radioed Enterprise through the device on his left ear.

"Enterprise, report in" William said to Enterprise on the radio.

"Enterprise here, all clear so far Commander" Enterprise reported to William on the radio.

"See anyone suspicious?" William asked Enterprise on the radio.

"I've been constantly looking at the entrance, no one caught my eyes so far" Enterprise said to William on the radio.

"Understood, keep me posted. We're five minutes out" William said to Enterprise on the radio.

"Roger that" Enterprise said to William on the radio.

…Enterprise and the others went ahead to scout the area, they've been at it since dusk and so far nothing abnormal has happened. William noted that the sky was clear with full moon shinning bright on the dark sky with stars, not sure what to make of the weather as he's not the one who believes in superstition (In his defense, he haven't seen what few of Sakura Empire ship girls could do such as Shiranui and Kasumi)…St. Louis noticed that William looked awfully calm and the silence is a bit unbearable to her so she decided to speak to him.

"Do you know who to contact tonight, William?" St. Louis suddenly asked William from beside him.

"Yeah, Lena once again sent her best infiltrator. That means we're going to meet with Jenny" William said to St. Louis while stared at the road.

"Oh that girl, it's been a while since we heard of her" St. Louis noted as she looked ahead, it's surely has been a while.

"Yeah, being her means that she's constantly busy. Someone with brilliant mind and good at infiltration, she must be highly valued by Lena" William thought out loud while he smiled a bit.

"…You want me to escort you tonight, any particular reason?" St. Louis asked William as she changed the topic a bit.

"You're the one known as Lucky Lou, I'm going to need some of that luck tonight. And, I want to be there escorted with a beautiful woman who can exactly stay calm and charming" William replied while he smiled confidently.

"…You're quite sly aren't you, William?" St. Louis said to William while smiled meaningfully.

"Ho, what makes you say that?" William cocked his eyebrows as he drive.

"I think we both know what" St. Louis cryptically said to William while she smiled.

William choose to set the thought aside as he pulled over in front of the casino which looked like already busy with their patrons for the night, William get out of the car and escorted St. Louis out and they walked to the entrance with arms linked once more. One of the attendees approached them from the entrance, William then thrown him the car key's at him while he make damn sure that his aura screamed 'pompous bastard'…

"It's no Lamborghini but don't you dare scratch the paint" William said in arrogant tone as he walked past the attendee.

"Y-Yes sir" The attendee said in slightly nervous tone.

"There's no need to be that harsh isn't it?" St. Louis subtly asked him as they entered the casino.

"Acting snobby should help us to look convincing" William simply replied while he looked around.

"I'd say you did too well on that one, that man looked terrified of you commander" Enterprise commented on the radio with amused tone.

"Thanks for the praise" William said to Enterprise on radio with little smirk on his face.

Blend into the crowd, a mantra held at the highest order for any infiltrator in busy area filled with people. If he had to admit, William's not the best when it come to this since he's a giant and he's very noticeable even among the crowds so he had to resort into other means to remain incognito like coordinating with his dress or even remained from walking into what the infiltrator called 'hot zones'. William and St. Louis walked toward the large counter to trade chips, the employee behind the table smiled professionally.

"Welcome to The Best West Casino, the most famed establishment on The Northern Pacific. How may I help you tonight?" The employee asked William while he smiled.

"I need chips, feeling lucky tonight. Would this do?" William pulled a thick fold of cash from his pocket…It's not his own money, maybe a little indulgence won't hurt.

"Very well…Here's the chips, do enjoy your night sir, madam. I'd recommend that poker table if you're looking for some challenge, we got special guest on table" …Ah, Jenny must've paid him some good money…William took the chips with him.

"Thanks for the heads up, let's see if we could empty their pockets" William smirked confidently as he lead St. Louis away from the counter.

"Best of luck to you" The employee smiled professionally with subtle wave.

"…Why do I get a feeling that this isn't your first time going into casino, William?" St. Louis stared at William with narrowed gaze and smug smile on her face.

"Spot on eh? I've gone few times in the past, all work related" William said while he looked at St. Louis.

"You didn't gamble?" St. Louis asked William with cocked eyebrows.

"Well…Not on casino, just some poker between friends occasionally" William said while he smiled a bit at the memory…

"I see, up for a game sometimes on the base?" St. Louis asked as she sneakily linked their arms together.

"You could play poker?" William asked St. Louis back without minding his left arm squeezed by fleshy mountain of happiness…

"Of course, we could even play…strip poker" St. Louis said to William with low and sensual tone.

"…Not to brag but you'll end up bare naked pretty quick with how you usually dressed" William cocked his eyebrows while he smirked.

"Ufufufufu, we could test that theory later~. I'll give you a handicap~" St. Louis said to William with coy smile.

"Sheesh, I thought you already have a wife?" Someone said from behind them as they walked.

"Night to you too Jenny…Lou, you're on. Put on a show. But any men tries to mess with you, call me" William said as he handed the chips to St. Louis.

"Will do~" St. Louis said while she approached the poker table.

William noticed that Jenny is currently behind him and they went to the nearby bar, William sat and followed by Jenny shortly as William looked at his contact for the first time tonight through a side glance because he shouldn't compromise her by looking straight to her face. Jenny that sat beside William right now had long light brown hair and her face looked a bit different complimented with green eyes, she did some makeover for tonight's occasion it seems. The bartender came and asked what do the two of them want for the drinks, William ordered Scotch while Jenny ordered Martini…

"…So, are you currently cheating?" Jenny asked William while she stared ahead at the bottles on the bar rack.

"Can we stop with the cheating accusation?" William asked back with half closed eye as he checked his wristwatch, 20.34 PM, one minute…

"No way! That blonde wife of yours would be pissed if she knew you're fooling around with smoking hot chick like her!" Jenny said to William while she grinned mischievously.

"She and I are not even married yet to begin with" William said in low tone…Hood and him being married? That's-.

"Wait…yet?" Jenny didn't miss that slip up as she glanced to her left side with the biggest smirk she wore tonight.

"Ahem! What's the word, sergeant?" William fake coughed as he steered the conversation away from the topic.

"Oh, right…We got good news and bad news" Jenny said to William and looked as her Martini arrived.

"…Good news first" William said as he looked at his wristwatch, 20.35 PM…Right on schedule.

"We've now know what 'Marry' is, that was a codename for an experiment result from Osaka Lab and that was a codename for a deadly airborne agent. It's a new type of gas that could cause breathing problems in small dose and lethal if inhaled too much, that's how it kill you because you need more air so you breath deeper and you will inhale the gas more…The gas works fast and odorless so you could pump it into a building ventilation system and everyone inside would be paralyzed or die in just under a minute…The place then would also be contaminated for hours too so it's pretty effective, luckily the gas has green smoke color so it's pretty easy to identify" Jenny explained then she sipped on her Martini.

…William's Scotch arrived and he gulped it down in one go, the bartender shrugged as she refilled his glass. William did feared that Marry is a weapon and it seems that hunch was right, airborne agent that's basically a poison gas which in the possession of terrorist? This is getting worse, if that's the good news then William dreaded the bad news…He mentally prepared himself to hear the bad one, Central Headquarters didn't notify him regarding the next step they will take despite Lucas promised him to tell him.

"Sheesh, Sakura Empire need to tone it down…At least we know what we're facing now, so the bad news?" William asked Jenny as he sipped his Scotch.

"…We executed an operation yesterday on Copenhagen to capture Marry from Crimson Cleanser, despite the chance of success were quite high we still failed…Crimson Cleanser managed to escape with Marry" Jenny said to William with somber tone and she finished her Martini.

"…How is that possible?" William's face hardened when he heard the news.

"Someone must've leaked the Intel sir, we came as stealthy as we could…We lost a lot of good men yesterday" Jenny said while she looked down to the floor.

"Damnit…Any trace on where Marry would be carried to?" William asked as he downed the rest of his Scotch.

"Unknown so far, our infiltrator within Crimson Cleanser are currently searching for some info on the whereabouts of Marry. They without a doubt will weaponize it" Jenny said to William with somber tone.

…So there's a mission to capture Marry on Copenhagen, the info most likely came from the Intel gained when Headquarter was under attack. The mission failed, they failed to prevent Marry from being grabbed by Crimson Cleanser...Situation looked grim right now, although it's not exactly his job to mind the grand strategy or plotting their next move against them it still concerned him when he didn't participate directly or he was left in the dark. There's multiple theoretical reasoning on why this happen, but he got no time for lengthy chat right now.

"Anyway, here's the complete archive that Admiral Lena want to deliver to you" Jenny slid a flash drive on top of the bar which William swiftly caught.

"What's inside? Does it include data on Marry?" William asked Lena as he inspected the small flash drive.

"I don't know, it's specifically your eyes only sir" Jenny said to William.

"Got it…Thanks a lot for doing this Jenny" William said to Jenny while he nodded his head.

"No problem sir, just doing my job" Jenny said to William while she smiled a bit.

…It would seems Lena refused to talk directly with William over the phone for this one and run risk of the call plus the file could be intercepted, she opted to send Jenny to deliver this package to himself over speaking on the phone. Hold the fuck up…Wait a minute…she still contacted Hood and by extension him this morning, she's the one who told him by phone the rendezvous place, the time, who will be coming and even the purpose of the agent's mission…William then understood, Lena set up a fucking trap for Crimson Cleanser…Goddamn this is risky as fuck!

"Huh, looks like that girlfriend of yours won big" Jenny commented when they heard some awed sounds coming from behind them.

"Seems so" William said offhandedly as he finished his scotch.

"Yeah, I think that man was getting too close to her though" Jenny noted while she smiled amusedly.

"Well then, time to show them some good old Royal Navy dominance" William said as he left the money on the desk.

Jenny kept seated as she ordered another glass of martini while William stood up and headed for the poker table, currently there's a man who's been getting too close to St. Louis on her left side…He dressed like William did while he pretended to give her some tips on how to play even though St. Louis won't be needing any of that, William walked calmly and approached St. Louis from her right side then planted a soft kiss on her right cheek. St. Louis went rigid and she almost lost the grip to her cards in shock, but she quickly adapted to the situation because honestly the men on her left side is quite relentless…

"…I left you for a bit and you win big huh?" William said to St. Louis in overly affectionate tone.

"Why of course, I told you I'm a pro at this~" St. Louis said to William while she smiled cutely.

"Your girlfriend?" The man beside St. Louis asked William.

"My wife" William confidently responded with a smile on his face.

"Ah I see, I don't know since she doesn't wear her ring" The man said as he rubbed the back of his neck a bit.

"Currently being repaired, there's a little incident this noon" William said to the man as he watched St. Louis play her hands.

"…Would you look at that, she's one hell of a gambler" The man said after St. Louis won again with the crowd cheered in awe.

"Oh yes, you're lucky that she's not your opponent" William said as he patted St. Louis right shoulder as congratulating gesture.

"I thought so too…Good chat, I'll be on my way now" The man said as he smiled then turned around.

"Win big eh?" William said to the man while he smiled.

"I wish" The man replied while he smiled wryly as he left the table.

Yeah, fuck off! William thought before he reverted from his imperial British persona back to William Blaze as he watched St. Louis play again…Man, being able to change his demeanor and persona quickly like that took years of experience coupled with training. But still, he had never been the type that's good at lying so in few experience where he was captured William opted to stay silent…At least, until his imprisonment where lying through his teeth have become daily occurrences. It is as people said, you experience enough of the world and you might be left with nothing to experience more…This darker side of him, his cunning, meticulous, merciless and liar persona was something he didn't want to get too attached to. He preferred the real William Blaze, the one who's friendly, a bit awkward at times and a bumbling daft when faced with lots of women. Though thanks to his daily interaction with the ship girls, he's now used to the idea of being surrounded by ladies…

"You are natural liar, William~" St. Louis said to William while she grinned.

"Something I picked up during my time in undercover, pretty handy most of the time" William replied to St. Louis while he smiled.

"Got what you came for?" St. Louis asked William.

"Yeah, but let's stay for a bit. Bailing out now would be too suspicious…Hmm?" William said to St. Louis before he noticed a red dot on St. Louis back…red laser dot?!

BANG!

The instant William noticed the laser dot he immediately grabbed St. Louis with him and pulled her toward him as he heard gunfire sound, the entire casino immediately went down in chaos as people hurriedly take cover or exited the establishment. William grabbed Louis as he carelessly rammed anyone who stood in their way, he carried St. Louis as he slide on top of the bar counter and hid there with her. The bartender choose to bail out before she was hit in the head by a bullet, the bartender immediately fell to the floor lifelessly with blood rapidly spurted out of the hole on her head. William narrowed his gaze and gritted his teeth in frustration, they were pinned down by sniper fire! Where's Jenny? William didn't see her during the chaos-

BANG!

"…Lou, are you alright?!" William asked St. Louis who he embraced.

"Y-Yes! It did stings but I'm okay!" St. Louis said while she gritted her teeth.

BANG!

The bottle on the rack above them exploded as the bullet went through it, looks like that guy who shot them tried to probe St. Louis and him for a reaction. William thought on inspecting the situation from his cover but he figured that the sniper have a lock on their position, revealing his head would be one way ticket for him to receive a bullet through the head as a prize. The gunfire stopped and William checked on St. Louis for any injuries, she got a bullet graze on her left arm…Tch, not even ship girls is safe when they didn't equipped their riggings…

"Commander! We heard gunshot! Are you and Louis alright?!" Enterprise contacted William on the radio.

"Yeah we're fine at the moment! Go hunt for that Sniper!" William said to Enterprise on the radio.

BANG!

"We see them! Got it sir!" Enterprise said to William.

"Lou, don't summon your riggings. I know it's dangerous to do that but you need to stay hidden" William noted to St. Louis.

"Understood" St. Louis said to William while she nodded her head.

William resolved himself as he reached for inside his blazer and took out a Snub nosed Colt Python Revolver, he pulled the hammer back and he slowly raised himself from cover. The sounds of shouting, screaming, howling in panic were getting farther and fainter as the civilians bolted out of the place…Despite that though, he still heard footsteps and it's steady as if someone who walked slowly…He got a bad feeling about it, William finally could see from his cover only to find several men wearing clothing over their mouths while dressed in casual clothing carrying firearms on their hands. One of them spotted William, the said man widened his eyes as he choose to shoot or duck…well, its obvious what William choose in this situation.

"There he is!" The man shouted as he raised his weapon.

BRATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

Bullets harassed both William and St. Louis on their cover which start to get filled with holes, keep this up and they'll be as good as dead but fighting alone would be their eventual doom. William reached for the other side of his blazer and took out a USP.45, he released the safety, checked the slide and then offered it to St. Louis who stared at the handgun on his left hand.

"This is for you" William said to St. Louis.

"…You came prepared" St. Louis commented as she took the USP.

"I know this is going to happen somewhat, Crimson Cleanser fell for the trap…Know how to fire a gun?" William asked St. Louis.

"I hailed from Eagle Union, of course I knew how" St. Louis responded while she smiled smugly.

"Brilliant, follow my lead" William said as he grinned viciously.

That makes thing easier…William pointed the other side to St. Louis and she immediately understood what he meant, both of them emerged from cover while firing their gun. St. Louis hurriedly approached one man who she shot twice, she used him as a cover before she shot another one who was exposed on her front left side. St. Louis side stepped to the right and she grabbed the hand of the armed man who's about to shoot her, she twisted the arm before she used her leg to trip him to the floor. She then quickly discharged another shot from her handgun, she may not be that good with CQC but she could at least take them down with her superior physical strength.

William dashed out while he fired once toward the closest armed man, he quickly noted that there's another four in his vicinity so he quickly grabbed an Uzi SMG that the guy he just shot wield. After he grabbed the Uzi William quickly laid down spraying fire over the next two armed men in front of him, before he could finish the third one he ran out of bullets on the Uzi so he threw the gun at the man. The throw was a miss but that was on purpose, because when the man dodged William swiftly closed in with speed that betrayed his size.

He unleashed two shots directly in the man's abdomen before he kicked him off toward the last armed man, the last man only carried a revolver but he managed to unleash a shot that hit William straight in the gut. Undeterred despite he just got shot, William quickly raised his revolver and fired back at the armed man straight in the head. After confirming everyone who's looking to kill them were dead, William checked on St. Louis who nodded her head to confirm that she's alright. William rubbed on the spot he was hit, fortunately the bullet was small caliber so the Kevlar vest could easily do its job…it still hurts though, perhaps it's going to bruise later? Both William and St. Louis started to move when William spotted someone who bleed out on the floor, he widened his eye when he noticed that he know that person.

"Jenny!" William shouted as he approached Jenny.

"Gahk! Oh…hey there sir…sniper…got me" Jenny said to William with blood spilled out of her mouth.

"Shite, hold on Jenny. I'm getting you out of here!" William said to Jenny as he tried to lift her up.

"I don't…think that's possible" Jenny answered as she looked downwards.

William followed her gaze, he saw the place where the bullet penetrated her and he widened his right eye…that place was directly on her liver's position, as much as he want to comfort himself the cold harsh truth slapped him because Jenny doesn't have a lot of time right now. Even if he did successfully carried her outside, there's no telling how many firefight he could get through…It's a lost cause either way. Even when he thought all that William still raised Jenny from the floor but Jenny shook her head sideways, instead William place her down gently on top of the poker table…He looked down and noticed the large pool of blood on the place she's on before, she don't have much time…

"S-Sir?" Jenny asked William as her right hand reached for her necklace.

"Yeah?" William asked Jenny and dread washed over him when he noticed how pale she was.

"…Tell my mom. Tell her that, I'm sorry…I'm sorry for…not being there for…Gahk!" Jenny tried to say something with tears spilling out before she coughed blood again.

"Jenny? Jenny! Goddamnit!" William said to Jenny as he shook her body.

Jenny tried to smile as her eyes slowly rolled up a bit and the hand that grabbed her necklace fell above her chest, William checked her pulse and then he gritted his teeth because Jenny had died in his arms, she got brilliant mind and there's so much potential in her yet she had to die tonight…William knew that their line of work means they could lose their life anytime, he knew that but that doesn't make it any easier when he had to witness his allies dying. Jenny agreed to this mission, she surely agreed and knew that she would be a bait…she came here knowing the risk…William grabbed her right hand, he opened her palm to see a small necklace of unknown symbol which he took and stuffed inside his blazer pocket. William pursed his lips in grief, he reached out and closed Jenny's opened eyes then put her hands on her chest…He touched it then lowered his head, he'll make sure she'll be buried within Azur Lane Heroes Cemetery in the future.

"William? Is she…" St. Louis asked William with widened eyes as she covered her mouth.

"She's dead…Enterprise, tell me you have that sniper!" William said briefly then contacted Enterprise on the radio.

"In a moment sir!" Enterprise replied on the radio.

"Hah…Lou, we have to get out of here. Cleveland!" William said to Cleveland on the radio.

"Aye commander?" Cleveland asked William on the radio.

"Meet us in the backyard" William said to Cleveland on the radio.

"Roger that!" Cleveland said on the radio.

St. Louis followed William as they made their way to the rear side of the casino, both of them had their guns pointed forward in case they have to encounter any other armed men that seek to kill them…Fortunately they didn't and they managed to safely made it outside of the building, the parking lot was strangely empty expect for the cars that were abandoned because their driver valued their own safety more. William looked up and saw Cleveland dropped down from the roof of the casino building, she already equipped her rigging too. William nodded his head as a form of short greeting, he then took out the flash drive that Jenny gave him and handed it to St. Louis.

"Lou, take this back to the base and have Akashi analyze the content immediately. Cleve, make sure she made it back safely" William said to the both of them.

"What about you?" Cleveland asked William.

"I'll catch up later, go!" William said to Cleveland.

"Good luck commander!" Cleveland said as she turned around.

"Stay safe commander" St. Louis said as she summoned her rigging.

"Thanks, both of you" William said to the both of them while he smiled softly.

After witnessing the two ship girls departed to the beach and head straight for the base, William heard police siren in the distance…Slow fucks, it took them that long to respond an attack on this island? William heard footsteps from inside the building and he hid behind a bush wall near the parking lot, two armed man came out with panicked face…Perfect, William thought as he sprung out and fired his revolver straight in the forehead of one armed men that caused him to fell down lifelessly. The other one was too surprised to do anything right, he tried to shoot William with a Skorpion SMG which was grabbed by the giant who took out the magazine, pulled the slide that ejected the bullet and threw the gun aside.

The fight or flight response prompted the man to pull out a pocket knife and lunged at William, he grabbed the attacker's right hand that carried the knife, started to spun while he carried the man with him, gained sufficient momentum before the he threw the man to the wall near the entrance. The pocket knife fell from his hand and William launched an unrestrained left hook at the man, he launched another right hook, then left, then right, he kept doing that until the man lost several teeth, his nose broken with blood spewing out and swollen purplish eyes and that's when William chocked the man to held him in place by the wall with his left hand.

"…I'm bloody pissed today mate, you better cooperate!" William said as he chocked the man.

"P-P-Please man…no…no more" The man begged as he struggled against William's left arm.

"Tell me, where's your safe house!?" William asked in deep growling tone.

"They'll kill me…please man…just…spare me" The man begged as he started to cried.

"I'm going to kill you too if you won't speak! Don't do this mate, do the right thing! Where. Is. Your. Safe house?" William asked the man as he tighten his grip.

The man finally relented and William let go of him, the man was kneeling on the ground and he did his best to breathe normally again. Reluctantly, the man told William the location of Crimson Cleanser outpost on the island which was on the other side of the island. William nodded his head, he knew the place that the man mentioned because frankly speaking he passed the area twice in the past…William emotionlessly pulled out his revolver and shot the man in the back of his head, he scoffed as he reloaded his weapon before he walked away…These…bastards took Jenny's life tonight, there would be no mercy for them…

"Enterprise, do you copy?" William asked Enterprise on the radio.

"I copy. The sniper, he get away sir" Enterprise reported in with dejected tone on the radio.

"How's that possible?" William calmly asked Enterprise on the radio.

"We get a lock on him but he blended into the fleeing crowd. We can't risk a public chase…But we do have the photo of him" Enterprise said to William on the radio.

"…Damnit, alright, we got a situation" William said to Enterprise on the radio.

"Yes sir, what's the plan?" Enterprise asked William on the radio.

"It was clear with the fact that Crimson Cleanser possessed a base of operation on this island, we're going to raid it" William said on the radio as he started to run away from the casino.

"Raid it? What are we looking for?" Enterprise asked William on the radio.

"Any Intel we could get our hands on. I'll brief you on the way, meet me on the location that I will send momentarily" William said on the radio before he broke into sprint.

"Roger! Alright ladies, you heard him, let's move!" Enterprise said on the radio to the other ship girls.

.

…Hood looked on her wristwatch, it's been an hour since William took off from the base and now she sat on his office while she watched the TV on his office to wait for his return. Accompanied by a cup of warm herbal tea to soothe tiredness she made herself comfortable as she leaned on the sofa, the TV played a documentary show regarding the wild animal's behavior on the savannah. Hood heard a knock on the door and she said that the door's unlocked, two person came through and they're St. Louis who still in her dress with Cleveland. At her appearance Hood cocked her eyebrows, where's William? Why did St. Louis and Cleveland returned without him?

"Ms. Louis? Ms. Cleveland? Where's Lord William?" Hood asked the both of them.

"He will catch up he said, I'm pretty sure he's not finished mopping up the rest of those terrorists" St. Louis said to Hood with concerned tone.

"You're under attack?! Hah…despite I told him not to do something reckless…I'm glad the both of you were alright" Hood said to both of them while she massaged her left temple.

"Thanks but putting that aside for now, he did gave me a task. Is Akashi available?" St. Louis asked Hood.

"She should be" Hood said to St. Louis.

"Commander want her to decrypt this drive's content, it is important that we know what's inside" St. Louis said to Hood as she shown her the drive that William gave her.

"Isn't that the drive that Mrs. Lena gave to him?" Hood asked St. Louis as she stared at the flash drive.

"Yes, but I think because of security reason we should only open it on this base" St. Louis said to Hood.

"…Ms. Akashi? You're needed on Commander's office, immediately" Hood immediately pulled out her phone and contacted Akashi.

…Akashi walked groggily toward the administrative building while she rubbed her eyes open, she then entered the building why was she called when she's about to take a deep sleep after working her ass off with William's armor design. Akashi entered William's office to find Hood already seated on William's office chair with a holographic scene lit on top of the desk with a denied access screen, St. Louis was at Hood's left side as she watched Hood tried various method to crack the lock for the flash drive before she sighed in annoyance. Cleveland rubbed the back of her head while she smiled wryly at Hood's attempt, she then noticed that the door was opened and Akashi walked towards them.

"…What's going on nyaa? I was about to sleep" Akashi asked the three of them.

"Lord William wished that you decrypted this flash drive and open the content" Hood said to Akashi while she furrowed her eyebrows.

Akashi wasted no time as she walked toward the terminal, Hood relinquished the seat to Akashi who quickly analyzed the screen. The screen was created by an encryption typically used by Azur Lane armed force but this one was quite different than the standard one she saw in the past, this one seemingly doesn't have the standard lock…Akashi opened the BIOS panel and ran some schematics, she widened her eyes at what she saw.

"Nyaa? Someone who put this up is paranoid nyaa" Akashi commented while she read the diagnostic.

"What makes you say that?" Cleveland asked curiously to Akashi.

"This decryption is military grade complimented with failsafe to blow this device if we open it forcefully, the content couldn't be accessed if that happens" Akashi explained as she confirmed the diagnostic.

"Can you do it?" Hood asked Akashi while she watched from behind.

"Can I? Pfft, piece of cake nyaa…There, done!" Akashi typed several things and the file was opened.

"S-S-She typed so fast!" Cleveland commented as she was taken aback.

"I was baffled with what I see…" Hood hummed to herself at witnessing Akashi's technical prowess.

"Quick, what's the content?" St. Louis asked Akashi.

The content of the flash drive that was encrypted so heavily turned out to be collection of files with numbers beside it, the number indicates the priority of the file and Akashi opened the first one that she quickly read through. Akashi had mixed feeling when she finished reading the summary for the first file and she looked at Hood who haven't got the proper look yet, but seeing Akashi's face once was enough proof to her that whatever is in that file it's something that's going to affect them…heavily.

"…Errr, Hood-sama? You may want to call our faction representatives nyaa" Akashi said to Hood in nervous tone.

"Why? What's inside that flash drive?" Hood curiously asked Akashi.

"Check out the name" Akashi said as she stood up from the seat.

"Trident Initiative? Hmm…oh my…Yes, I should call them here…" Hood said after she read what's in the file.

"Hood, should I call commander regarding this?" St. Louis asked Hood.

"…No, he should focus doing whatever he's doing right now. Before we speak about this to him we need a consensus amongst ourselves first" Hood said to St. Louis with serious tone.

"I understand. Since Enterprise is outside at the moment, Brooklyn would be Eagle Union's representative" St. Louis said to herself then she exited the room.

"Ah, then I'll get Queen Elizabeth for you" Cleveland said to Hood as she ran outside the room.

"I should probably get Nagato-sama nyaa?" Akashi asked to Hood.

"Yes, I'll stay here and read all of this so better get moving ladies" Hood said to Akashi while she smiled a bit.

Everyone exited William's office and Hood turned off the TV, she returned to the terminal and looked properly on what's inside. There are various files but she supposed the first one caught her attention the most, Trident Initiative? What is that? She read past the summary into the technical parts and each paragraph she read caused Hood to get mixed feelings…She pulled out her phone and contacted someone, she's Bismarck that she phoned directly.

"…This is quite unexpected" Hood muttered in low tone.

"Hood? It's late, what do you want?" Bismarck asked Hood with lethargic and sleepy tone on the phone.

"Bismarck, you better head for Commander's office immediately…we have a situation that need to be discussed" Hood said to Bismarck with serious tone.

"What happened to him!?" Bismarck immediately went full awake and asked with concerned tone.

"Not him specifically, this involved all of us" Hood said as she further read the document.

"…I'm on my way" Bismarck said to Hood as she hung up the call.

.

"Everyone understand?" William asked out loud.

William's currently driving the SUV he brought earlier with St. Louis down the street way pass the speed limit with sparse traffic, he just explained the overall plan to raid the building that's now designated as Crimson Cleanser outpost. Enterprise rode shotgun beside him while Hornet, Arizona and Baltimore rode on the passenger seat. Hornet cocked her eyebrows regarding the plan she just heard, Enterprise kept her eyes on the road, Baltimore rubbed her chin in wonder and Arizona nodded her head in affirmation.

"I have a question" Hornet said to William.

"What is it, Hornet?" William asked Hornet.

"My rigging isn't exactly fit for close quarter, can I stay outside as overwatch?" Hornet asked to William.

"Yeah sure. Arizona, looks like Hornet will go with you. Take care anyone who tries to escape and any possible reinforcement to the area, we'll show them just how good you ship girls on land as you were on seas" William said to them both while he smiled a bit.

"Understood commander" Arizona said to William.

Looks like the ship girls understood the plan, it's time for William to lead them into charge. Despite their roles as warship it would seems they're quite capable when they have to face enemies on land, the girls could fight too and furthermore their unorthodox gear could prove very beneficial in here…William spotted the targeted building, it's a mansion on the edge of the island. This place was used as a meeting place by Crimson Cleanser as well their operation center on this island, they managed to elude suspicion since it was located on the mansion complex owned by the rich. William accelerated as they're getting closer to their target, William didn't have any intention to step on the brake pedal.

"Um, that's the front gate" Hornet commented to William.

"Yeah" William simply replied to Hornet.

"Uh…Why aren't ya slowing down?" Hornet asked again this time she started to sweat in nervousness.

"Stealth is out of the window from the start in this situation" William said to Hornet as he grinned in the process.

"Oh boy…" Hornet said out loud then gulped.

"Handles, now" William simply commanded the girls.

The girls grabbed on the handles on their side while Hornet grabbed the two chairs in front of her, William switched the car light on and turned it into beam mode and noted that there's two guards behind the gate. William stepped on the pedal and the car accelerated to over eighty kilometers an hour before it rammed the front gate of the mansion open, the gate crushed one guard while the other got slammed by the SUV and flew good five meters away from his original position. William pulled the handbrake and stepped on the brake pedal while moved the car to the left side, a guard came out from the side entrance and William extended his right hand out armed with revolver and shot the guard. Now that the area was temporarily cleared, everyone exited the car.

"Go to that high ground! Baltimore, Enterprise, on me!" William ordered the girls.

"Yes sir!" "Got it!" Baltimore and Enterprise responded.

The ship girls deployed their riggings then Hornet and Arizona immediately went to the high ground behind the mansion while William, Enterprise and Baltimore moved to the left side entrance. William checked on the door which was locked, he then heard some shuffling and footsteps behind the door and he scoffed…they're preparing to ambush them? Well, too bad, he got an aircraft carrier and a cruiser ready to wreck these guy's night.

"Door's locked…Enterprise, use your bow. F4F Wildcat, rocket barrage" William said to Enterprise as he moved away from the door.

"That's very specific, I see you did your homework" Enterprise commented while she smiled.

Enterprise summoned her bow, she fired toward the sky and her arrow transformed into F4F Wildcat fighter. The fighter flew to gain altitude before it swooped down toward the left side entrance and used it's machine gun and fired off its rockets, the machinegun weakened the wall's structure before the rockets punched through and blew anything and anyone inside that room…William, Baltimore and Enterprise emerged from behind the SUV they used to get there, they went inside and noted that one man looked back at them with shell shocked face while the bodies of his comrades were scattered around…literally.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" The man shouted at William.

BANG!

William didn't spare him second glance after he fired off his revolver, they walked carefully into the mansion and now they have to get to the operation room. Where is it? William walked into a hallway when he spotted pile of desk stuck at each other with several armed men behind them, they fired their weapons and William pushed himself backwards to avoid the bullet barrage…The man breathed rapidly because he was genuinely surprised, he also noted that there's no way his revolver would be enough to beat them all.

"Another barricade ahead. Baltimore, you're up" William said to Baltimore while he nodded his head.

"On it!" Baltimore said to William.

Baltimore appeared when the armed men reloaded their weapons, she smirked as she unleashed two shots from her cannons. The shell hit the barricade and engulfed them in a big explosion, the barricades shattered and the men behind them were gone…William moved first and managed to see the charred remains of the armed men, he grimaced and tell the girls to move to the other way and thus they did. He don't want Baltimore to see this scene of carnage honestly, William saw a fallen AK74 on the floor so he grabbed it and checked the ammo on the magazine. Fully loaded, nice. William caught up with Enterprise and Baltimore, he took point in search for the operation room.

"You equipped HE shells?" William lowly asked Baltimore.

"Yeah, should I use AP?" Baltimore asked William with low tone.

"Try to do so, we don't want to burn this building down yet" William said to Baltimore.

"If you say so sir" Baltimore said while she nodded her head.

William raised his left fist and the ship girls stopped moving, he hugged the wall as he heard footsteps approaching their location…Looks like these men were on the hunt, William don't want to take chances with just one carbine but then he heard something behind them shifted. Enterprise readied her bow and an arrow ready to fire, she stared at him as if asking for permission to engage…William relented and nodded his head, might be a good time to see how good she is in close quarter.

"…Leave one alive Enterprise" William said to Enterprise in low tone.

"Okay" Enterprise smiled as she nodded her head.

Enterprise dashed forward and caught the enemy group by surprise, Enterprise quickly noted that there's around six of them so she quickly drew her bowstrings and unleashed one arrow toward the farthest guy that penetrated straight through his head. The five other immediately raised their weapon but the closest guy to Enterprise received a nasty right hook that thrown him toward the wall, the wooden wall was crushed and the man laid motionless while stuck on it. Enterprise used the momentum of her right hook to jump and sent a flying right kick that hit the other guy beside the previous man, the kick hit the guy in the neck and it snapped his collarbone in an instant. While that happened she produced two arrows, she drew the bowstrings and unleashed the next shot while she still in the air and those two arrows pinned two man to the wooden wall after the arrows penetrated their heart directly. The last man was so terrified he dropped his weapon and raised his hands up while Enterprise aimed her bow towards him, William came out and tapped Enterprise's left shoulder as a sign of appreciation and commendation…She really did a good job.

"Operation center, where is it?" William didn't beat around the bush and immediately asked the question.

"Just…go straight, turn left and go in the first door on the left" The guy said to William with meek tone.

"Thanks" William replied to the guy as he nodded his head.

"You're welcome?" The guy was caught off guard with that gratitude and answered with questions.

BANG!

William walked ahead after he shot the man in the head with his newly acquired AK74, he followed the directions given by the man he interrogated before and he slowly moved toward sets of corridors to avoid getting ambushed again because he had enough for one night. While he moved, Enterprise was directly behind him with bows ready to drawn in case another case like that happened again while Baltimore secured their rear with her cannons.

BOOM!

"Battleship cannons" William commented in low tone.

"Must be Arizona dealing with the stragglers" Enterprise said to William in low tone.

"Commander, I spotted a helicopter heading toward here. Don't know what model it is but I guess it's a transport type, I'll bring it down" Hornet reported in on the radio.

"No, wait until they land or start to unload their cargo then you bring it down hard" William said to Hornet on the radio.

"Aye aye~!" Hornet responded on the radio.

They arrived at the room that the guy mentioned and William could heard people getting busy inside, either they were eliminating evidences, preparing defenses or evacuation he couldn't say. One thing he know for sure was that they would be severely outnumbered if they breach now, but William got an idea…He wasn't sure this going to work, but experiment is an experiment in the end. He instructed Baltimore to fire two shells of AP on the diagonal top side of the door and another two on diagonal down, then blow the middle with HE shells…Deep inside her mind Baltimore found her commander to be skilled and frightening tactician on occasions, nevertheless she did what he told her and she hoped for the best.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BOOM!

The four AP shells created holes that weakened the walls around the door before the HE shells blew up the door alongside the weakened wall, the explosions caused debris to fly everywhere and majority of it hit many of the room occupants. Those that survived were either shell shocked or scrambling for their downed weapons, that's when William went in gun blazing and Enterprise fired off her arrows at those that still stand. In less than ten seconds they have cleared the operation center's room, a bit of collateral damage was involved but hey it get the jobs done.

"I'd say we did pretty well without training" Baltimore noted while she smiled.

"I agree, should we start going out with you on your combat mission, commander?" Enterprise asked William while she smiled a bit.

"…That remains to be seen, you ladies got enough on your plate already with The Sirens" William commented as he discarded his empty AK74.

…Now that William thought about it he should not use that method when the room inside were filled with Intel or high valued individuals because the room is a mess now! William looked around to see if there's anything they could use to get any Intel on Crimson Cleanser's action on this island, he saw an intact holographic terminal on the right side of the room still untouched despite the debris flying around. He approached the terminal and he operated it, William smiled when he noted that the terminal wasn't password locked.

"Now, let's see what you guys got" William commented as he begun typing.

"…You're quite the tech savvy huh commander?" Enterprise asked William out loud.

"Back then I'm what society called geek in a sense, I do mess around with computer a lot back in the days so I picked up a thing or two…Hmmm, the firewalls aren't too shabby but they did left a backdoor open…Ho? Oh bloody hell, Enterprise, get me a flash drive or any data storage" William said in dreaded tone before he asked Enterprise.

"Alright, Baltimore help me out" Enterprise said to Baltimore.

Anyone wondered on what did William just found on the terminal? Nothing new but disturbing nonetheless, William found the fact that this island is a basis to launch a direct attack with cruise missiles. But how did they managed to get their hands on one? Yeah, that connection you twat. If Crimson Cleanser already managed to obtain a cruise missile, William feared that they're going for the ultimate prize…the nukes. Since he currently couldn't contact Lena, he'll need to get this Intel across without alerting the suspected Intelligence Division.

"Here" Enterprise thrown him a spare flash drive.

"Thanks…File is transferring, this will take a while" William said out loud.

BOOM!

"The helicopter that Hornet mentioned is a troop transport commander!" Arizona reported in on the radio.

"Whose troops!?" William asked Arizona on the radio.

"…They don't wear uniform so I'm not sure" Arizona said to William on the radio.

"Don't worry, if they don't and it's friendly fire it would be their fault" William assured Arizona on the radio.

"Yes…are you done yet?" Arizona asked William on the radio.

"In a moment, I'm currently extracting data from this computer…" William said to Arizona on the radio.

"Sir?" Baltimore said to William out loud.

"What?" William asked back as he looked at Baltimore.

Baltimore and Enterprise stared at a schematics placed on the wall, their eyes were widened when they saw what schematic it was. William saw the schematics too, he's taken aback for a bit before he slowly approached the schematic on the wall…He knew it, he was quite familiar with it and that thing being here made him came to a grim conclusion.

"…Oh my god, this is the layout of our base…Something like this is only accessible by those within Azur Lane High Command Council, no one knew the pass for the archive…not even me, it is more than confirmed that there's a traitor within the HQ now and possibly has influence within The Intelligence Division. They're planning to attack us directly" William said out loud to Baltimore and Enterprise.

"They highlighted the two dormitory area!" Baltimore said as she pointed two red circles on the schematic.

"…That's Sakura Empire's and Ironblood's dormitory!" Enterprise said out loud.

So Crimson Cleanser did planned to strike their base, they've tried to assassinate William before but that attempt was a failure so they resorted to attack the ship girls. To be frank that decision was moronic as fuck, but it looks like they knew the fact that William cared about the ship girls under his command…He noticed that there's a faint blue glowing in the edge of his vision and he took out his revolver and aimed it to the side, there's a holographic projection there and that projection was the projection of Ronald who's currently with Crimson Cleanser…

"Ah long time no see William, how predictable are you? Easily. I know within the moment we move on this island you will immediately strike our operation center, it's what you taught us after all" Ronald said to William while he shrugged in exasperation.

"Ronald…Why do you involve the ship girls?" William demanded an answer with his gun pointed at him.

"Why? That's simple isn't it? That would be the fuel needed for the war" Ronald answered without much care in his tone.

"You'll sacrifice those who can fight The Sirens directly just so you can restart the war with The Crimson Axis?! HAVE YOU GONE MENTAL!?" William was so confused and angry that he still kept his weapon aimed toward a hologram.

"No no no no! You don't see the point didn't you?! It is clear that The Sirens wants us to kill each other! That's why they left us alone back then, the data spoke loud and clearly!" Ronald insisted as he answered with half closed eyes.

"You mental fuck! The Sirens are manipulative bastards who didn't hesitate to kill all of us if they want to! Don't get fooled by their schemes!" William said to Ronald while he growled.

"Ah, you're hard man to talk to huh? Oh well, we can always talk with our fist" Ronald said to William while he smirked.

"You're mere hologram Ronald, you don't have the courage to face me directly" William scoffed at the thought of Ronald engaging him in close quarter, he won't stand a chance.

"That's the difference between you and me William, you fight with your muscle and I fought with my slightly deformed brain" Ronald said to William while he smiled sardonically.

"You had a contact inside the headquarters, someone within The High Command Council" William stated as he finally lowered his revolver.

"…I suppose that filth spoke huh?" Ronald stared at William with narrowed gaze.

"I don't need Intel from HQ for that, you laid out the evidence here" William said to Ronald while he scowled.

"Hehehehehe, I suppose that's also true…The thing is, I still outsmarted you. You surely know by now that we have Marry in our hands and we planned to use it…What's the delivery system for that?" Ronald asked William while he smirked.

"Missile…" William muttered as he remembered the cruise missile in Crimson Cleanser possession.

"HA! See!? This is what the troops complained about back then! You're smart! But you lack insight! Did you really think we'll waste money on missile strike? Ridiculous, you need to get back to the academy and took class Insurgency 101 mate!" Ronald said to William while he grinned in malicious amusement.

…He got a point, an insurgent and terrorist movement won't spend their funding over one missile and then used it for an attack like that. If they're going to strike with missile the target should be even more valuable and larger than a military base, but if they're not going to use a missile then what will they use? William quickly racked his brain for answer but the combination of anger, confusion and urge to murder really caused him to unable think critically…

"Still haven't figured it out yet? Fine, here's the hint…we are living on the digital era bitch, you should have known by now. But, I guess you won't live to see it huh? I'm quite merciful so I'll end it here, so long you fuck!" Ronald said while he grinned maliciously as he pulled a detonator from his back and pressed it.

PIIIPPP!

DUAAAAARRRRR!

Large explosions engulfed the entire mansion and set it on fire, out of that large explosions came three figures that flew out from the ground floor into the grassy backyard. Enterprise caught her breath as she stared at the burning mansion, Baltimore kneeled after she had to smashed through a large window and William had his entire body sore from the shockwave of the explosion despite being protected by two ship girls from the explosions…Nevertheless the three made it through without any fatal injuries, William stood up and stared toward the burning mansion with pure hatred, anger and vengeance swirled inside him.

"…I'm really going to murder that wank stain when I meet him and this time I'll make sure he won't come back to life!" William vowed out loud as he tighten his grips and gritted his teeth.

"…You knew him sir?" Enterprise dared to ask William about Ronald.

"…He used to be one of us within Task Force Nimbus, before he turned traitor and I shot him. But he survived and this is how he become. Alert the base, we got incoming attack!" William said to Enterprise as he managed to composed himself.

"Got it" Enterprise said out loud as she radioed for their base.

"Arizona, Hornet, great job on overwatch. Rendezvous on me" William said on the radio for the two ship girls.

"Aye sir!" Okay commander!" Hornet and Arizona replied as they moved to his position.

"…Sir, I think the attack has already begun" Enterprise said to William with horror on her face.

"What?!" William said out loud as he looked at Enterprise.

"Radio transmission isn't functioning, we couldn't reach our base!" Enterprise said to William with dread in her tone.

"Get to the military base next door! We'll borrow their gas masks and then we're going for our base!" William said as he quickly racked his brain again for solution.

"Gas masks?! Is the attack would involve poison gas?!" Baltimore asked William out loud.

"Yeah so stop dawdling and move!" William said as he started to move from his position.

"We'll go through the sea, it'll be faster!" Baltimore suggested to William.

Arizona and Hornet caught up with them before the group jumped down toward the sea from the backyard of the mansion, Enterprise shouldered William with her as each of them started to cruised their way to the military base that Commander Johnson in charge of. Along the way William couldn't helped himself for worrying the other ship girls on the base, he thought long and hard on the method to evacuate the base without getting too close and when the radio was down…That's when he remembered something, a technique he almost forget when it comes to signaling without radio.

"…Wait, Baltimore, do you know morse code?" William asked Baltimore out loud.

"Yeah of course I know, but I don't know how to use it without the equipment!" Baltimore said to William while she frowned.

"Use your cannons and fire above our base with HE shells on the distance one kilometer away, that way they can see the shells and heard the sound. Fire repeatedly, empty your munitions if you have to" William said to Baltimore with serious tone.

"…That could work! What's the message?!" Baltimore widened her eyes then asked when she thought this might work.

"Poison gas. Incoming. Escape to the seas. Rendezvous. Nearby base" William said to Baltimore.

"Got it sir!" Baltimore said as she diverted her route back to their base.

"…That was quite smart" Arizona commented while she smiled.

"We're in luck that we got ship grade cannons with us, if that didn't work…" William said before he trailed with his words.

"No, it would. Especially with the fact that Helena is on the base, her SG radar should detect Baltimore and no one would miss the sound of cannon being shot on our base…They'll get the message, they have to…" Enterprise said to William beside him, she looked forward with worrying gaze on her face.

"They'll be fine sis, Foxhound might even detect the trace of poison in the air" Hornet said to Enterprise to lighten the mood.

"Even though it's odorless?" William asked Hornet with cocked eyebrows.

"Hey, she has great sense of smell. It's a possibility" Hornet said to William while she shrugged.

…They kept their pace all the way to Johnson's base, the ship girls disengaged and started running on land followed by William as they make their way to the dock entrance. One marine guard was patrolling with his M16A4 and a cigar on his lips, he noted something that moved toward his peripheral vision and in instinct he activated his flashlight attached to his rifle and disengaged the safety. He saw William alongside three ship girls sprinting toward him and he cocked his eyes in wonder.

"Eh?! Who are you?!" The marine asked out loud towards them.

"Commander William Blaze from the base next door, we're under imminent attack by poison gas with no clear delivery system! Currently, the entire base is evacuating to this place, alert Commander Johnson, pronto!" William said out loud as few other marines approached them.

"S-Sir!" The marines saluted before he sprinted while he radioed toward the command center.

"This way sir, ma'am! We'll be on the lookout for more ship girls heading towards here" Another marine said to them.

"No…we'll stay here, I want to make sure everyone made it" William said to them as he looked back toward the direction of his base.

"…Roger that sir. I can relate to that feeling" The marine said while he smiled a bit.

William, Arizona, Enterprise and Hornet looked toward the direction of their base as they waited for anyone to approach all the while they hoped that the girls will get the message. They could clearly make out the bright orange shells that Baltimore fired above their base as some sort of improvised morse code, William reached for his pocket to make sure Jenny's necklace was still there…After around ten minutes waiting they could see something on the dark horizon, few marines also noticed and they fired a spotlight beam toward the approaching subjects. William could see Z23, Javelin, Laffey and Ayanami heading towards them, seeing the ship girls really get the message released some tension from their shoulder.

"Thank goodness…" Enterprise said while she smiled in relief.

"Commander! We got the message!" Javelin said out loud to William.

"Where are the rest, Javelin?!" William asked Javelin as he looked around.

"They're still evacuating! We're regrouping before we head here, the secretaries and the fleet representatives is still in the administrative building!" Javelin explained to William as she landed on the docks.

"Damnit! Commander I'm going to help them!" Enterprise said as she jumped down to the sea surface and accelerated to their base.

"W-Wait, Enterprise! Hah goddamnit! Hornet, make sure your sister didn't get into trouble!" William sighed then said to Hornet.

"Yeah agreed!" Hornet nodded her head as she followed Enterprise.

"The whole base have been alerted kommandant, I'm sure everyone get the notice. Some of the destroyers stayed behind a bit to make sure no one gets left out" Z23 explained to William as she landed on the docks.

"I see, good work ladies" William managed to smile a bit after what he went through tonight.

Great! That technique works! It's good to hear that the ship girls noticed the message and currently heading to this base, he don't want to take chances for the ship girls to be exposed to Marry because he didn't know what kind of gas Marry is yet…He heard some commotion behind him and saw Johnson ran toward him accompanied by two lieutenant close behind him, Johnson managed to get a glimpse on William and the minority of the ship girls were alright for now.

"William! The hell is going on? Your base got attacked by poison gas?!" Johnson asked to William then catch his breath.

"Yeah, we still don't know the delivery system and communication went down. I need your help Carl!" William said to Johnson as he put his right hand over Johnson's left shoulder.

"You'll get it. Men, I want hangar seven and eight to be cleared out! Turn that into temporary shelters! Prepare all of our gas masks on easily accessed area and hallways! Alert the medics and secure the entire base! Move it!" Johnson was quick to spew out orders to his lieutenants.

The lieutenants saluted at him then bailed out to two different directions, guess they knew their own part to play. Johnson was kind enough to clear out two hangars so the ship girls could take temporary shelter from the potentially ongoing attack, William owed him one for this…Johnson huffed a bit after he made sure that the order was received, he saw that the planes on the hangar were brought out to make living space, many of the marines brought sleeping bags and other necessities to the hangar by foot or by car. Good, with this the ship girls could stay for a bit and hopefully comfortable enough with the rudimentary shelter.

"Is Crimson Cleanser the one who did this?" Johnson asked William who then stared toward the sea while he rubbed his chin.

"You're goddamn right" William simply said to Johnson.

"I see…I'll be on the command center, once you get your ship girls organized we could talk there to plan our next move" Johnson said to William

"Got it…Hey, thanks Carl" William said to Johnson as he smiled sincerely.

"Anytime man, you got my back I got yours" Johnson said while he smiled then he walked away.

One group after another then started to came to the docks and William personally greeted them, but apparently there are other ship girls who approached the base through the second dock area a bit further from the one William was on. He noticed that the fleet representatives as well as his secretaries were the last group to arrive because they've been busy making sure the base was empty. William allowed himself to smile and his shoulders sagged in relief, it looks like none of them shown symptom of being sick too so it's safe to say majority of the girls made it out without inhaling the gas.

"Good to see you ladies make it!" William said to everyone on the group.

"Milord, there's something we need to talk about" Hood said to William.

"Not now, we could talk later. Did anyone passed out or fell ill along the way here?" William asked Hood and the others.

"None that we see, master" Belfast said to William.

"…Still, I want you to do headcount and ran full absence on the ladies, make sure everyone are here and then we'll talk" William ordered to the secretaries.

"As you ordered milord! Let's move ladies!" Hood said out loud and everyone moved out from the docks.

"Bismarck, a moment…" William caught up with Bismarck and walked alongside her.

"Kommandant?" Bismarck asked William as she walked alongside him.

"Is there any kind of anomaly before you heard the signal from Baltimore?" William asked Bismarck.

"We found out that the radio was jammed in all frequency, other than that there's nothing abnormal" Bismarck said to William without missing a beat.

"Any missile in the air?" William immediately asked Bismarck again.

"Radar shows nothing" Bismarck said to William while she furrowed her eyebrows.

"...What is something that was heavily used during the digital era? Something inconspicuous, easily attainable and so simple that even untrained terrorist could use?" William asked out loud while he looked toward the ground as he walked.

…What indeed, William thought long and hard on what could a terrorist possibly use as a weapon of terror that could also be used as delivery system for Marry? To deliver something like that to their military base they could send a package filled with them but that's too obvious, the only remaining choice is by air but so far radar haven't detected anything and they purposely cut off their communication probably with jammers…Wait, the girls made it to evacuate their base and so far he haven't heard any of them exposed to Marry, looks like their base wasn't hit yet…what if William thought wrong regarding the attack from the start? What if that Intel that was on the safe house was actually a bait?

"Hey, what is that?" One marine asked out loud.

"Birds?" Another marine asked out loud.

"What kind of bird flew at night? It's certainly wasn't owl and they don't usually fly in swarms like that" The other marine said while he scoffed.

"…Oh fuck! EVERYONE! SHOOT THOSE THINGS DOWN!" William came to realization and he shouted his order as loud as he could.

"What?!" A marine beside him said out loud.

"DO AS I SAY MARINE!" William said to the marine as he pulled out his own revolver.

"I don't get it but OPEN FIRE!" The marine shouted as the marines started to fire on the flying objects.

The answer for that question was drones! Ronald mentioned digital era before and this era was marked with heavy use of drones and internet! Those things they saw on the sky were drones that's being remote controlled and possibly weaponized with Marry! Marines all over the base started firing at the drones and several ship girls who were outside immediately lit up their AA guns, it didn't take long for the drones to get destroyed and fell down but that will proved to be their biggest mistake tonight. As soon as the drones hit the ground the drone exploded and released thick veil of green smoke which surely is Marry and the other drones that flew above them dropped a grenade that exploded into another thick green smoke, William widened his eyes in combination of horror and shock…they really did it…

"POISON GAS! GET A GAS MASK NOW!" William shouted as loud as he could.

"Attention everyone! We're under attack by poison gas! Get your gas mask and help the others, pronto!" The base PA system blared to life.

People scrambled to nearby building or tried their best getting out of the clouds, William took a deep breath and pushed Bismarck forward to run toward the hangar in front of them. Everyone did so but the marines started to slow down the longer they're on the gas cloud, one by one they fell to their knees on the ground. Worse part was the fact that there are several ship girls who were trapped due to how thick the gas cloud were, Kongou felt herself getting harder to breathe and she felt her lungs screamed for oxygen. She looked in front of her and saw a marine who went wide eyed as he spasm on the ground, he thrashed around trying to breathe…

"I-Is this…" Kongou muttered as she crawled and tried to move.

"Kongou!" William shouted out loud.

"…S-Shikikan?" Kongou looked up and saw William ran from her left side.

"Stay with me! Hold your breath!" William said to Kongou.

There's no way she could do that but she really couldn't move her body now since she felt so weak, William scooped up Kongou in bridal carry style and he sprinted toward the hangar. When he was cleared of the gas cloud William took deep breaths as he ran forward, Kongou could now breathe steadily albeit she felt weak and sleepy. William managed to put Kongou on a spare bed, the hangar was filled with ship girls who made it in time. William checked on Kongou's face which is pale and her eyes closed as she tries to breathe, a medic arrived at their location when she saw William brought Kongou with him.

"Achk!" A marine fell down in front of the hangar as he unable to move.

"…I…can't breathe…" Kongou said as her hands gripped on William's shirt.

"Hey! She needs help, now!" William said to the medic who nodded her head.

"Got it! Take these gas masks, there are others outside who needs our help!" The medic said to William as she handed him three gas mask.

"Thanks! Hang in there Kongou, she'll take care of you" William said to Kongou as he stood up.

William quickly equipped a gas mask on his face, he noticed that several other ship girls each wore gas mask and has few mask on their hands as they charged the green clouds of poison. William steeled himself as he also went in and searched for anyone still left on the gas cloud, he saw several marines laid on the ground unmoving…looks like it's too late for them. William walked forward and saw a blonde with twintails hairstyle coughing on the ground, William widened his eyes as he run toward her.

"Hipper!" William shouted at Hipper to get her attention.

"K-Kommandant…Nein…Go back! Guhuk!" Hipper said to William so he won't get closer.

Fuck that! William picked Hipper up and put on the gas mask on her, despite that he was too late because Hipper had inhaled too much gas as she lose her strength. William desperately shook her awake, that worked as Hipper opened her eyes a bit and she did try to breathe in. William carried Hipper on his back and he steadily walked to find others that's still alive, he dearly hoped that no more of the ship girls were trapped inside these gas cloud of death.

"Breathe Hipper, try to breathe!" William said out loud to Hipper who weakly nodded her head.

"Carabiniere! Carabiniere, here, try to breath!" That voice beside him came from Cleveland.

Cleveland went inside the gas cloud and found Carabiniere laid weakly on the ground, Cleveland quickly put a gas mask on her face and she immediately ran toward the hangar bay with Carabiniere on her back. William walked ahead and saw Zuikaku helping Formidable walked with both fortunately have their gas masks equipped, he walked ahead to saw Fletcher was being carried bridal style by Wales and next to her was Belfast who helped Furutaka walked. William then almost bumped into Haruna who's equipping a gas mask to Leander before carrying her away, not further from there Langley escorted Glowworm away from the clouds.

"Kisaragi-chan?!" Shoukaku shouted as she kneeled beside Kisaragi.

The small destroyer wasn't moving and Shoukaku worked quickly by putting a gas mask on her then jumped off, William gritted his teeth in frustration when he saw the little Kisaragi wasn't moving…he knew that these girls were warships but they're still children too for fuck sake! William managed to cleared off the poison clouds, he brought down Hipper beside Kongou who was given oxygen mask and have her clothes loosened up. William started to feel dizzy and his breathing was getting shallow, after he put Hipper down he sat on the ground as he try to regulate his breathing…even with gas mask it's still possible for him to get affected huh? Vestal looked around and she noticed that William sat on the floor with ragged breathing, she immediately took a small oxygen tank with the breathing mask and went to his position immediately.

.

…Around half an hour later the situation have toned down a bit, the hangar was dedicated for the ship girls and the necessary medical personnel so the marines evacuated to the command center or the barracks…Despite that the situation wasn't good in the slightest according to William who still had oxygen mask strapped on his face, his shirt was opened as Vestal did a brief check on him to make sure he's alright…Vestal nodded her head and sighed in relief as she took off the mask from William's face, William put on his shirt back as Vestal cleared mask and the empty oxygen tank to the side.

"…You're good to go, I think you only briefly inhaled the gas. Your vitals were normal but if you feel weird or sick, let me know immediately" Vestal said to William as she smiled tiredly.

"Thank you…How…How bad is it?" William asked Vestal with unsure tone.

Mutsuki along her sisters cried and looked worriedly while they crowded the place Kisaragi was being treated, she haven't opened her eyes since the gas attack and currently the medics struggled to keep her condition stable…Hipper laid weakly on the bed with Prinz hold on to and caressed her sister's right hand as she accompanied her, Prinz had the most hollow look on her face with her eyes hidden by the shadow casted over her eyes…Kongou sweated profusely with oxygen mask over her pale beautiful face and Hiei alongside Haruna and Kirishima tried their best to make their eldest sister comfortable, they wiped her sweats away and make sure to fan her to make her comfortable…Fletcher was in the same state as Kisaragi and her weeping little sisters had to be kept for going to close to her at the moment by the medics who worked hard to stabilize her vitals.

William looked to the other side and saw that Carabiniere laid down while Zara accompanied her, she squirmed in her bed as Zara tried her best to take care of Carabiniere by wiping her sweat…Belfast sat with oxygen mask on her face while she was being comforted by Edinburgh, apparently she suffered the same fate as him for being too long inside the gas cloud…Takao and Atago moved in and out of the hangar bay while carrying additional medical supplies, they've been at it ever since fifteen minutes ago…George V helped one of the nurse to treat Saratoga who sat on the bed she's on, she asked Saratoga if she need anything else and answered with Saratoga assuring her that she's currently fine…Shoukaku and Zuikaku sat and leaned on each other as they rested after they did repeated mad dash inside the gas cloud, both of them had oxygen mask strapped on their face…

"…Where to start with this? Most of us ship girls managed to get out from the gas clouds without much problem, despite that we still got around seventeen ship girls who fell to the effect of the gas. Most of them were bed ridden but few those like Fletcher, Kisaragi, Hipper, Carabiniere and Kongou needs intensive monitoring and treatment…" Vestal briefly explained to William.

"…Any effective treatment yet?" William asked Vestal in low tone.

"Right now all we could do is to ease the damage and stabilize their condition, the medics and I still have no idea how to…cure them" Vestal said to William with dejected tone.

"…I believe in you Vestal" William said to Vestal.

"And thus I shall do my best, commander…" Vestal managed to crack a small smile then she walked away.

…They fooled him, they fooled him to think that his base was attacked while in truth they waited until he evacuated the ship girls to this base before they unleashed Marry upon them. They played him like a damn fiddle! William looked down on the ground and honestly he felt like he's the greatest failure tonight, if he had been more prepared, if he could participate in that mission on Copenhagen that High Command didn't tell him about, if he could just undo time…Seventeen ship girls were affected by this gas, some of them are in critical state right now fighting for their lives…This attack served as a wakeup call for him, not even ship girls were invincible as conventional method could still kill them because they're just more resilient than your average human being…Someone approached William, he's Commander Johnson who sat beside William with deep frown and dejected look on his face…

"…Carl" William greeted him.

"William…what a fucked up night this was" Johnson said to William in dejected tone.

"…Yeah…" William answered while he nodded his head.

"…I…lost some good men out there" Johnson said as he also looked down to the ground.

"…I'm sorry to hear that" William said as he put his left hand on Johnson's right shoulder.

"Mhm…Your personal secretary wants to talk to you, William. She alongside few others is on the command center building on briefing room two, I suggest you head there when you're ready…We can mourn later, we need to consolidate and assess the situation first" Johnson said to William, despite what happened he tried to remain focus on what to do…

"…You're right…Stay strong Carl" William said to Johnson while he smiled a bit.

"You too buddy, we both need to be" Johnson said to William.

With a pat in the back William raised himself from the bed, he started to walk toward the command center building and managed to catch a glimpse of the carnage around…The gas cloud were still on the place where they've been dropped and the winds couldn't even make the gas go away, several people with HAZMAT suit were working inside the gas cloud to study its properties and figure how to neutralize the gas…William walked forward that he looked at the marines and personnel who sat on the floor along the corridor, they're still recovering from the attack and some was being carried inside a body bag…William sighed as he entered the room that Johnson mentioned, the occupants immediately went alert and stared at the door. There's Hood, Illustrious, Enterprise, Brooklyn, Queen Elizabeth, Warspite, Bismarck, Tirpitz, Nagato, Souryuu, Mikasa and Akashi, all of them witnessed William entered the room before he shut the door from the inside.

"…Lord William" Hood said in soft tone to William, she frowned when she saw how dejected William looked.

"…What a dreadful night" William said out loud in dejected tone.

"Agreed" Illustrious said to William while she frowned.

"…I heard you got something to talk with me, is this about the one you want to say before…this happened?" William asked Hood.

"Yes…Shall I explain it now?" Hood asked William back.

"Sure" William said to Hood while he nodded his head.

"Following the situation that happened recently, High Commander Lucas have decided to activate Trident Initiative. This initiative was formed for us and should be used when Azur Lane Central Headquarters are compromised, in order to avoid any misuse or mismanagement of ship girl's resources then the base alongside the occupants are given full authority to act independent for temporary duration while following their original mission…to fight and defend humanity against The Sirens. The other ship girls who haven't joined us would be put on standby, they will see limited deployment only during emergencies" Hood begun her explanation to William.

"…I see" William said as he sat on one of the empty chairs.

"There's to be zero contact between us and High Command until the signal 'Blue Sky' was given directly by High Commander Lucas. During the activation period of Trident Initiative, all executive decision would fall into the commander on active duty in charge of the base with the fleet representative as direct consultant. Since contact between us would be nonexistent, High Command have given us the permission to access a ghost account on private bank with necessary funds to keep us operational long enough to secure other means to get resources…Daily necessities, food, fuel, ammunition, weapons, raw materials, we need to get it by ourselves during the duration of this initiative" Hood continued her explanation to William.

"…How about The Manjuus?" William asked Hood as he looked at her.

"The Manjuus on the base would continue to be there to help us out with manual labors but during the activation of Trident Initiative we would have to order them manually if we want to get something done. They will continue to work on the projects that were already in progress but we need to instruct them if we need them to handle something else…That's the general outline on the content of the flash drive, you could read it thoroughly if you wish to" Hood said to William as she put a flash drive on the table in front of him.

…William picked up the flash drive that Jenny gave to him just not long ago, he remembered how this day went down…He started this day thinking he could have fun on his day off, then there's this pickup quest, the ambush and now the attack. No matter how experienced you are this many things happened for one day was enough to cause William to loathed today more than his two years imprisonment, at least back then it was himself who was targeted. Ronald want to use this as a basis to restart the war with Crimson Axis…No, there's more to it than that because William got a feeling Ronald did this to antagonize him personally-

"…Commander, your orders?" Enterprise asked William while she folded her arms.

"…Right now, I just want the ladies to survive and cured" William said out loud with frown on his face.

"So say we all, but we don't know where to start or how to make the cure" Queen Elizabeth said to William while she frowned.

"Perhaps, but we do have a lead your majesty. Admiral Lena also composed an archive within this flash drive…The origins of Marry traced back all the way to an experiment lab on Osaka, Sakura Empire. Osaka lab claimed that Marry was a refined product of their failed chemical weapons prototype and they have no clue on how it managed to work, however they have a lead on the one who's responsible for the invention of the gas…Dr. Takeshi Koichiro, he was last seen few weeks ago before he went off the radar" Hood explained to everyone inside the room.

"…Any clues regarding him that we could use?" Nagato asked Hood while she stared at her.

"Security logs and footage shown that he's travelling west toward a remote Ironblood town, that's where we might need to begin our search in my opinion" Hood said to Nagato with serious expression.

"…Good. We'll move tomorrow, we need to prepare for the manhunt without aid from Central Headquarters…Crimson Cleanser fucked everything up and even tried to kill the ship girls? Now it's personal" William said out loud as he stood up from his seat.

Now that they got some Intel that they could use William preferred not to waste any more time, who knows what other side effect that Marry has so their safe bet would be to find this Takeshi Koichiro who managed to create Marry itself. If he managed to create something deadly as that gas then surely he know how to create an antidote, it is settled with the fact that the first thing he will do tonight is to gather the necessary Intel he could then he will fly straight toward Ironblood's territory. Time is of the essence, he couldn't afford to waste single minute…That being said he would need some confirmation with Chairman Erich, Lucas didn't say anything if William wanted to contact Erich himself.

"Bismarck, do you have secure communication channel to Chairman Erich?" William asked Bismarck.

"…Ja, I have it" Bismarck confirmed that she did have his number on her phone.

"Then tell him that we'll move in on that Ironblood's small town and notify him that we should talk privately, we can't waste any time for this" William said to Bismarck then headed for the exit.

"Jawohl…kommandant" Bismarck said slowly as she watched William exited the room.

…Everyone on the briefing room came to the same conclusion, it looks like William won't sit still and he will go after Dr. Takeshi himself. Even though the girls were relieved that there's a solution for their current problem William's recklessness proved to be exasperating to them all right now, they still need their commander here in order to provide moral support and as well some direction that surely will be needed…Sensing the tension in the room, Hood frowned as she walked quickly to follow William outside. Seeing some arguments would blow between the two, Enterprise nodded her head as she followed along with Illustrious…

.

On top of a hill overlooking the small island that was connected with a bridge where Johnson's military base stood, a man who wore black trench coat with dark grey shirt, black pants and black shoes held his M40A3 Sniper Rifle on his shoulder as he looked at the military base that has green clouds covering the runway in front of the hangars. Someone appeared behind the man, he tapped on the shoulder and the man looked back.

"Ronald, sir, we expended all of our drones and delivered all of the package" The man reported to Ronald.

"Excellent, good work" Ronald simply responded monotonously.

"…May I ask something sir?" The man asked Ronald.

"Sure" Ronald simply responded as he continue to watch the base.

"Why William Blaze sir?" The man asked Ronald.

"Here's the thing, that guy basically murdered me once and my brothers so of course I did all of this for revenge. But unlike those half assed revenge you see in a movie, I'd like to make mine to have…personal touch. The man known as William Blaze or Nimbus Knight, he has temper problems on occasion and he's easy to bait if you knew him well enough…He will die, I swear to god that he will die with the most painful way possible" Ronald said to the man while he grinned maliciously.

"How could we do that then? That man wrecked through our troops, our base and our defenses easily" The man said to Ronald in wonder.

"…You just have to trust me young man, I planned this for months already…He will go to Ironblood next, where that little doctor cower in fear I reckon…He might try to get the cure for the ship girls affected by Marry and that's where we took him down" Ronald said to the man while he smiled maliciously.

"You could leave assassination mission to me sir" The man said eagerly to Ronald.

"No…I will decide when he dies and I alone shall be the executor for that fuck!" Ronald said as he stared at the man, his eyes full of hatred.

Oh he can't wait, to have face to face chat with William himself before he could bring down that giant for good! Ronald felt his phone vibrated, he looked at the caller ID and noticed the name that he did not anticipated at all because the caller ID is Helena McAllen. Ronald cocked his eyebrows in amusement and confusion, that's when he decided to answer the call.

"Hey there Admiral, you know I never expected you to call!" Ronald answered the call while he grinned.

"You killed Jenny" Lena said on the phone with emotionless tone.

"Hmm? Jenny who? Ah! That girl who met up with William huh? I just gave her a bullet to the liver, that's all. Bet she died within a minute or two since her frame was so small" Ronald answered in taunting manners on the phone.

"Jenny was someone I'll trust my life without a single doubt and you killed her, personally I presume…I'll have you know Ronald, you managed to piss me off so much that I never knew I could get this angry before so I respect you for that, because you're the first one to do so…You get my little brother killed, you kill Michael, Charles and Yuri, you caused William to be thrown into jail and now you sow so many chaos that you forced our hands to do something we didn't like…You crossed every checklist I have for 'shit bag I want dead and sent to the deepest chasm on hell'…" Lena said in cold tone on the phone, each words were laced with hatred and anger.

"Hoho, what a compliment! Are you going to kill me? I prefer if you do it personally" Ronald asked Lena in cheerful tone on the phone while he grinned.

"Believe me, I will. You better watch yourself out there, I'll be there when you least expect it…your head is mine" Lena declared to Ronald on the phone with emotionless tone.

"I'll be waiting dear~" Ronald said to Lena on phone while he grinned

The call ended and Ronald chuckled before he laughed out loud, man that was very fulfilling for him to be honest! He managed to piss the last two member of Task Force Nimbus so much they're gunning for his head directly! The situation couldn't be any more favorable to him, perhaps he could take them both out at once or at least within short amount of time? He took out Lena and William will surely blindly hunt him, he killed William and Lena will do the same…Hohohoho, Ronald grinned at the prospect on what he could do on The Ironblood territory soon. He better get there first, he'll make sure to give William a proper welcoming party…He walked away as he threw his phone down the hill.

* * *

**BOOM! 20k words! Enjoy dear readers! Bwahahahaha! As a result, this one came out longer than expected eh? But glad I managed to do so, let me know your thoughts on this chapter. Thanks for the review, follow and favorite, won't have made it this far without the support from you guys so I really appreciate it! Time to grind those hot Russian ships, but don't worry the next chapter is already in progress…Hope I could produce the next one sooner than this hehe…Oh yeah, almost forgot, I think it's time already so there might be chance the combat would be more brutal in the future. Consider that an advance warning eh?**

**See you next time dear readers!**

**\- Dasmara**


	17. Retrieval

"You're going to go immediately after we just got attacked?" Hood said to William from behind.

"We don't have a lot of time, that doctor might be our only chance" William said to Hood as he kept walking.

"But does it have to be you? Commander Johnson could sent his troops in your stead" Hood tried to reasoned with William.

"Can they do spontaneous solo infiltration?" William immediately asked Hood.

"…Oh…now I see, you don't believe that other soldier could do it" Hood said to William as she frowned.

"I was trained to be the best of the best, I have the necessary experience and I know what I'm dealing with…Not to discredit Carl's men, but I believe-" William said to Hood while he walked-

"That was your ego speaking, William Blaze!" Hood said out loud with firm tone while she scowled.

And that successfully put William dead stop on his tracks, his eye widened as he looked behind him to see Hood stared back at him with brows furrowed, steely gaze and scowl on her face. Hood was fed up with this side of him to be honest, it is admirable that he won't hesitate to dive in first into combat when he's still a frontline soldier, that's fine! He's now in command of the most specialized unit consisted of ship girls who slowly but surely started to rely on him for lot of things, if he just throwing himself to danger like this then there would be a good chance that he won't make it from one of those reckless dive. Hood knew that William won't change his mind anytime soon, but she should at least try something…

"In my mind there's no doubt that you are one of the deadliest soldier Azur Lane has, but I think you don't know how to choose your battles…You are no longer the frontline troops like you were in the past, now you are the commander of about a hundred of ship girls who dedicated their lives fighting The Sirens and just got attacked! We need you here, we need moral support, to know that our commander care for our wellbeing!" Hood said to William while she frowned.

"And I do care! That is why I'm going to bring Dr. Takeshi here and I'll make him create the cure for them!" William counter-argued Hood, he's seriously felt her being nagging now.

"…Are you sure that you didn't do this because of your past?" Hood said to William in low tone.

"What's that supposed to mean, Hood!?" William said as he narrowed his gaze, his attention was purely on her now.

"Mrs. Lena did give me a bit of explanation, Ronald Mitchell was someone you thought dead but now he is with Crimson Cleanser and he's the one responsible for the betrayal within Task Force Nimbus. You thought you ended him but he's the one responsible for the death of your friends, can you honestly tell me that if he somehow appear on that town during your mission you could keep a clear head and do the right thing?" Hood asked William as she held her left hand over her chest.

William was about to answer her but the words stuck on his throat as he really wondered, would he be able to? Just the brief thought of letting Ronald away ignited a raging burst of anger to go over and kill that son of a bitch with his bare hands, if he haven't meet him and felt this impulse already then what would happen if he really meet him? Ronald knew this, he will use this fact to his advantage and frankly speaking William knew he'll have a hard time managing his hatred and anger…But despite all that, he knew the stake.

"I thought so. You're blinded by anger" Hood said accusingly at William.

"…Nothing you say could change my mind Hood, I will go and make sure to bring him here" William said as he turned around.

"…You're just going to leave us here all by ourselves?" Hood asked William with disbelieved tone.

"No, but I'm asking you to take charge for a bit until I'm back. You don't have to worry, I'll be fine-" William said to Hood as he looked back.

"Do what you want!" Hood said to William before she turned around while she scowled and stormed off the corridor.

William realized he just fuck up big time as his hand reached out to Hood before she disappeared from the corridor…He ruffled his hair, sighed hard before he punched the wall in frustration. He know he felt frustrated since the attack few moments ago and everyone is on edge, but to go so far to make Hood angry? That takes some special level of fuck up since she's very tolerant…Oh well, he will apologize later when all things are done. Just as he about to walk he spotted someone who approached him from the other end of the corridor, that someone was Prinz Eugen and her usual mischievous smile was absent from her beautiful face. When that happened, something is really wrong and this time William knew why.

"…Kommandant" Prinz greeted William.

"Prinz?" William asked Prinz.

"I've heard what's going on. I'm going with you" Prinz said to William.

"With me? Wait, this is supposed to be solo mission" William said to Prinz while he frowned a bit.

"…Hipper laid weak in her bed, all I want is to see my sister back to normal again and I'll do it with my own two hands" Prinz said to William, the determination in her voice hinted that she won't take no as an answer.

"No, it's too dangerous-" William said in order to change Prinz's mind.

"Oh? So when it's me it becomes dangerous? What about Enterprise? Hornet? Arizona or even Baltimore that you brought to raid an enemy outpost just few hours ago? They could get injured and you still brought them with you, if you're going to stop me from coming with you at least come up with a believable excuse. I'm not weak by any means and I could provide you with support firepower more than a tank has…I'm not Hood who didn't want you to go, I'm offering myself to help you" Prinz said to William as she folded her arms.

…Frankly speaking she got a point and those words stabbed through him when she said that, he was being hypocritical when he said that it's too dangerous for her. Not even hours ago he took several ship girls to raid a Crimson Cleanser's outpost on the island, that act itself already endangered them more than necessary so when one of them asked to help he shouldn't use that reason. But there's no other reason he could use, Prinz knew the risk and she still wanted to go because it's the chance to make sure they could get the one who could potentially produce a cure for that dangerous gas. William relented as he sighed again, with her strength William would be set to face whatever threat out there…

"…Are you sure about this Prinz?" William asked Prinz after he thought a bit.

"Nothing could change my mind kommandant, not even you" Prinz said to William with serious expression on her face.

"…Alright. You can come with me" William said to Prinz as he finally gave her the permission.

"Wudenbar…when are we going?" Prinz asked William.

"Now…Follow me" William immediately responded as he walked away.

Both Prinz and William started to walk away from the corridor they were in silently, both immediately walked toward the command center of the base. Hood leaned on the wall after she eavesdropped the conversation between the two, she sighed as she facepalmed. Illustrious found Hood who leaned on the wall put a hand over her gapping mouth, she went closer to look at Hood. Illustrious then only caught a glimpse of Prinz and William before they disappeared around the corner, Hood only managed to put a strained smile when she noticed Illustrious approaching her.

"…Illustrious" Hood greeted her with tired tone.

"Oh dear, Lord William was being stubborn isn't he?" Illustrious wasted no time for pleasantry.

"I do see the point you know? I agree that we should do this but can't he request help from Johnson in order to bring Dr. Takeshi here? Why must he thrown himself to the frontline all the time? The girls need his moral support…" Hood lamented as she stood straight from the wall.

"…I'm not trying to take his side Hood, but I think there's a reason why he did this" Illustrious said to Hood while she smiled a bit.

"It's probably guilt, Ronald was someone he failed to kill and now that man took the life of his friends alongside Ms. Jenny…All because he failed to kill him back then, then there's this matter with his egoistical view when concerning other soldiers. He believed he's the best and the only one who can accomplish the task" Hood said out loud in matter of fact tone.

That's what she believed, because she might do the same thing as he currently did if she thought she had killed a traitor who tuned out managed to survived and started murdering her friends. If she's among the last ship girls left then she would probably make it her personal mission to go after the traitor in order to prevent them from dealing further damage, it's reasonable…But in this scenario, William is a normal human being and there are others who could easily took his place to do the job. He probably took the sentence 'If you want to get something done, do it yourself' to the heart in this case, Hood knew that he only wants the best for the injured girls…

"But that wasn't always the case right?" Illustrious asked Hood while she smiled bitterly.

"Even so, would it kill him to have a bit of trust to his fellow soldiers? What do I tell the girls regarding his absence too?" Hood asked out loud as she stared at Illustrious.

"Just tell them that Lord William is going to bring back someone who could probably cure them, that's the truth isn't it? Hood, maybe you're tired, you should rest for now alright?" Illustrious said then try to convince Hood to rest up.

"Very well…I want to be in best shape when he returns so I could discuss a lot of things without blowing a fuse" Hood said to Illustrious as he relented and made her way to the hangar area.

"That's the spirit~" Illustrious said to Hood as she accompanied him.

.

…Somewhere on Southern Ironblood border…A black SUV drove on an empty asphalt road in the middle of the forest while going past the speed limit, the car was driven by William while he's on call with Chairman Erich himself. William explained the situation as he just arrived on Southern Ironblood's border few hours ago and Erich need to set few things up a bit before he could take on his call, there's a fact that William made the call with his personal number and that itself had to go through so many channel before they could be verified safe and directed to Erich himself. Ironblood's Intelligence Division spare no shit when it comes to the protection of their leader, something Azur Lane could learn from…Erich hummed in acknowledgement after he listened to William, the situation was bleaker than he thought.

"…I understand the situation" Erich said to William on the phone.

"Do I have your approval?" William asked Erich on the phone.

"Well If I have to be honest, you could've just asked me and I would've send my best unit to handle this. There's no need for you to do this by yourself" Erich said to William on the phone.

"I'm bringing him directly to our base, I don't want to waste a single second for this. I want to personally make sure that the man is the right one for the job" William said to Erich on the phone with serious tone.

"But are you sure about going in alone?" Erich asked William with concerned tone on the phone.

"I have Prinz Eugen with me" William said to Erich in matter of fact tone on the phone.

"But I believe she's not a proper infantry unit, she fare much better on waterborne combat" Erich reasoned with William on the phone.

"Yes I'm aware, this is a decision she made herself…her sister was caught up in the attack" William explained to Erich on the phone.

…William could heard Erich sighed and the call was filled with silence for several seconds, it was clear that Erich need some time to recollect himself over this news. He entrusted the ship girls to that base so when they got attacked by humans themselves it irked him to no end, he couldn't understand why there are people out there who were willing to do that dastardly act despite the whole humanity already have a common enemy to fight with. But Erich guessed it's just human nature, no matter what era, what timeline or what universe they prone to infighting amongst themselves…Otherwise, The Great War won't happen.

"I see…Well then, I already gave notice to the border patrols and few other military units that you will be operating within the town but I have few conditions. First, you are to keep collateral damage minimum. Second, do not unnecessarily cause chaos and third, we didn't give any heads up to the police so refrain from engaging in combat publically" Erich explained to William on the phone.

"I accept" William immediately answered Erich on the phone.

"Very well…There's a safe house you could use on the edge of the town, it's on pretty sparse land so you won't have problems landing a helicopter there. It's the only house on the area, from the forest you probably on you shouldn't miss it" Erich explained to William further on the phone.

"Thank you for the help, Chairman Erich. I really appreciate it" William said to Erich in earnest tone on the phone.

"We're allies and it's not much to spare so think nothing of it, take care of Eugen and yourself alright?" Erich asked to William on the phone.

"Will do" William said to Erich on the phone as he smiled a bit.

"Excellent. Theresa will contact you for operational Intel, keep your phone on standby" Erich said to William on the phone.

"Got it" William simply replied before he ended the call.

William put the phone back on his jacket pocket, he returned his focus on driving. But he couldn't help himself to notice that the passenger was being really quiet for some reason, he looked to his right side and saw Prinz who stared out toward the scenery on her side quietly while she leaned on her seat. Prinz had that passive look on her face but with clear nostalgia brimming on her eyes as she saw the sparse land with forest of her homeland, when was the last time she just sat and stared at the scenery before her? Definitely been a long time since she did that, William managed to smile as he noticed the gloomy Prinz ever since the attack has almost returned to her usual self…Obviously, he likes her usual self better than the gloomy one.

"Enjoying the view, Prinz?" William asked Prinz while he smiled.

"…It's been awhile since I've been on the fatherland, I admit the sight makes me feel little nostalgic" Prinz answered William without looking at him.

"Is that so…Maybe you should take some time off in the future to visit as vacation?" William suggested as he scanned the area ahead.

"Not a bad idea, though, I doubt I would do that often…" Prinz said to William.

"Well it's just a suggestion anyway…We've arrived" William said to Prinz.

Yeah, Prinz found that the base she inhabited right now have become her home because home is not merely a place but where the people she cared about waited for her to return everyday…William noticed a two-story house made of red bricks with black roof was built beside the road, the house was surrounded with low stone walls and supplemented with a barn coated with red paint and a shack beside the house. That must be the safe house that Erich mentioned to William, he parked the car beside the house and both him alongside Prinz exited the SUV. William approached the house and tried to open the door, it was unlocked and he could freely entered the house followed by Prinz close behind him.

The inside of the house looked like your average house interior, it has living room, dining room, kitchen, two bedroom on the first floor, toilet, several other room on the second floor alongside a multipurpose room. William and Prinz toured the house for a bit, getting acquainted with their temporary residence as quickly as they could. After they were satisfied with the safe house tour both William and Prinz met back on the living room, William sat on the sofa as he rested his weary body for a bit after that long drive.

"We'll be staying here for a while huh…It's quite comfortable" William commented as he leaned on the sofa.

"…Are you hungry kommandant?" Prinz asked William while she smiled a bit.

"Kind of" William said to Prinz without looking at her.

"Try to set few things up, I'll cook us some lunch" Prinz said to William as she went to the kitchen.

"Thanks" William said to Prinz.

Prinz found an apron and put it on over her body, she then proceeded to open the fridge and she was delighted that it was fully stocked with ingredients. Her eyes trailed over to the pack of beer on the bottom of the fridge, normally she would grab one without care but she feel that she should be on her top game today so she didn't touched the beer stash. Prinz took out several ingredients, set up the cooking utensils then she intertwined her fingers and cracked the joints…she'll show her cooking prowess without reservations.

William went toward one of the spare bedrooms and he saw a button beside the lamp switch, curiosity overtook him and he pushed the button. The wall to the left of the room moved downwards as it disappeared into the floor and revealed what lies behind the wall. The inside of it was filled with wide array of weaponries complemented with ammunition alongside explosives, William grinned as he approached the armory and took a HK416 then inspected the weapon on his hand…It was well maintained, the mechanisms were smooth as silk, not a single speck of dust on the gun and they got enough ammunition to survive an extended holdout against enemy combatants…

"…All hail Heckler and Koch" William muttered while he grinned to himself.

He then thought on what to bring when they encounter Dr. Takeshi, a light load in case they have to go incognito or the full combat load if the whole situation proved to be a total mess with Crimson Cleanser…William thought that they should at least recon the area and gain some basic understanding on the situation alongside understanding the Intel that Theresa will gave to him, just as he thought that William's phone ringed with unknown number as the caller. He picked up the call because he's confident that the one who called him was Theresa, he was right on that aspect.

"Ah Kommandant William, this is Theresa Gunther" Theresa said to William on the phone.

"Ms. Theresa, good to hear from you. What do you have?" William asked Theresa on the phone.

"I'm currently sending the necessary Intelligence for Dr. Takeshi Koichiro to you phone, I wish I could help more but unfortunately Intelligence work had never been my strong suit" Theresa said to William on the phone.

"Ah its fine, giving us the file is more than help already" William said to Theresa on the phone while he smiled.

"Danke…I suggest you look into that file and then determine your next move. We have prepared a transport so you can return to your base as soon you are done with the capture, we also prepared a unit in standby to help you out in case situation get out of hand and you can check for the details on the file I just sent" Theresa explained to William on the phone.

"I understand, thank you" William said to Theresa on the phone while he smiled.

"My pleasure kommandant, I wish you good luck" Theresa said to William.

The call ended and William's phone buzzed as he received few files from email, William checked on the file that was marked with Takeshi's general profile, current whereabouts and some other files that's connected to him. Perfect, this would make their effort to bring Takeshi in whole lot easier compared to starting from scratch without help whatsoever…William was glad that he already met Erich before so it's less awkward to ask for help, though the relation between them were considered acquaintances at best Erich still willing to listen and let him handle this problem. He then put that thoughts aside as he grabbed a lot of things from the armory and put it down on the coffee table in the living room, that's when he smell the food that Prinz made. William approached the kitchen and noted that Prinz already finished cooking, she immediately brought two plates to the dining room as William followed her.

"…Smells delicious" William commented as he looked at the dish Prinz made.

"Nothing too fancy but I'm confident in my cooking, enjoy" Prinz said to William as she put the plates on the dining table.

What she served is a sausage dish called Bratwurst, the enticing aroma of the grilled sausage immediately caused William's mouth to water up, the smell alone was enough to remind him that he's hungry so he better ate the dish that Prinz have made. William grabbed a fork and a knife, he sliced one of the sausage and then stuffed it into his mouth…His eyes widened because it's damn good and that only brought up his appetite, William swallowed and quickly ate another one then he chewed happily. Wonder where did Prinz managed to get sausages, but this is Ironblood's safe house so William found that to be the perfect reason.

"Hmm, good. You have more of these? I'd like seconds" William said to Prinz while he smiled.

"Fufufufu, I knew you'd say that so I already prepare some" Prinz said to William while she smiled smugly.

Both of them eat their lunch together, Prinz and William mostly content with each other's presence and they eat in silence. William realized that this would be the first time he tried Prinz's cooking, he really wondered if she could cook some other dish. If he have to be honest, he haven't try much of Ironblood's cuisine in his life so will she be willing to cook some if he request it? Probably, but he could thought about that when they return from this mission…Prinz ate while she watched William happily devoured the dish she made, there's this…tingling sensation within her chest when she saw her cooking was being enjoyed by him, what could that be? The two of them then finished eating, time for them to talk about the mission.

"So…what do we do now?" Prinz asked William as she stared at him.

"First, let's read the Intel that was sent to me" William said to Prinz with serious expression.

Prinz checked her phone when it buzzed and she saw that William just forwarded the files that was sent from Theresa, Prinz looked on her phone and she opened the files then she started to read the contents. William too opened the files and started to do his research…Takeshi Koichiro, thirty six years old, married, lived in Osaka before his escape to this area, worked on the lab for ten years and the one who managed to produce working version of Marry. He's an average heighted Asian man, black medium hair with M shaped bangs like those generic anime protagonist, brown eyes and honestly nothing remarkable about his appearance that William could see.

Takeshi Koichiro owned a house on the nearby town under different ownership name, neighbors commented that the house was occupied by him since a week ago. The timeline matched with his disappearance from Osaka, William guessed that he didn't stop anywhere along the way. Now, what is he doing here? Is he simply running away? What about his wife? Neighbors claimed that he's alone in the house so he didn't brought her with him, if he already owned a house on this city then what's its purpose? William looked on the document further, he's also frequently went out of the house…

"…Okay, what do you think?" William asked Prinz for her opinion.

"For a smart man, he's not that well versed in covering his tracks huh? If we can find him then there's a possibility that Crimson Cleanser have also found him" Prinz commented as she tapped her lips with her right index finger.

"Correct assumption. In that case, we'll have to move quickly" William said to Prinz.

"How does tonight sounds? We should bring him in as soon as possible" Prinz suggested to William.

"You're not tired?" William asked Prinz with concerned tone.

"Nein…The sooner we get him the sooner we can go back and the sooner the others could recover" Prinz reasoned with William.

"Yes, but charging immediately is so risky" William said to Prinz while he pursed his lips.

"But you have to admit, we don't know what other side effect that gas has kommandant…time is off the essence, ja?" Prinz asked William while she frowned.

…Prinz made a good point, they didn't know how much damage Marry could cause the longer it's inside the ship girl's body so finishing this as soon as possible is their only option. However, there's a fine difference between quick yet methodical and recklessly charge into something…The answer is quite obvious, William shouldn't hesitate when the life of his ship girls are in danger. He already got the sufficient Intel he could use, he got equipment and he got a way out of here. Plus, Prinz would be his only ally that will be with him on this mission and she's capable doing anything. He's set, all he have to do is to find the resolve to do this.

"…Yeah, you're right…I shouldn't hesitate. He lives around sparsely populated area around here but we still don't know much about his habits so we might need to do a stake out for a bit" William said to Prinz.

"It would seems so" Prinz said to William as she agreed to the plan.

"Then let's get prepared for tonight" William said to Prinz.

William gently took Prinz left hand and guided her all the way to the living room from the dining room, all the while Prinz looked to the side with uncertain smile on her face when William grabbed her hand without much care. Prinz then noted that the coffee table was filled with equipment and weapons that William had brought out from the armory, Prinz curiously inspected the weaponries she commonly see with Ironblood infantry when William approached her from the side while he carried some sort of cloth fold. He unfolded it and Prinz saw that William was actually holding a vest, a bulletproof vest to be exact.

"Prinz, you're a ship girl and naturally stronger than humans but your body possibly also weak to physical wounds. St. Louis got shot and the bullet grazed her arm yesterday, I want you to put this on. Ultra-light Kevlar vest, protect well against small arms fire and designed for concealed use. It won't stop high caliber rounds but it's something over nothing" William said to Prinz as he handed her the vest.

"…This should blend well if I wore a turtleneck sweater" Prinz said to William as she inspected the vest.

"Yeah, furthermore you shouldn't summon your riggings unless absolutely necessary…Here, this Mk.23 is for you…Know how to use pistol?" William asked Prinz as he handed her a pistol.

"Ja, I do know how" Prinz said to William as she took the pistol.

"Great. It's yours…we're going to be lightly armed and armored so if enemy indeed targeted us our priority is to get Dr. Takeshi out and run. We'll retreat here before we bail out with the transport that was prepared, clear?" William asked Prinz while he stared at her in complete seriousness.

"Clear...let's do this, kommandant" Prinz said to William with confident smile on her face.

.

After the initial preparation William took a short nap in order to rest his body, Prinz spent the remainder of the afternoon by drinking coffee as she reviewed the files that William forwarded to her. Prinz then took out her phone and contacted their base. Hood, Ranger, Enterprise, Soryuu, Brooklyn and Vestal were the people she contacted so she could know what's going on in their base right now, she want the both of them to stay connected even though William might be too busy to check up on them and Hood subtly asked through Prinz by online chat if they were doing alright…Despite Hood and William arguing before they left, Hood did worry about his safety and curiously asked what was he doing right now which Prinz sent a photo of William napping while he sprawled on top of a sofa to Hood.

Hood took a bit to respond and she later did by sending Prinz a sticker of Nagato's face with huge 'Thank you!' beneath her, Prinz smiled smugly and just sent another sticker of Wales' serious face with 'No Problem' to Hood…Prinz passed another half an hour by staring outside through the window toward the open grassy plain with a mountain in the far distance, then she heard William waking up. The man stretched a bit, he greeted Prinz shortly then immediately hit the shower to freshen up. After he showered, William set up the preparation for tonight's operation while Prinz went to shower.

…William dressed in brown leather jacket with ultra-light Kevlar vest supplemented with black t-shirt underneath it, he wore dark blue jeans with blue sneaker shoes then put some equipment like a flashbang grenade, a C2 plastic explosive and a handcuff inside his jacket's pocket. William took an Mk.23 Pistol and put it on a sheath beneath his jacket, he also took several magazines and filled his remaining empty pouch with it. Prinz come out of the shower dressed in nothing but a towel, she strolled over to the living room without care and William couldn't help himself but to stare at her from the tip of her hair all the way to her feet…Her white skin glistened after the shower, her white hair was messily damp, she leaned down to get some of her clothes inside her purse and that accentuated her ass which wrapped with the white towel so tightly that it threaten to loosen up and reveal the godly cargo…

"…You're doing this on purpose didn't you" William said to Prinz accusingly.

"Oh? And what makes you think of that?" Prinz asked William while she smiled smugly.

"If I remember correctly, you could've change on the room next door. Yet you leave your purse on the living room" William said to Prinz with half closed eye.

"That's not enough proof~. Even if I did, you do enjoy the view yes~?" Prinz asked William while she smirked.

"Hell yeah I am" William answered Prinz honestly without missing a beat.

At least Prinz already returned to her usual self, though she might do this to stave off her nervousness? William had no idea but he appreciated the beautiful view just before the mission, Prinz dressed herself with a crimson colored turtleneck sweater with the ultra-light Kevlar vest underneath it, a black skirt, thigh long equally black socks and fancy black boots. She brought a purse where she stored her Mk.23 handgun and several magazines, she thought a bit on what to bring until she grabbed a fragmentation grenade and put it inside the purse too…Alright, both of them dressed like civilians yet armed to defend themselves in case of an attack. Both exited the safe house, get into the SUV and started their fifteen minute drive all the way to the nearest town…It's already night, the sky was illuminated by bright full moon and it was clear from clouds.

"…Any words from the ladies?" William asked Prinz while he focused his gaze on the dark road.

"We already moved back to our base, few medical personnel from Commander Johnson's base tagged along with the girls, everyone's anxious ever since the attack and we're currently preparing ourselves to adapt with Trident Initiative…Oh, and Hood still mad at you" Prinz said to William while she smiled smugly.

"…Yeah, I'm well aware…might stop a bit for apology gift after this" William said to Prinz while he cringed.

Seriously, he should've handle the situation better and try to convince Hood instead shutting her off like he did before…He should speak to her privately, as soon as possible. William saw the town they're heading for and noted that it's not a remarkable town in any sense, there's no tall buildings, the cars sparsely populated the road, there's only several pedestrian ever since they entered the town and overall the night on this town feels a bit empty…Maybe it's because of the great war or even the fact that the town's population wasn't big enough to begin with, William just find it whole lot easier to do their job. But this could mean they would probably have a hard time tailing Dr. Takeshi if he indeed ventured outside his house-

"Kommandant" Prinz said to William suddenly.

"Hmm?" William answered as he stopped the car due to traffic light.

"I can't help but to wonder, if we're given the freedom to do whatever we wanted then doesn't that mean we are free from Azur Lane?" Prinz curiously asked William.

"Not necessarily. In that brief explanation it was stressed that we should continue with our task and that is to fight The Sirens, High Command just give us clearance to do whatever means necessary to combat them without waiting for their approval. As long Trident Initiative was enforced, we could sortie and deploy whenever we want, wherever we want. All matters regarding that would be handled by us directly…So, if we have to deploy into a neutral country then it's up to us to negotiate with the local government. But it indeed put us on tighter position than ever, we won't have financial aid from headquarters except for the starting funds and we have to get raw materials, oils and food ourselves" William said to Prinz as he drove the car.

…That's his conclusion by the way, regarding the whole situation with Trident Initiative that William thought to be non-sense but he still tried to think positive about it. Just what did that bloody High Commander thinking when he created and activated this initiative? Letting him, a single man in charge of probably the most powerful fleet on the face of The Earth? Yeah, all executive decision is on his hands with the leader of the fleets and the secretaries served as advisors so that basically he's the top on chain of command…Yet they expected him to stay loyal to Azur Lane when he's free to do whatever he wished with the authority given to him?

No…Lucas did this and thought about this thoroughly, he knew that William agreed with the fact that Siren is their most imminent and dangerous problem. Lucas just gave him all the green light needed to do whatever means necessary, there's no need to double check with high command. Politics, this is why William didn't want to get involved with the politics within High Command because it's fucking confusing. Trident Initiative didn't make sense, not one bit…Yet William couldn't help himself that he somehow missed something with all of this, Lena and Lucas won't do this if the only reason was Azur Lane Intelligence Division being compromised…

"Last I heard, Brooklyn worked overnight to secure all kinds of deal with our benefactors. In exchange for our aid, they agree to provide us with financial and material aids. For example, that oil rigs we saved on Terania? They agreed to supply us with oil if we could give them escort aid for their tanker fleet" William thoughts was interrupted when Prinz explained that to him.

"That's wonderful news" William commented while he smiled a bit.

"Indeed, we also don't restrict ourselves with who we cooperate with either. But that means we could be overwhelmed by commissions in the future, that's why currently we started cooperation with less than dozen organizations as starter" Prinz further explained to William.

"I see. What's our business name?" William asked Prinz as he continued to drive.

"Brooklyn choose to use our official name as the designation. ALASUC, Azur Lane Anti Siren Unit Command" Prinz said to William while she looked to the side for a bit.

That name was the official designation for them, they were considered a specialized division itself and work under Azur Lane High Command Council directly specifically under Lena and Lucas. Lena was the one who handled anything related with special activities for Azur Lane Naval Forces while Lucas was the top in chain of command and then there's William who served as Lena's direct subordinate, but even though that's the case if there's anything major come up that involved the ship girls activity then safe to say it would be the topic of a meeting between High Command Council so that means others could still get involved with their affairs…

Wait…how did Lucas managed to convince High Command Council with the implementation of Trident Initiative? Either Lucas pulled up a lot of strings or he borrowed the devil's tongue because supposedly a failure like him according to their eyes would be given large amount of power and control, didn't they fear that something would've happen? William however come to an even bizarre conclusion, it's possible that this entire thing with Trident Initiative is actually another bait that was set up by Lucas and Lena to identify problems within the council…Yeah, they already knew that Intelligence division was compromised but to make it unnoticed this long, someone who possess even higher authority must be involved…Why didn't he think of that? Simple, he's no goddamn politician…

"…I'm not that knowledgeable regarding business and diplomacy, but I don't think blabbering our name like that is a smart move" William expressed his concern while frowned a bit.

"Nein, in fact it did well in establishing foothold with our partners. More than one of them were glad with the ship girls escort services considering that Sirens could very easily decimated their mass produced escort ships, the waters around the earth have become so hostile that every merchant fleet out there require warship escorts…and not all of them could get their hands on warships, they are willing to pay us handsomely just for one escort mission" Prinz explained to William while she smiled a bit.

"I see now…Yes, this is quite settling for our financial problems. How about manpower?" William asked Prinz.

"Hood is handling that right now, Souryuu also already working on the budgetary plan too" Prinz said to William regarding the content of her chat this afternoon.

"Brilliant…Hah, I'm glad you ladies are so capable regarding this" William said to Prinz then sighed in relief while he smiled.

William was extremely glad that the ship girls were so knowledgeable, dependable and capable of doing other things beside combat. They could effectively function as an independent organization if they want to, they could manage their administration by themselves, run the economy independently and they got sufficient capability to establish contact with several private organizations to achieve their goals…William must admit that he's incapable doing all that, sure he's an officer who were taught about that in the academy but all of that were surface level compared to the ship girls who could do all the technical matters by themselves. All he have to do for now was to weigh their options and selected the best course of action for all of them, it would be tough but he had to do it nonetheless…

"…Looks like we have arrived" Prinz noted as William stopped the car by the side of the road.

"Yeah, now we wait" William said to Prinz as he turned off the car's engine.

Both of them had arrived in a secluded part of the town's suburban area, according to the Intel that was sent over by Theresa Dr. Takeshi possessed a house on the area under different ownership. The certainty of the Intel haven't been confirmed by field agents yet but it's their best bet for now, if Dr. Takeshi indeed escaped to the medium sized house in front of them then sooner or later he would be within their sight...Prinz pouted a bit while she tapped her fingers on the car's door interior, she looked to the side and noted that William diligently monitored the house in front of them without single hint of boredom in his right eye. Prinz checked on her wristwatch and noted they've been on the lookout for fifteen minutes, she sighed a bit as she leaned on her car seat.

"…I don't know stake out can be this boring" Prinz commented out loud while she pouted.

"Be glad you're not a police, Prinz" William commented while he smirked a bit.

"Is this what they do?" Prinz asked William with cocked eyebrows.

"Oh yes, waiting all night long for a stake out. Can't listen to music or play with your phones, eyes on target sometimes with coffee in hand" William said to Prinz as he also leaned on his seat.

"You're quite familiar with the technique" Prinz noted while she narrowed her eyes.

"Did it few times during Sardegnian Campaign, safe to say cappuccino really makes a good drink during long nights" William said to Prinz as he recalled the memory.

"Heee…During that time, you ever got ambushed?" Prinz curiously asked William.

"Four out of five times" William answered while he shrugged and cringed at the same time.

"That many?" Prinz asked while she widened her eyes in shock.

"My pronunciation for Italian language was messed up, dead giveaway. Lena switched me into overwatch after those incidents…Hehehehe" William said to Prinz before he chuckled at the memory.

Ah, quite nostalgic that he thought about it. He really missed that part when he's supposed to be on the lookout for Sardegna Empire's army official that they targeted when a patrolling soldier approached them, William claimed that they're in the area looking for dinner before the officer noted that his pronunciation for several words in Italian were wrong or weird. It didn't take long before the soldier become suspicious, it didn't take long before he told William and Charles to stay put as he checked their IDs, it didn't take long for William to say 'fuck it' and then begun their assassination operation because frankly they're being watched by the other patrols and getting detected while carrying a handgun under their clothes would reward them execution on sight…Despite him getting the pronunciation right next time he still managed to fuck up the accent, after the fourth incident Lena scolded him before sending him out on the fifth mission with binocular and sniper rifle.

"Hmmm, then I should handle the talking here. Didn't want us to get shot in Ironblood too, right?" Prinz asked William while she smiled smugly.

"Hahahaha, you're right. All I know about German language were ja, jawohl, nein, vielen dank, guten tag, guten morgen, dummkopf, scheibe and ich liebe dich" William said to Prinz while he smiled.

"As I expected, I should be the one who do the talking. I doubt this remote town has many English speaking people" Prinz said to William while she smiled too.

"Yeah" William couldn't help but to agree.

"…Ich liebe dich huh? I wonder how you knew those words~" Prinz asked William while she smiled smugly.

"Would you believe me that I knew that from a game?" William asked Prinz back with uncomfortable tone.

"Ufufufufufu…that's believable in your case" Prinz said to William after she giggled a bit.

Honestly he knew those lines from a visual novel he played during his final years of high school and who knows that those words would stick inside his mind that long, he could somewhat understand several words that Ironblood soldiers often speak in the battlefield but he couldn't form any coherent sentence…Prinz looked to the front again when she saw someone exited the house in front of them, he has short black hair, young Asian face with rimless glasses, he wore blue t-shirt with brown pants with equally brown shoes. Prinz opened up her phone and compared an image within it with the person in front of the house, the Intel was right…They found Dr. Takeshi Koichiro.

"…Ah, there he is" Prinz said out loud.

"You're right" William said as he also looked at Takeshi.

"Where do you think he's going?" Prinz asked out loud when they saw Takeshi get inside a car.

"I don't know yet. Let's follow him" William said to Prinz.

They started following Takeshi's car, William and Prinz kept careful distance and blended well to the traffic around them to prevent being noticed. Good thing that the SUV model they rode on was black and looked so generic it blended well with the other cars on the road, tailgating someone require keen attention to detail and the ability to positioned yourself in just the right spot…Takeshi drove quite some distance until he stopped his car in front of a building, William stopped the car behind Takeshi's car and watched a bit as Takeshi went inside the building…

"Restaurant?" Prinz cocked her eyebrows in wonder.

"With a bar…Damn, it's crowded. Wise move" William commented out loud while he frowned a bit.

"Nevertheless we should head in, up being my husband for the night?" Prinz coyly asked William while she smiled smugly.

"You sure only for tonight?" William asked Prinz back while he smiled.

"I would like the rest of my life…But, somehow I knew you're not ready for that~" Prinz said to William with teasing tone.

"Heh…Right, we'll talk about that in the future. For now, let's get to work" William said to Prinz as he exited the car.

…Shit, William got a feeling that Prinz started to catch up on why William didn't take bolder action with the girls. But William shook his head as he dismissed the thought, yeah he should focus on the job. Prinz sneaked her arms and hugged William's left arm as she led him inside the restaurant with a face of a newlywed wife…Holy shit! William just realized that Prinz have good acting skills! There's no single hint of 'fakeness' on that face of hers despite the fact that she's currently acting, she could convince anyone with that face. Both of them entered the restaurant and sat on the bar stool, William looked and noticed that Takeshi sat by the window side…Sloppy, if you're targeted then the last thing you should do is to sit by the window.

"Hey darling, drinks?" Prinz asked William while she smiled.

"Beer sounds good" William nodded his head as he returned the smile.

"Two beer, coming up. Your wife is really beautiful my friend, you're lucky to have her" The bartender said to William while he smiled.

"Thank you" William replied while he smiled.

…The bartender served them two large glass of Ironblood's beer, Prinz and William toasted with each other before they drink the beer. The bartender went and served the other customer but William kept his eye on him, William was suspicious that their cover and this whole mission was already jeopardized…He don't want to be presumptuous but what are the chance of the bartender in the middle of small town like this capable speaking in English language without any sort of accent bleeding through? Even Prinz who was fluent still has that 'distinct' German accent when she spoke, that bartender guy however speak English with an accent that's close to how someone within Eagle Union speak…

"…He speak English fluently" William said to Prinz in low tone.

"Ja, I can't detect any accent too. Though his German was quite fluent, his accent was close to Eagle Union's" Prinz said to William in low tone.

See? Even Prinz was suspicious to that bartender, could it be that man was a Crimson Cleanser agent that was stationed here to monitor Takeshi himself? The probability was quite high, they better get this mission done now. The chance came when Takeshi stood up from his seat and head for the toilet, William told Prinz to 'watch the coast' as he also headed for the toilet…William entered the toilet where he waited until Takeshi was finished with his business on the urinal, after he washed his hands and about to exited the toilet William grabbed his shoulder.

"Wait Takeshi" William said to Takeshi.

"Who are you? Wait, w-what do you want!?" Takeshi asked to William as he stepped back in caution.

"Relax, I just want to talk" William said to Takeshi in low tone.

"…You're not with Crimson Cleanser?" Takeshi asked William again.

"I'm from Azur Lane. William Blaze, ever heard of me?" William asked Takeshi with serious face.

"No?" Takeshi said to William with uncertainty in his voice.

"Perfect. Your creation, Marry, it was used against the ship girls and I'm desperately in need for a cure…Help us, please" William said to Takeshi.

William hoped that Takeshi would be willing to help them if he's a human being with conscience, but does anyone who created weapon such as that still has something that we call conscience? William is willing to bet that Takeshi still have some, if not then…he'll do whatever means necessary to bring this doctor back to their base. He'll force him to work on the cure if he's still uncooperative, William would probably have to resort into more 'persuasive' method if he have to. William watched as Takeshi took the information in for a bit, he noted that the doctor's shoulder was more lax now that he knew William is with The Azur Lane…

"Azur Lane…Wait, if you know where I am…Crimson Cleanser could be here!" …Looks like Takeshi is aware about the mess within High Command…

"I'm sure they're already here" William said to Takeshi with serious tone.

"…Alright. Get me to a safe place, then we'll talk" Takeshi said to William with narrowed gaze, he don't want to get captured by Crimson Cleanser.

"About time. Follow me" William said to Takeshi as he turned around.

Takeshi followed him out of the bathroom, William jerked his head toward the exit door a bit and Prinz immediately understood what he meant. Prinz stood up from her seat, leave the money for the beer and thanked the bartender before she followed William out of the bar alongside Takeshi. William and Prinz scanned the area around for any sign of hostile while they walked toward their parked SUV, they don't see anyone suspicious around but they can't let their guard down. Prinz get inside the driver seat, William shoved the doctor to the rear passenger seat before he sat beside the doctor. Prinz started the engine, she immediately stepped on the acceleration pedal and the car blitzed forward as Prinz head for the town's outskirt so they could return to the safe house.

"Wait, where's your team?" Takeshi asked William with concerned tone.

"You're looking at it" William said to Takeshi.

"Just the two of you?!" Takeshi asked William with shock written on his face.

"He clearly didn't know what I'm capable of~" Prinz said out loud with teasing tone while she smiled smugly.

"I don't mean to be rude, but we're talking about group of terrorist who outnumbered us and possibly even outgunned us!" Takeshi said to Prinz while he frowned.

"As long as we aren't outmatched I called it a win~" Prinz said confidently to Takeshi.

"You are too relaxed!" Takeshi said to Prinz in exasperated tone as he rested his body on the car seat.

"She got a point, calm down…Doctor, can you create a cure?" William asked Takeshi calmly as he occasionally checked their surroundings.

"Listen, I may create it but there's no telling what kind of modification those terrorist use. I have to run throughout examination, it's the only way to be sure" Takeshi explained to William with low tone.

"I see. Doc, for your own good you better be able to" William said to Takeshi.

It would be a goddamn waste of time, resources, sanity and ammo if Takeshi couldn't create a cure for Marry, really…William sighed a bit because he felt this entire thing have gone wrong somewhere somehow…Why? Because this is going too well, supposedly if Lena managed to send him the general location of Takeshi that mean Intelligence Division would be somewhat aware of that fact and it they're aware Crimson Cleanser should've known where he is. They got a fucking head start! Why haven't they try anything? Just as he thought that a car followed them from behind in considerable distance, Prinz checked on the rearview mirror and she smiled smugly…they're here.

"We got a tail~" Prinz said out loud while she smiled smugly.

"Tch, goddamnit. Doc, stay down on your seat. Prinz, drive faster" William immediately said as he looked behind to check on the following car.

"Jawohl~" Prinz responded while she grinned a bit.

Prinz then shown her street racer side as she switched the gear and accelerated the car, the road might have some curves around that's potentially dangerous at night but that didn't faze her one bit as she kept turning without caring that the car could hit a road fence. Takeshi struggled to keep himself stable while William grabbed on the handle above him as he continuously monitored the chasing car, it took a while until the car slowed down and in seconds they managed to get away from the chase. Prinz noted that the car behind them no longer chased them, she couldn't help but felt something was off.

"They're not following us?" Prinz asked out loud with cocked eyebrows.

"Classic bait, they knew we suspected them. Nevertheless they must've gotten the plate numbers, let's head back to the safe house and put the car inside the barn" William said to Prinz while he watched Takeshi who still cowered on his seat…

It took few more minutes until they reached their safe house, William exited the car to open the barn's door and allowed Prinz to store the car inside. Then Prinz escorted Takeshi as they entered the safe house, they locked the doors and prepared themselves for extraction. William grabbed a radio on the edge of the living room above the desk and started to mess with it, the document that Theresa gave them has a code for a specific radio channel that William should contact in case he need backup or extraction. William wasted zero seconds setting the radio to work and inputting the code, the document also specify their call sign so William opted to use that.

"Check, one two, one two, check. This is Point Alpha-Romeo Six, does anybody copy over?" William asked out loud on the radio.

"…We hear you Alpha Romeo Six, this is Tiger Actual. Are you the one high command been fussing about?" Answer came through the radio, that fact alone put a smile on William's face.

"Yeah, that's us. We need extraction, can you provide one immediately?" William asked Tiger Actual on the radio.

"Negative at the moment, our radar has shown anomalous activity around your point. We can't risk an extraction bird until our fighters finish their sweep of the area" Tiger Actual responded on the radio.

"Anomalous?" William cocked his eyebrows as he wondered out loud.

"Yes, been bothering us since afternoon. Keep your eyes peeled for now and this channel on, we'll notify you when we sent the extraction team" Tiger Actual further explained to William on the radio.

"Roger that, thank you" William said to Tiger Actual on the radio.

…Something anomalous on the sky detected by radar around their area? William prayed that it wasn't Sirens but his mind couldn't help to think so, Sirens would need a good reason on why they should deploy so far inland to Southern Ironblood because it's far away from the seas and honestly William couldn't think anything around here that would catch their interest. Just in case, William took a small earpiece to serve as backup radio in case the one in front of him is unusable. He was busy setting the earpiece when Takeshi approached him after hearing the conversation between William and Tiger Actual, Prinz noted this but she opted to sit and wait for William's input on the situation…

"We're not leaving?" Takeshi asked William while he frowned a bit.

"Not now, the airspace isn't clear" William simply said to William.

"Oh god…of course, it must be them. They arrived too early!" Takeshi suddenly said with horrified look on his face.

"Them who doctor?" William asked Takeshi with narrowed gaze.

"The Sirens" Takeshi said to William with low tone.

"…What?! What do you mean by that!?" William asked Takeshi with shock and disbelieve mixed on his face, his fear was realized...

"I…I previously called them-"

Without any some sort of warning whatsoever or any kind of signs William found himself grabbing Takeshi's collar and slammed him onto the brick wall with unrestrained force, Takeshi felt intense pain spread through his back and widened his eyes in horror when he saw William in front of him. William gritted his teeth, scowled, his right eye burn with outrage and the veins around his face surfaced due to him holding himself back from further harming Takeshi…What the fuck was he thinking?! Calling The Sirens to this location on purpose?! Did he try to get the entire population of this town massacred?!

"You dumb fuck! WHY?!" William basically asked the question while he shouted at Takeshi's face.

"Doktor, I would've blow your head off if you weren't so important to us…" Prinz said to Takeshi with murderous intent emanating from all over her facial expression.

"P-P-Please listen…to me! I don't know who to trust! Not…even the Sakura Empire could be trusted! My only option for safe haven was The Sirens!" Takeshi attempted to explain about the situation to William.

William scoffed as he threw Takeshi onto the floor harshly, this past two days were really bad for his blood pressure. Takeshi breathe heavily because he's been holding his ever since William suddenly slammed him against the wall, the possibility of Sirens invading the small town and massacring its civilians caused Prinz to scowled at Takeshi and she's tempted to just murder a traitorous bastard like him…But he's the only one who could cure her sister and the other ship girls so Prinz refrained from pulling out her Mk.23 handgun out from her purse, instead she went toward Takeshi, pulled him up before she shoved him down toward the couch.

"…How did you even manage to contact them in the first place?" William asked Takeshi again after he calmed himself.

"Before my escape, I managed to get inside the Osaka lab that kept a Siren's communication relay equipment. With the right setting you could contact them through there" Takeshi explained to William.

"Why Southern Ironblood, doktor? Why here?" Prinz asked Takeshi as she folded her arms.

"This is the place where I kept my research data, I have to retrieve it before I go" Takeshi said to Prinz.

"…Tell me you have that data with you, right now" William said to Takeshi while he scowled.

"Y-Yeah, here" Takeshi said to William as he pulled out his phone from his pants pocket.

"Alright…If that's the case, then there's a possibility of us getting attacked by them. That radar anomaly could be their aircrafts, we need to prepare" William said out loud.

"What kind of ambush we should greet them with, kommandant?" Prinz asked William while she smiled smugly.

"…Simple yet memorable would do" William said to Prinz while he smirked.

…It took at least fifteen minutes to set everything up and prepared some gear in case they have to bail out from the safe house, in that fifteen minutes they thought up plans on what to do in case something occurs. William then busy taking every explosive charges he could find within the safe house, he then worked around the safe house and planted the charges on very specific spots. Prinz emptied the armory content and dumped it on the living room, Takeshi was instructed to dim all the lights in the house with the exception of some that provided light for small hallways on the house…After a while William rendezvoused with Prinz and Takeshi on the living room, he looked at Prinz who just finished packing up a duffel bag.

"All set?" Prinz asked William.

"Yeah, any of those bastards whether they're human or not who get close to this house would face the destructive might of our booby traps…That being said, we also need to prepare ourselves. You too doc, come here" William said out loud then told Takeshi.

"I-I have to fight too?" Takeshi asked William while he pointed at himself.

"No, but in the event both of us couldn't protect you it's better for you to have something" William said to Takeshi.

Takeshi shrugged as he approached William and Prinz, he looked at the wide array selection for the weapons sprawled on top of the table. Knifes, handguns, sub machine guns, assault rifle, sniper rifle, grenades, there's a lot of weapons he could choose. But unfortunately Takeshi spent the twenty past years with books and research papers compared to entertainment media so he got absolute zero clue when it comes to weapons, all he know is that the things in front of him categorized as firearms.

"Pick what you like" William said to Takeshi.

"…I don't even know much about guns" Takeshi said to William while he grimaced.

"Okay, what do you want? Something light or heavy?" William asked Takeshi for preferences.

"…Light sound's good" Takeshi said to William after he thought for a bit.

"Here, P250 handgun. You find one of them, you point this thing to their face. It only got twelve rounds so don't use it unless you really have to, got it?" William said to Takeshi as he handed him the pistol.

"I understand" Takeshi said to William while he nodded his head.

"Prinz?" William asked Prinz as she inspected the weapons.

"This one looks fine" Prinz said out loud as she grabbed a G36C.

"G36C, a compact assault rifle. You want to use that?" William asked Prinz while he smiled a bit.

"Ja. My riggings will only be a hindrance in close spaces like this" Prinz said to William while she shrugged.

"You're right. Know how to use it?" William asked Prinz.

"I was hoping my dear husband would give me a crash course about it~" Prinz said to William while she smiled coyly.

"Since you asked so nicely…" William said to Prinz while he smiled.

So that's what he did, William taught Prinz on how to use the carbine in her hands. He taught her the basic layout of the weapon, the mechanism, how to hold the rifle correctly, how to reload it quickly and more importantly how to use it effectively...It's a short five minute course but Prinz quickly understood everything that William taught her, she slung the rifle around her as she resumed packing the other bags. Takeshi sat on the couch as he fiddled with his P250 which William reprimanded him for since he could very well accidently discharge a shot and potentially hurt one of them, after he did so William walked toward the kitchen.

He rummaged through the cupboard and found a pack of cheese crackers, he opened it and started snacking as he watched the fields on the back through the kitchen's window. William knew that sooner or later Crimson Cleanser would storm this house and if that happen while Tiger Actual still haven't contacted them then they would have to escape by their own, but William haven't contacted Tiger Actual to inform him regarding the situation with The Sirens because the communication could easily be intercepted without proper encryption…one which William couldn't guarantee right now.

…After around ten minutes the prediction became a reality, they could hear several cars approached the safe house and that caused William to grab his G36C rifle with him before he joined Prinz who already hid beside the window. The full moon enabled him to see without night vision goggles and William saw around five SUV cars stopped by the side of the road in front of the house, several men dressed in various casual clothes with balaclava came out of the cars armed with various firearms type. No uniform, weapons variety, no tactical cohesion…It's positive that it's Crimson Cleanser.

"…They must be Crimson Cleanser" William said to Prinz in low tone.

"Huh? I see some on the backyard!" Takeshi said to William.

William widened his eye and he moved stealthily back to the kitchen and he saw something that he wished he didn't at this moment, on the open field there's around twenty figures marching toward the safe house. William would've thought this to be a second strike unit if he didn't noticed that these figures were cladded in black metallic armor with crimson linings, red visor and carrying unknown weapons…They're the same guys that William fought on that island when he rescued Eldridge, he felt that this situation went from 30 to 100 real quick…The Sirens have joined the party, things couldn't get any more worse!

"…It's those guys that I fought when I rescued Eldridge" William muttered as he pulled the slide on his G36C.

"We are flanked kommandant" Prinz said to William as she kept monitoring Crimson Cleanser forces.

"Yeah, but the situation is perfect because the worst really happened…Prinz, execute plan D" William said to Prinz while he nodded his head.

"Plan D, jawohl…Doktor, come with me" Prinz said to Takeshi as she approached him.

"Y-Yes" Takeshi said to Prinz.

Prinz grabbed one duffel bag and handed another one to Takehsi, both of them went to hid on one of the bedroom…William readied himself to execute Plan D, it's a plan they've made when the worst happen which is when both Crimson Cleanser and The Sirens attacked the safe house. The plan was to have Prinz escorted Takeshi out into the car on the barn, they will wait there while William be a live bait for Crimson Cleanser and The Sirens. Lure them as many as he could, have them entered the house if he have to and hopefully Crimson Cleanser and Sirens will fight each other instead of him…Shit, William thought it's a good plan but right now he's feeling nervous as hell. But he shook it off as he went to his warrior mode, the one that Azur Lane always relied on. William stepped toward the window and shown himself toward the Crimson Cleanser with the cockiest grin he ever wield on his face, all of that while he inhaled deeply.

"OI YOU BUNCHA CUNTS! BET I COULD TAKE YOU ALL OUT BY ONE WHIP OF MY MASSIVE BALLS!" William shouted toward the Crimson Cleanser forces.

TRATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

Dozens if not hundreds of hot lead immediately fired at William who quickly dived to the floor in order to avoid the bullet storm, he quickly gets up and went to the rear entrance of the safe house. William opened the door and he quickly aimed through his G36C's iron sight before he pulled the trigger, his rifle immediately spewed hot 5.56mm caliber rounds toward Sirens infantry who quickly dispersed to protect themselves. William hid beside the window as they returned fire with their energy weapons that produced high pitched energy ejection sounds, dozens of purple plasma bolts rained the safe house's rear side and honestly William was bewildered that those guys haven't stopped firing even fifteen seconds after he hid behind cover. William reloaded his G36C and he choose to wait until those guys stopped firing, one bolt went pass the window and hit the wall in front of him which immediately charred the location it hit.

"Damn! Those plasma bolts still frightens me!" William muttered out loud to himself.

The Siren's infantry stopped firing for a bit, William peeked outside and noticed that few were only around twenty meters away from him hiding behind low stone wall. William took out a flashbang grenade and thrown it high in the air, the grenade exploded and it blinded the group that was near William himself. He quickly appeared from behind cover and emptied his magazine at the group, the bullets hit them straight in the head and killed around three of them with headshots. It's good to know that bullet still works on them, they fired their weapons again and this time William retreated from his current location. He blitzed through the living room, unfortunately that position was exposed to Crimson Cleanser forces so they gunned him down. One bullet managed to hit William on the upper left chest area and despite the Kevlar protected him William still flinched heavily, he ran upstairs and leaned on the wall as he rubbed the spot where he's hit while he gritted his teeth to stave off the pain.

"Search for his body, Ronald wants prove that he's dead!" William heard one man ordered from downstairs.

Ronald? Great, of course that motherfucker was involved with this! William also heard some footsteps and it's mechanical, he watched the direction of the stairs and reloaded his weapon. This is it, he bet the entire plan to work right at this moment. If Crimson Cleanser and Sirens won't get inside this house then it's all for nothing and they might have to bail out under heavy enemy fire, that could potentially kill all of them during the escape that's why William would like to thin out the opposition first…Wait, they should've heard the energy weapon sounds that those Siren infantry used…Did they knew and still went in? Man, Ronald really wants him dead that badly.

"H-Huh?!" One man said out loud.

"GAHK!" Sound like someone who's being chocked.

"Sirens!" Great, it's working!

"We got an enemy!" Another man shouted.

"Prinz, now" William said on the radio.

William wrote that off as a plan that worked, he then moved to one of the spare room with large window. He ran full speed towards it while he fired off his G36C at the window, the glass cracked and William rammed through it then he fell from the second floor before he rolled on the ground. The SUV with Prinz and Takeshi inside rammed through the barn's rear door, turned toward William and stopped in front of him. William quickly opened the rear passenger seat door, entered the car and Prinz immediately accelerated the car out into the streets where several Crimson Cleanser still stand by beside their car. Those men fired at the SUV that they rode which shattered the front alongside side glass window and Prinz retaliated by pulling the pin for the fragmentation grenade before tossed it toward the parked car, the grenade exploded and wrecked two of the car with it. It isn't over yet as the car also under fire from several Siren infantries that skirted the safe house's low stone walls, the plasma bolts shattered the car's rear window and scorched the topside. Nevertheless, they made it out from the area.

"A little close there!" Prinz commented while she smiled smugly.

"Yeah, what matter is that reckless plan works…Probably should apologize to Erich for this one" William said as he pulled out a detonator from his pants pocket and pressed the trigger.

PIIIIIIPPP!

DUUUAAAARRRRRR!

The safe house was blown off by a huge explosion and it's remains rained upon the nearby area indiscriminately, the explosion took out everyone inside the house and some that were too close to it. Fortunately the SUV was already away from the danger zone by the time William pressed the trigger, William watched the house exploded before he threw the detonator out from the car and rested himself on the passenger seat. Welp, that's one problem solved…

"Shame, that was such a nice house~" Prinz commented to William while she smiled a bit.

"Well, yeah. I felt guilty now" William honestly said while he cringed a bit.

"…Oh right, speaking of house kommandant, you shouldn't stay on that bedroom all the time. Why don't you build your personal house? There's some spare land you can use you know?" Prinz said to William.

"…I'll think about it" William said to Prinz.

Building his own house on the base? Why didn't he thought of that before? Goddamnit it would be great to own a house instead of his room back on the administration building, he could use a house especially that he didn't have any because of most of his after high school years spent alongside the military. A house with two or three story high, painted in relaxing color, solid roof, mahogany furniture, comfy king sized bed and private armory…Oh yeah, William liked that thought very much. But then he remembered that he still got a job to do, William then contacted Tiger Actual using the earpiece that still attached on his left ear.

"This is Tiger Actual, identify yourself!" Tiger Actual responded the hail from William.

"Hey Tiger Actual, Point Alpha Romeo Six here...or what's left of it. Listen, we got confirmed Siren and Crimson Cleanser forces attacking us. We succeed escaping from the area at the moment but we need immediate extraction!" William said to Tiger Actual.

"…Roger that, we'll see what we can do. Where are you right now?" Tiger Actual asked after he went silent for a bit.

"We're heading to the west while following the road to the southern border" William explained to Tiger Actual.

"I see. There should be a clearing around thirty kilometers away from your current position, just keep heading west for now while we prepare our extraction team…We also triangulated your signal and cross-referencing it with our satellite, we see you now riding an SUV. Don't worry, we got your back" Tiger Actual said to William.

"Much appreciated Tiger Actual, thank you. Anyway, just call me Knight from now on…Prinz, follow this road thirty kilometer to the west until we reach a clearing. That's where we would be picked up" William said to Tiger Actual then Prinz.

"It'll took at least half an hour" Prinz said to William.

"Got it…Doc, you're alright?" William asked Takeshi.

"That…was one of the most intense thing to ever happen…in my life" Takeshi said to William as he sat with tensed posture…

"Well, better savor it and hope you don't have to be involved in that kind of action again in the future" William said to Takeshi while he smirked a bit.

…The rest of the drive was filled with silence other than the sound of the car's engine and winds passing by as Prinz drove the car over 60 KMH, William noted that none of the ship girls contacted his phone and instead they contacted Prinz for any communication between them. Are they mad at him? Prinz assured William that the girls simply didn't want to interrupt William while he works so they contacted her, William wasn't convinced but he choose to went along with her words. He stored his phone on the jacket pocket and recheck his every weapon and equipment, both of his G36C and Mk.23 are loaded and ready to fire with the equipment on his pockets are ready for use. William looked and checked on the content of the two duffel bag that they carried, the content was filled with ammunition, some equipment, canned food, bottled water and few first aid kit. These things would suit them well in case extraction failed and they have to camp on the wilderness for some time, there's even blankets too.

"Knight, this is Tiger Actual! You got incoming bogeys!" Tiger Actual suddenly said on the radio.

Both Prinz and William widened their eyes, Prinz scanned for the road ahead while William try to look upwards from inside the car with Takeshi being confused since he didn't have a radio to know the situation. Unknown to the three of them a squadron of Siren fighter jets just exited from purple portal above them and immediately went to attack the SUV, one of the jets launched its missile and hit the SUV straight in the back. The car was thrown off from the explosion, spun around uncontrollably and hit a road fence before it stopped completely…William's head bumped hard into the car's chassis, Prinz pulled her face out from the deployed airbags while Takeshi sat unconscious somehow…

"Urgh…Prinz?" William asked Prinz then he groaned.

"I'm fine kommandant...What about the doktor?" Prinz said to William before she looked to the side.

"…He's just unconscious" William said to Prinz after he checked on Takeshi's vitals.

William felt something trickled down his left cheek, something warm and smell like iron…Yup, his head's busted again and it's leaking blood. How many times has it been for his head to get damaged ever since he's in command of the ship girls? Probably three times, but still almost his every deployment nowadays always awarded him with a wound or two…William looked at Prinz and noted that other than sore shoulder due to seatbelt she didn't suffer any external injuries, good. Just as he thought that he heard the sound of jet flying at low altitude, William and Prinz exited the car before Prinz noticed that Siren jets are going to attack once again. William opened the front passenger car door and dragged Takeshi out, if he dies then this entire thing would've been for nothing.

"That jet is doubling back!" Prinz said out loud.

"Deploy your rigging Prinz!" William said to Prinz.

"With pleasure!" Prinz said to William while she grinned viciously.

Prinz immediately deployed her ship girl's riggings and immediately filled the sky with flak rounds coming from her AA guns, the jets simultaneously dodged several of her shots but one failed to and it exploded when Prinz's AA rounds penetrated it hard. The other jets scrambled to get into attack position but Prinz single handedly managed to hold them off, her riggings being semi-sentient were quite helpful in identifying and attacking the enemies outside her field of vision. She narrowed her gaze before Prinz even started aiming her main and secondary guns at the jets as well, the remaining jets were faced against a bullet storm coming from one ship girl and all of them were either destroyed or crash landed. William got no time to admire the scene that just happened as he's busy tending to Takeshi to make sure he didn't get hurt or something and hoisting two large duffel bags, Prinz approached them and take Takeshi before she shouldered him.

"Jets down…I'll bring him kommandant, let's get out of here" Prinz said to William.

"Agreed…Tiger Actual, this is Knight! We've survived, we'll wait near our crash location" William said to Prinz then to Tiger Actual on the radio.

"We see you, are you injured?" Tiger Actual asked William on the radio.

"Bah, nothing that a bandage couldn't fix" William said to Tiger Actual on the radio.

"Alright then. We got planes in the air, it'll reach your position in five minutes with fighter escorts. They are fully loaded and fueled to the brim so they could reach your base in one flight" Tiger Actual explained to William on the radio.

"…Wait, that would mean the plane you sent out is a cargo plane" William said to Tiger Actual on the radio.

"Ja, you're right. A C-130 to be exact, you'll be going with Fulton Extraction" Tiger Actual said to William on the radio.

"Understood" William said to Tiger Actual on the radio while he nodded his head.

"What's a Fulton Extraction?" Prinz asked William curiously.

"A method of exit using a large balloon. It'll deploy high in the air with tether cable attached on us, a large plane come in and snag the cable that will carry us with them high in the air. It's quick so it'll work well with our situation, a helicopter would be too risky to land with those Siren jets around" William explained a bit to Prinz.

Yup, very handy when they need to bail out from a difficult terrain where helicopters won't be able to land or get close to but horribly unsuitable on combat zone. William have the training and experienced this technique twice over the course of his military career, the first was during Task Force Nimbus first mission where they have to deploy deep into enemy lines to sabotage a staging area. The last time happened during brief clash with Vichya Dominion where he and several men had to bail out using the same technique after being chased by an entire armored battalion…how did that happen you ask? Simple, shit happens during infiltration.

"Sound's interesting, it might be fun to try that" Prinz said to William while she smiled smugly.

"You're not scared of heights aren't you?" William asked Prinz while he cocked his eyebrows.

"Nein, of course not" Prinz said to William in confident tone.

"Then you're well suited for this" William said to Prinz while he smiled.

William was the one in the front so he put his left fist up and both of them stopped moving, that's because William just heard some strange noises from the sky and he looked upwards. There's several aircraft that passed on top of them, the aircraft was diamond shaped and has twin engines alongside stabilizer thrusters around it. It was painted black and has red linings, by now they already knew that it belongs to Siren just from that simple description alone. William had seen several of these aircraft back during the rescue mission for Eldridge, it's Siren's dropship which is larger than their insertion pod that they used for beach assault…William and Prinz managed to hide in the nearby woods and they stared at the dropships which moved toward the open field in front of them, whenever a transport moved into an open space then there's only one meaning for that action…

"…Those wankers have a lock on us, they're deploying their dropships. Tiger Actual, Sirens on sight!" William said to Tiger Actual through radio.

"We noticed Knight, why there's so much Sirens inland on this area!? No matter, we could find out why later. You need to hold your position no matter what, do you have weapons with you?" Tiger Actual asked William on the radio.

"Yeah, I have guns and my friend here could fight by herself" William said to Tiger Actual on the radio.

"Gut, our planes will be there shortly! Hold on!" Tiger Actual said to William on the radio.

"Don't let them drop their troops, Prinz!" William said to Prinz.

"Jawohl!" Prinz said to William.

And thus the fight begun once more, William and Prinz was severely outnumbered but Prinz managed to make it up by sheer firepower herself. The dropship was undeterred however as it returned fire with it's plasma cannons, Prinz had to move out of the way in order to avoid the high intensity plasma bolts that exploded upon impact. She deployed her shielding and make quick work of two dropships that harassed her by bringing it down with concentrated AA fire, one dropship fell down while burning while the other one split into two when Prinz fired her main guns at its center mass and the rounds tore through the armor easily. Prinz noted that several dropships managed to land its troops, there are dozens of them in the area and all were firing their energy weapons at her. She quickly redeployed her energy shielding while she furiously fired her main guns, secondary guns and AA guns toward the approaching infantry and effectively pinning them down on the ground or outright murdered them on spot.

"Come on! More! That's the best you swine could throw?!" Prinz taunted them while she grinned maliciously.

PSIUPSIUPSIUPSIU!

Several purple plasma bolts flew from behind and William swiftly dropped Takeshi behind a tree, he grabbed his G36C and started firing at several Siren infantries that managed to sneak on them. How did they get there? Prinz covered the frontline by herself, is it possible the dropships already dropped an advance party before? William couldn't think other reason at the moment, what's important is that they survive this fight long enough for their extraction plane to arrive!

"Behind us! Prinz, you take care of them on the field and I'll handle the one behind!" William said to Prinz.

"Understood! Kommandant, here's my bag! You might want to use the ammo within it!" Prinz said to William as she tossed her duffel bag.

"Thanks, I'll definitely need it!" William said to Prinz while he grinned.

William opened the two duffel bag filled with dozens of fully loaded magazine for the G36C, time to get the party started on this holdout session! He furiously opened fire and didn't hesitate to go full auto at the approaching Siren infantries, he only have a large tree as a cover and he had to keep an eye out for any of them who tried to get in close and personal under the dim moonlight…William didn't know how long they've been fighting but so far he already wasted eleven magazines and probably killed dozens of them, that means 330 5.56mm rounds were already spent. The gun went click and William reloaded the gun once more, the barrel was smoking hot because William have been firing it nonstop. He reappeared and started firing once more when he noticed that there's only one of it left, unfortunately the distance between them is only two meters apart.

The G36C was immediately fired at the infantry but it grabbed William's gun with its left hand, the gun was snatched and thrown away by The Siren Infantry. William gritted his teeth as he went and deliver an unrestrained kick toward the infantry's knee which bended it backwards, the infantry howled in pain with deep and raspy voice. William didn't waste any time delivering two hook at it's helmet which honestly pained both of his hands, that did worked however as the infantry was stunned. William snatched the energy weapons away from the infantry but the infantry took out its sidearm, an energy pistol. Both fired at the same time at each other, William's stolen energy rifle's bolt has quicker velocity than the pistol so the bolts reached the infantry first and that caused the infantry's aim to miss. The misfired purple bolt however went to the ground near William, the explosions caused the plasma to burst and it practically burned William's lower left leg. The sudden and excruciating pain of his flesh being burned by plasma is even enough to cause a veteran like him to dropped into the ground, William even had to grabbed his injured left leg in the process in response to the pain.

"GRAAAAAAAHHHHH!" William couldn't help but to scream in pain from the injury.

"Kommandant! Are you injured?!" Prinz immediately asked by shouting at William.

"…Don't…worry about me! Just handle those things!" William shouted to Prinz.

"How's your wound kommandant!?" Prinz asked William, worry clearly laced on her tone.

"…It's nothing fatal!" William immediately answered Prinz.

William gritted his teeth as he tries to stand, he successfully did and he limped toward the duffel bags that he left behind with Takeshi. William rummaged through the contents and took out a first aid kit, he took out a morphine injection and proceed to immediately inject himself with it. But he's unable to properly get a look on his lower left leg so he refrained from performing a hasty first aid that could resulted with further complications, he injected himself with another morphine injection to numbed the pain further. It was one minute after that when William heard his radio blared to life again, it's Tiger Actual who contacted him.

"Knight, this is Tiger Actual. Our aircrafts are on site, they'll drop a package for your Fulton Extraction on the field. Look for a flare in the sky" Tiger Actual said to William on the radio.

"…I see them! We'll…need some time to prepare!" William said to Tiger Actual on the radio.

"Understood, just make it quick" Tiger Actual said on the radio.

"Prinz! You have your shield barrier ready!?" William asked Prinz.

"Ja! I'll cover us as we prepare!" Prinz said to William.

Prinz finished off the last infantry by firing burst of AA guns fire at it, she then went and hoisted Takeshi on her shoulder. William stood up once again, when he doesn't feel any pain he proceed to semi ran following Prinz. He's still limping, his lower left leg felt numb, is it possible that the plasma also fried his nerve system? He certainly hoped not. They ran toward the direction of a small crate gliding down on the air with parachute open and red flare complimented its upper side toward the open field, the crate landed and William immediately pried it open to reveal the necessary equipment.

"W-Wha?!" Takeshi suddenly said out loud.

"You're awake doktor?" Prinz asked Takeshi as she dropped the man.

"W-What's going on!?" Takeshi asked out loud.

"The Sirens are hunting us, I guess they won't let us get away that easily!" Prinz said to Takeshi.

PSIUPSIUPSIUPSIU!

"Shields, now!" William barked his order immediately when he heard those sounds.

Prinz quickly redeployed her shielding and successfully blocked four plasma bolts, another group of Sirens infantry appeared from the forest side they're just used as hold out position. William quickly grabbed several harness out and went toward Takeshi, since all of them wearing civilian clothes right now the harness would need to be attached properly first and working in the dark was quite troublesome. William put on Takeshi's harness first, the man was surprised that William would forcefully put on something on him.

"What is this!?" Takeshi asked out loud.

"Shut up and let me do my job!" William said to Takeshi.

"Kommandant, are you done yet!?" Prinz asked William.

"In a bit!" William said to Prinz.

"Hurry up because more of them appeared!" Prinz said to William when she saw several more came out from behind the trees.

"Can't you fire your gun?!" William asked Prinz.

"If I do that the shield will get weaker! I purposely didn't to draw power as much as I can into the shield!" Prinz said to William.

Prinz noted that these infantries were even heavily armed as at least two of them hoisted a large cannon like weapons with them, it fired plasma bolts even rapidly that she just considered them to be their heavy weapons specialist. Her shield could tank off ship grade weaponries but even then she couldn't be sure on how much it can absorb against energy weapons. William didn't know how the girl's rigging works but he better trust Prinz on that one, he grabbed the second harness and went to equip it on Prinz. He carefully put on the harness around her body and his arms had to go in between her legs, while he put on the harness his right hand briefly grazed Prinz's crotch.

"Ahn~! What are you doing at this critical times you pervert!?" Prinz asked out loud to William.

"I can't help it alright! Sorry!" William said to Prinz as he fastened the harness.

"Are you ready yet, Knight?! We have reports of several Siren jets approaching your position!" Tiger Actual asked William on the radio.

"There, all set!" William said to Tiger Actual on the radio.

"Roger that, our pilots swinging back now!" Tiger Actual said on the radio.

"Here we go! Get ready! Hey doc, you're scared of heights?" William asked Takeshi.

"A bit?" Takeshi answered William with unsure tone.

"You're going to hate this one then!" William said to Takeshi while he grinned in anticipation.

Come on, who doesn't like the feeling of being suddenly hoisted from the ground by a large airplane? Pretty much that's just him who liked the thrill…William deployed a large balloon from the crates that attached to the cable their harness connected to, the balloon fly high in the air with blinking lights to indicate it's position. The Sirens didn't noticed it however as they focused their fire on Prinz as they slowly advanced toward them, the shielding already soaked up a lot of damage and the color had changed from blue to light blue. Prinz noted that means the shield integrity already decreased greatly from the constant rain of plasma hitting it…William heard the sounds of low flying aircraft and he grinned in preparation, Takeshi cocked his eyebrows in wonder before he saw a large C-130 plane fly at low altitude and passed above them.

"Wait! Is that a-. AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Takehsi screamed loudly as he was hoisted into the air.

"WOOHOOOOO!" William followed suit.

"KYAAAAA!" Prinz was the last one to get hoisted and the shielding immediately disappeared.

And thus Fulton Extraction successfully executed, the three of them fly along with the C-130 before the cable was slowly retracted into the opened rear hatch of the plane. The process took a while and William could enjoy the night view for a bit, he saw two Typhoon Fighter Craft flew past the C-130 into the direction they've been and he concluded that those two jets are going to tackle the Siren fighter jets. The process finally completed and Takeshi, William alongside Prinz were brought inside the plane. The personnel within the plane closed the rear hatch, the personnel immediately helped them discarding the harness and one of the soldier on board approached William.

"Welcome on board mein freunde! Command was adamant that you be brought out of there at all cost!" The soldier said to William.

"Thanks for the help soldier, we're glad to be out of there" William said to the soldier as he sat down on the seat.

"For sure…Well then sir, we got a long flight ahead, better make yourself comfortable" The soldier said to William.

"Yeah. You got any med kit around here? I need to patch my leg and my head" William asked the soldier.

Just then the internal light went on and everyone could see William's appearance, his left side of the head was bloodied red and some of the blood got on his left shoulder. William proceed to check his legs and he widened his eye while winced at the sight, it looks like the plasma bolts managed to charred a good chunk of his lower left leg just above the ankle as it was black as a charcoal and smelled like a burnt BBQ. The soldier and several others near them recoiled at the sight, sure it didn't look that fatal but William looked hideous nonetheless.

"Scheibe! You looks hideous! What happened sir?" The soldier asked William.

"Siren's energy weapons, we're going to need better armor for our soldiers" William answered the soldier with a tired smile.

"Ja, you're right…Oi, help him out" The soldier said to few men beside him.

They immediately went to work on first aid for him, William allowed himself to relax as he rested his weary body on the passenger seat…Prinz watched from his right side and she took out her phone, she snapped the view to serve as a memento. She then frowned sadly before she sighed, they managed to get out alive and successfully completed their objectives. She have newfound respect for those who fight the ground combat especially the infantries, she couldn't help but to wonder what would happen if one of those plasma bolts managed to hit the mark? Would she suffered the same damage as William? Either way, Prinz put the thought aside as she looked on the bright side. On the way home, with the cure maker and all of them get out alive…Prinz considered that an absolute win on their part…

.

BRAK CRASH!

A man flown off and caused the coffee table to break, his left eye bruised as he stared fearfully at the man in front of him. Ronald Mitchel himself walked toward the downed man who came back to their hideout, empty handed and third quarter of their forces dead…Ronald crouched down as he grabbed the man, raised him up before he thrown the man toward the wall. The man was about to recover when Ronald chocked him one handed with his right hand, he stared at him with murderous gleam on his eyes.

"What. Did. You. Say?" Ronald asked the man.

"…He…got away, boss…" The man said in croaked voice.

"You told me you will handle this! You told me you could take him out! You told me you'll bring his head to me! And what do you give me? You absolutely fucked this up! I lost men! Time! Resources!" Ronald said before he thrown the man toward the floor.

THUD!

"…B-Boss! Please! We…wouldn't have failed if-" The man said to Ronald.

"If what!? If he's so easy to kill?! There's a reason why Azur Lane was so desperate that they released that man from the prison! If he's that easy to kill then he won't even be a leader on Task Force Nimbus! He won't be the famed Nimbus Knight himself! I trusted your judgment, your plan sounds good in using numbers to corner him!" Ronald ranted at the man.

"We would…succeed, if The Sirens didn't get involved with this!" The man said to Ronald.

Ronald stopped himself when he heard that, The Siren was involved? So that mean it's a three way skirmish? Well well well, who would've thought that The Siren would be on the playing field? Ronald certainly didn't see that coming that he started to laugh, he found it hilarious that those diabolical beast would be the one that fucked up his plan! Oh, months of planning and now he has to prepare another one in order to get to that William Blaze…It could take weeks or even months before he could came up with another plan and finding a gap that he could exploit for fuck sake, but Ronald found this amusing…It would seems that The Sirens always appeared in the place where William headed. Their secret facility on Pacific Ocean and now here? They're also aimed to kill him off huh?

"Interesting…Well, I'm going to forgive you" Ronald said to the man.

"…Y-You will?" The man asked Ronald with unsure tone.

"Oh yes I would. I believe in second chance you see, ever since I took a bullet to the head. Thus, I was given a second chance to live and I believe you should get one too…For now, contact Anton. I want to make few things clear with him and that our Plan A have failed. We should use more 'direct' method now, William himself could wait. If we succeed with Plan B, he himself would come running" Ronald said to the man while he grinned maliciously, he held a file on his hand with writing 'Serina Blaze' on it...

.

…**This one is a Prinz centric one and laced with combat, boy at least they succeed in extracting Takeshi out. Yup, thanks for the review, follow and the favorite! This one took longer than expected, few things came up but I'm glad it's done in the end. Let me know your thoughts on this chapter, I always welcome a review. Also, I probably should start naming these Siren Units such as those black scaly creatures, the armed infantries and even the dropship for easier identification…If any of you have a suggestion feel free to PM me alright? I'll take your suggestion into consideration.**

**Until next time!**

**\- Dasmara**


	18. Homebase situation

"Kommandant? Wake up, we're almost home" Prinz said to William.

William slowly opened his eye, he stopped leaning on his seat and rubbed his right eye. Prinz sat beside him and she shook him awake when she was notified by the soldiers that they'll be arriving soon, she then checked on William's head injury and his left leg. William looked outside the window and noted that it's blue sky as far as eye can see with sea of clouds underneath them, that means they're way up high in the air. He didn't feel like the trip was that long but when he checked on his phone it was clear that he's been asleep for seven hours straight, William checked on Prinz and noted that she doesn't have black eye bags…Good, that mean she's asleep before.

"Already?" William simply asked Prinz.

"Well, we've been flying for quite some time. This plane was quite fast" Prinz said to William.

"Oh for sure schwester, the pilot went max speed on this course. We received new orders to deploy so we would have to drop you guys off quickly with parachutes" The soldier that approached them said.

"Parachutes eh? I always want to try those, even though I could float around freely" Prinz said out loud.

"There's this thrill about it schwester, you really should try it" The soldier said to Prinz as he handed her the parachute bag.

"I think so" Prinz took the bag while she smiled a bit.

"Can you stand yet, sir?" The soldier asked William.

"Please give me an injection first" William said to the soldier.

"Alright then" The soldier said to William.

His left leg felt painful, the painkiller must've worn off. William noted that Takeshi sat in front of him while he stared at his phone, he's suspicious on what Takeshi's doing because if that guy called The Sirens then there's a great chance they'll get shot down by their jets. But, if he really intend to do that then he won't wait this long so William cleared his mistrust…for now. The soldier took out a first aid kit from his rear pouch and took a small morphine injector, William rolled his jacket sleeve and the soldier injected him on the left hand wrist area.

"That should be enough to numb the pain…Might not need to tell you this but you better get that leg of yours operated immediately when you landed" The soldier said to William.

"Yeah, planned on doing so…Oi, Takeshi, we're going" William said to the soldier then to Takeshi.

"Now? But we haven't landed yet?" Takeshi asked William with cocked eyebrows.

"The plane's not going to land, we are. Ever heard of skydiving?" William asked Takeshi.

"Yeah! But did you forget that I scared of heights!?" Takeshi said to William while he narrowed his eyes.

"Well too bad! Get up!" William said to Takeshi in commanding tone.

Takeshi was reluctant to get up from his seat but there's something about William's commanding tone and face that made him stand up without thinking, being in command for so long would do that whenever you tell someone to do something...Takeshi stood up and a soldier immediately manhandled him before he put on the parachute on Takeshi, strapped the harness and make sure it's fit before he deemed it safe. The soldier set something on the strap, a round equipment with some kind of measurement meter on it before he put on a goggles for Takeshi.

"Alright then, listen carefully to me! Since you're an amateur we installed a special gadget on this one to automatically open your parachute at sufficient height, since you'll be doing HALO jump it'll open around six hundred meters off the ground! When you're in the air make sure your body face the ground or otherwise the parachute could get tangled with your body and if that happens you're dead! Keep that in mind!" The soldier explained to Takeshi.

"W-What? Can you repeat that?" Takeshi asked the soldier.

"We're nearing the drop zone! Open it up!" The soldier shouted out loud.

One soldier that stood beside the control panel slammed his hand on a large button, the rear hatch slowly lowered itself and the air was sucked out as everyone grabbed on to something in order to steady themselves. William looked at the scenery outside the plane and he grinned widely, when was the last time he perform an aerial drop? Been a long time since he did one and he honestly missed the thrill of diving down while being under heavy AA fire and then immediately went gun blazing just after he landed…Prinz looked outside and she smiled a bit, then she stared at William who for some reason grinned excitedly.

"You look awfully pumped up for some reason, kommandant" Prinz said to William while she smiled.

"Well, it's quite nostalgic and the thrill diving down is always a good thing" William said to Prinz while he grinned.

"Are you a daredevil by any chance?" Prinz asked William.

"On occasions" William said to Prinz while he shrugged.

"Thirty seconds!" The soldier shouted.

"Come here!" William said to Takeshi as he grabbed him by the arm.

"Dude, seriously, I can't even handle heights from ten-story apartment building let alone ten kilometers off the ground!" Takeshi said to William, his face blue due to nervousness.

"Listen chap, there are times when we have to face our fear straight on without backing down! Everyone has one and eventually they have to face them during the course of their life! Now man up! He who dare wins! Those who cower in fear would gain nothing!" William tried to give Takeshi some encouragement before he slapped his shoulder.

"Green light is on! I repeat green light is on!" One soldier shouted toward them.

"Thanks for the ride soldier! Give my regards to Tiger Actual after this!" William shook hands with the soldier.

"Will do sir! Good luck!" The soldier said to William while he smiled.

"Alright…I can do this, I can do this, I can do- AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Takeshi said before he screamed because William pushed him out of the plane.

"See you on the ground~" Prinz said to William then winked before she put on her goggles and jumped off the plane.

William snorted in amusement before he put on his goggles, get a running start and jumped off the plane, the C130 closed its rear hatch as soon as William jumped off…William grinned as he feel the winds blown on his face, he saw two figures below him where one was calmly free falling while the others frantically moved their limbs around in panic. William huffed in exasperation before he accelerated and approached Takeshi who's still flailed around, William grabbed him and steadied the man. Takeshi looked to the side and saw William who only gave him a thumbs up after putting him on the correct posture before he separated himself, William looked upwards to see Prinz looking at him before she gave him the 'okay' sign with her left hand.

He took that as a sign that everything goes well, he returned to his free falling posture and saw that they're about to head into the sea of clouds. It took a while and it's cold as heck but they eventually passed through the clouds and saw the islands and they're right on the path for their base, William smiled at the thought that he's back home now…Home eh? Guess this base and the girls have become a home to him. William looked behind and saw that Prinz and Takeshi deployed their parachute before William did the same instantaneously, the chute slowed him down considerably and he successfully glided down. But the winds were strong and that's why William went off course toward the administration building instead of the courtyard, he realized that it's inevitable that he will crashed toward his office…This will hurt.

BRAK!

"""""Kyaa!""""" Few females inside jolted in shock.

William was glad that the window didn't break but his body is fortunately numb from the supposed pain of the impact because of the previous morphine shot, he stared inside and noted the occupants of his office…There's Hood who sat on his office chair with a cup of spilled tea on his office table while she looked at him in surprise, Wales sat in front of Hood and she almost choked on the crackers she snacked on, even Belfast recoiled from the sound of him crashing on to the window with widened eyes, Enterprise jumped from the sofa while she drawn out her bow as she ready to deal with whatever was making that noise and Shoukaku sat upright in shock on the sofa when she heard the noise…

"Hey there ladies…" William said out loud while he cringed in pain.

"Lord William?!" Hood said out loud.

"W-Whoaaa!" William suddenly said out loud.

The winds returned in full force and William was hoisted from his position because his parachute was redeployed by the winds, it carried him as it flew toward the sea. William briefly looked down to see that Takeshi and Prinz successfully landed on the courtyard while he was hoisted around, he also saw that the ship girls stopped whatever they were doing when they noticed him in the air. William looked around and realized he's out of the base's bound and into the sea, with those wounds he sustained right now? Man, it's going to hurt like a complete motherfucker-

SPLASH!

.

"Dear god! What is it with you!? Leaving like that then returning without notification whatsoever, dropped down in a parachute, head's bandaged and your left leg in need of immediate surgery?! What did I tell you about being reckless?! A master need to listen to other people's opinion too even if they're a master of their own arts and you're no exception! Do you need to learn all of that with the hard way!?" Hood said to William in calm tone but with steely edge on it at the same time.

"Ms. Hood, please! I'm trying to work here!" Vestal said to Hood.

"…Pardon me" Hood said to Vestal while she closed her eyes then sighed.

Hood was about to fire off one of the longest rant she ever say in her life if she wasn't interrupted by Vestal, the target? William Blaze himself who had to sit on the infirmary bed as Vestal checked up the wound on his left leg while Belfast helped cleaning and nursing his head wound, Prinz and Wales watched with amusement as William could only stay silent while he averted his gaze away from Hood with nervousness plastered on his face.

"…He's the only one who can rile her up like that so far, not even Denmark Strait get her this angry before" Prinz noted as she said to Wales.

"Agreed. Doesn't that mean she just care about him so much she's afraid to lose him?" Wales asked out loud.

"In a sense. You too, right?" Prinz asked Wales while she smiled smugly.

"Of course I am, we all do. I'm just not that well versed with words to scold him while still sounding pretty calm" Wales said to Prinz while she smiled bitterly.

"Ouch!" William winced when the alcohol doused cotton touched his head wound.

"Stay still master, I can't clean your head wound if you move around too much" Belfast reminded William as she continue her work.

"Yeah…Hood, I sincerely apologize for the last time we argue, I really do. You have a point" William said to Hood as he stared her directly on her eyes.

"…If you understand then good, I hope this would be the last time I have to lecture you about this" Hood said to William while she folded her arms, wait, she forgave him that easy?

"I…would like to discuss that sometimes, would that be alright?" William asked Hood while he smiled a bit.

"…Fine, we can talk about it later" Hood said to William.

"Great…Vestal, how bad is it?" William asked Vestal.

"You want me to be honest?" Vestal asked William back.

"…Please" Williams said to Vestal.

"You're in luck. That splash of plasma didn't reach your bone but it's certainly deep enough not to be considered a light wound, you could still move your left leg so that's a good sign that the nerve wasn't damaged. However, this would prompt you unable to walk properly for weeks or even months" Vestal said to William.

Thank god! It was a great news that his left leg isn't permanently damaged because that would spell certain doom if that's really the case! But still, getting a splash of plasma caused a wound this bad? What would happen if he get hit by a plasma bolt directly? Well, William saw several cases back when he rescued Eldridge. One got his head blown off by the plasma projectile, one other got his torso opened and the plasma charred his internal organs and few others got second degree burn from a near miss…If science fiction taught him anything regarding plasma weaponry, it's slower than a bullet but the overall damage is even more deadly. Blast plate would be the only thing viable to protect from a plasma properly, but could they converted it into armor piece that easily?

"…That fast? Doesn't this kind of wounds would at least took half a year?" William asked Vestal with cocked eyebrows.

"That's because we have Regel, commander. Regenerative Gel Therapy would be the only solution to mend your wound and to 'grow' your flesh back, for that I would have to cut up this cauterized part of your flesh" Vestal said to William before she suddenly pulled out a scalpel.

"Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa! Anesthetic, Vestal! Please!" William panicked as he stopped Vestal's hand.

"I thought you're quite gung ho that you don't need any painkillers after recklessly engaging a Siren in close quarter combat?" Vestal asked William with emotionless tone.

…This would be the first time William ever saw Vestal stared at him with half opened eyes hidden in shadow that engulfed half of her upper face, a deep frown on her face and veins surfaced on her forehead…Now that he think about it Hood also haven't changed her expression, Belfast remained composed but her grip to his head was no indication that she's being calm and professional and there's Wales who stood with Prinz with blank face…Are they pissed at him?

"…Vestal, are you angry?" William asked Vestal in meek tone.

"No shite she is commander! We all do! You went off without properly telling us about that mission! Everyone's been worried about you and Prinz!" Wales suddenly said to William while she frowned.

"Wait, I'm in the line of fire too?" Prinz said to Wales while she pointed at herself.

"You went off with Commander William without telling us properly, Hipper is worried about you and won't stop asking how you're doing!" Wales said to Prinz with hands on her hips.

"Heee, that's quite unlike her…I think I'll go see her now, kommandant is in good hands anyway" Prinz said after she smiled then took off from the room.

The infirmary possess four wings with patient room on it, right now they're on the front left wing and Hipper alongside the others that's affected by the gas was on the rear right wing. William closed his right eye because it's obvious Prinz was copping out of the situation with her sister as the excuse, but it would seems the girls didn't mind that reason…Vestal rummaged through the medical bag she carried and produced an injection, she quickly and without warning injected William who winced and stared at Vestal with widened eye.

"Alright, this should numb the nerves on your left leg" Vestal said to William as she put away the injection.

"…I think I'll get OD with how much painkiller I've consumed in the past twelve hours" William said out loud with uncomfortable tone.

"Addiction is more like it. Now, prepare yourself…Ladies, I suggest you leave the room. This will get messy" Vestal said out loud but the girls doesn't move an inch…

"…Oh come on, it's not that interesting. It'll probably involved cut up flesh and lots of blood" William said out loud with half closed eye.

"He's exactly right…Now, let's begin" Vestal said as she put some cover under William's left leg.

Frankly speaking Hood, Belfast and Wales really want to see how the surgical procedure, Vestal shrugged and let them be as long they didn't interrupt her concentration. William watched as Vestal used her scalpel to cut up the charred part of his left lower leg, she worked quickly and methodically in cutting his flesh. William noted that Vestal has great knife work skill, of course as a 'doctor' she have to be proficient with blades before she could be cleared for performing surgeries…William didn't feel a thing but when he saw his blood spilled on to the cover Vestal put under his left leg even he felt a bit uncomfortable, but he have to stay calm because any movement might mess up Vestal's work…

"…And we're done!" After a while, Vestal successfully completed her procedure.

"I would probably need a crutch for this eh?" William commented as he look at his heavily bandaged left leg.

"For short distance that's fine. You'll be mostly use the wheelchair" Vestal said to William.

"Eh? But I can still walk by myself?" William asked Vestal.

"Nope, you're not going to strain yourself further until that leg of yours healed properly" Vestal said to William with hands on her hips.

"But-" William said to Vestal.

"Doctor's. Orders" Vestal said to William with emotionless tone and face.

"…Alright" William relented, something about her today clearly scream 'Don't fuck with me'.

"Glad you could cooperate. I'll go get the wheelchair" Vestal finally smiled as she exited the room.

…William, Belfast, Hood and Wales looked at Vestal until she exited the room because holy shit it's the first time they've seen her being dominating like that, no wonder sometime Enterprise is scared of her. William rested himself on the bed as he looked at his left leg, man no combat activity or training for a while huh? He felt really bad but it would seems the girls felt happy for some reason? No, he knew why because he's being reckless and as a commander going directly to the front is something that no sane military strategist would advise…But, it's the quickest way to earn approval…But the girls approved him already so why keep doing it? William smiled bitterly, it seems he just can't let it go…He still has the drive to fight directly in the front, to directly make a difference and turn the situation into a victory…

"...How's Takeshi?" William then asked out loud.

"Under Lady Mikasa's and Shoukaku's supervision, I think it would be less jarring for him to speak with his fellow people from Sakura Empire" Hood said to William, she do have a point.

"Keep an eye on him, he tries to defect to The Sirens before and I don't want that to happen here" William said to Hood.

"Enterprise is handling that at the moment, she's currently preparing a room for him" Hood said to William.

"Great…How about his phone?" William asked Hood again.

"Under surveillance too as Prinz has suggested before, Ms. Akashi is fiddling with it as we speak" Hood said to William.

"I say everything is in order for today then" William said out loud while he smiled.

"Not quite milord, you will need to wash up first" Hood said to William, she finally smiled for a bit.

"Yes master, forgive my words but you smelt like blood, gunpowder, mud combined in one and its horrendous" Belfast said to William while she also smiled a bit.

William cocked his eyebrows before he smelled at himself and he recoiled in disgust, he did smell horrible. Belfast received a wheel chair from Vestal who then took Wales somewhere else, both bid a farewell to William, Hood and Belfast. William raised himself then sat on the wheel chair and must admit that this would be the first time he ever ride on a wheelchair, he felt somewhat hopeless. They exited the infirmary and Belfast guided him toward his room…How did they get pass the stairs you ask? Don't you know that the building has a lift? No? Well, it's rarely used since the girls prefer to use the stairs unless they carried a lot of things (except for Long Island, she's just lazy). They reached William's room, Hood opened the door and Belfast brought William inside.

"Right. Let's get him clean, Bel" Hood said to Belfast as she started to take her gloves off.

"Although I can do this by myself your help is appreciated, someone would need to hold him down" Belfast said to Hood while she smiled.

"…Huh?!" William took a second to process her words before he said out loud.

"Master, please remain calm" Belfast said to William while she smiled.

"How could I when you say something that easily misleading?!" William asked Belfast with uncomfortable expression on his face.

"I assure you I have no intention to harm you, I could never do that" Belfast said to William while she sneered.

"Don't say those words with that kind smile would you?!" William said to Belfast as he was tempted to bail out from his own room.

"Ufufufufufufu, master's troubled face is quite amusing. Do forgive this maid for her little mischief" Belfast giggled merrily before she said to William while she smiled.

.

…Enterprise wiped the sweat from her brows after she finished setting up a room that will be used by Dr. Takeshi on the administration building. It has the basic necessities laid down and some stuff that the doctor might need such as hygiene products, spare towel alongside a spare change of clothes. It's basic, a shirt and pants but Enterprise guess it could serve well…She made sure everything was in order before she exited the room. Enterprise headed for the infirmary, that doctor is someone she wanted to see immediately. Hood have given her instruction to prepare Takeshi's room with few 'modification' for security reasons, figured it better be safe than sorry. Enterprise entered one of the nursing room filled with ship girls who were still stuck in bed, she approached Mikasa who overseeing Takeshi work with Kisaragi.

"Ms. Mikasa" Enterprise greeted her.

"Ara, Enterprise-san" Mikasa said as she put away the paperboard clip she's been carrying.

"How is it going?" Enterprise asked Mikasa.

"Right now he's taking blood sample, he said that the one who's influenced by the gas the most is Kisaragi-chan. He'll be working alongside the medics to create an antidote, few men on their base were also affected and they needs it quickly" Mikasa explained to Enterprise.

"I see" Enterprise said to Mikasa while she nodded her head.

"Hakase? Kore, tsukatte kudasai" Shoukaku approached Takeshi that worked in front of Mikasa and Enterprise, she handed him a face mask.

"Eh? Ah sumanai na, boku wa ima chotto ishogasinda" Takeshi said to Shoukaku as he put on the face mask.

"Chotto dake? Hontou?" Shoukaku asked Takeshi.

"Ee, kono Marry wa boku no tsukuri mono nda. Kore wa boku no sei…Sekiningste, boku ga yaru" Takeshi said to Shoukaku as he resumed his work.

"…Wakatta. Onegaishimasu, hakase. Nanika areba, yonde kudasai ne?" Shoukaku said to Takeshi while she smiled a bit.

"Hai, arigatou Shoukaku-san" Takeshi said to Shoukaku without looking at her.

Shoukaku stared at Mikasa and Enterprise for a bit, she smiled and proceed to help the others. Mikasa watched as Takeshi carefully drawn a blood sample with a special syringe from Kisaragi who still haven't woke up, he then removed the vial that was connected to the needles and carefully put it inside an ice box with few other vials that he already took from other girls. He closed the ice box and do few other checkups on Kisaragi, Takeshi looked at Mikasa and he was a bit surprised to see that Enterprise was there. He shook his head sideways and Mikasa took that as a sign that there's no improvement on Kisaragi's condition, she grabbed her paperboard clip and write few things on the paper on it while she frowned.

"…He did feel remorse for creating Marry huh? It's good that he want to take responsibility for it" Enterprise said to Mikasa.

"Ho? Enterprise-san, you can understand Japanese?" Mikasa asked Enterprise with widened eyes.

"Hey, I fought your juniors for years on Pacific of course I'll understand a thing or two about your language" Enterprise said to Mikasa while she smiled bitterly.

Prinz entered the room and she immediately went to see Hipper, the said person laid sickly in her bed as she tries to warm herself up with the blanket…Prinz sat on a stool beside the bed as she watched Prinz with a fond smile, something she rarely did outside few moments and those closest to her. Prinz reached out and swept the few strands of hair away from Hipper's face, the sensation prompted Hipper to opened her eyes in wonder who just did that to her…Hipper took few seconds to look at Prinz and she thought she was dreaming, that until she widened her eyes in realization that it is the real Prinz who smiled at her.

"Guten tag schwester" Prinz said to Hipper.

"Eugen! Where…are you going without saying anything…dummkopf?!" Hipper immediately fired off but she's too weak to sit just yet.

"Easy there, you don't want to stretch yourself with your tsundere streaks" Prinz said to Hipper while she smiled and helped her laid down.

"I can…do just fine!" Hipper said to Prinz while she frowned.

"No you're not…as for your question I went back to fatherland, to get that doctor here. He might be the only one who could cure you, I certainly hope so…" Prinz said to Hipper while she smiled a bit.

"…Would it kill you…to at least say something…before you go!?" Hipper said to Prinz.

"I guess not, I just didn't want to worry you further" Prinz said to Hipper while she shrugged.

"It did…the opposite, you dummkopf!" Hipper muttered while she scowled.

"Ufufufufu. You're pretty energetic today schwester…Anything you need?" Prinz giggled before she asked Hipper.

"…Food" Hipper said to Prinz in reluctant tone.

"Aww, you're hungry. Want me to spoon feed you too?" Prinz asked Hipper in teasing tone.

"Just get something…for me to eat will you!?" Hipper said to Prinz while she scowled.

"…Ja, wait a bit okay?" Prinz said to Hipper while she smiled a bit.

Hipper nodded her head while Prinz rose from her seat, she turned around and was about to walk toward the exit when he noticed that there's Enterprise and Mikasa who oversaw Takeshi while he worked. The two girls saw her and she nodded as some sort of silent greetings, Prinz observed what Takeshi was doing for a bit. She then briefly looked at Kisaragi who is still unconscious, she heard from one of the medics few days ago that she's in fact lucky that she's a ship girl because with the dose she inhaled she would've died if she's a normal human…Takeshi looked behind and noted that Prinz was watching him, he nodded his head slightly.

"Any development yet?" Prinz asked Takeshi.

"I'm still working on it Ms. Prinz" Takeshi said to Prinz.

"…Doktor, I want to make one thing clear…You don't have the best track record concerning loyalties so I'm going to keep an eye on you. This place here is my home, the place where people I care about lives. If you so happen in league with The Sirens to attack this place, you better pray because when you're usefulness is up you're going to die…Get it?" Prinz said to Takeshi with threatening manner.

"…I understand" Takeshi stopped his work as he responded to Prinz.

"Gut…Take a shower doktor, you stink" Prinz said to Takeshi before she went toward the exit.

Takeshi cocked his eyebrows as he smelled himself while Prinz took off immediately headed for the canteen, Enterprise and Mikasa looked at each other…When they just landed Prinz immediately made it known that Takeshi tried to defect to The Sirens and should be monitored closely, the news spread fast and it didn't took long until everyone was aware with that fact. Some like Shoukaku and Mikasa know about it but they choose to treat him just like anyone else while some like Enterprise and Prinz took very careful approach with him, they really didn't want the base security's to be compromised because the last thing they need right now is Siren attack.

"We all heard about what you did, I recommend you get everything done as quickly as you could and didn't venture outside unnecessarily. Most of the girls are uncomfortable with your presence here" Enterprise said to Takeshi.

"Does contacting them for safe haven need to be faced with such treatment?" Takeshi asked Enterprise while he frowned deeply.

"You called for safe haven from something these girls have been fighting for their and other lives doctor, they sacrificed much to keep Earth from falling into Siren's control. No one knows when the war with them is going to end, so your traitorous act back then really put them on edge...I'm not going to act harshly on you, my order is to specifically keep an eye on you. But don't take that as a sign I'm being lenient, I'll still hit you if you cross the line" Enterprise said to Takeshi while she folded her arms.

And that summarized what the girls felt when they had to accept a traitor to their base even for a while, but they have no choice since Takeshi was the creator of the gas and might be the only one who could produce a cure for them. Enterprise really hoped that she won't have to resort toward violence with this situation, she hoped that Takeshi will cooperate with them. Mikasa herself could only sighed a bit, they had to put their hopes to someone who tried to betray humanity as a whole…He must've had his reason, but right now she didn't care about it and only wished that he could do his job.

"Alright…" Takeshi said to Enterprise while he looked away from her.

"…You want something to eat?" Enterprise asked Takeshi.

"…Yeah" Takeshi said to Enterprise as he nodded his head.

"Sit tight, I'll get you something" Enterprise said to Takeshi.

"Hakase…" Mikasa said to Takeshi.

"Moo iindesuyo, Mikasa-san…Boku, jijou ga wakatta" Takeshi said to Mikasa.

.

The rest of the day went uneventful and everyone retired to their respective rooms…The next day William woke up like usual in the morning, Belfast came to wake him up, helped him bathe, changed his bandages, deliver him his breakfast and sort out the document. Today there would be a meeting between the secretaries and the faction leaders, few of them such Bismarck and Hood however had to be absent because William have instructed them do another task so they won't be present on the meeting. It was around eleven in the morning when everyone were present and the meeting started, William told the girls regarding what happened on Southern Ironblood as the girls listened to him intently…

"-And that's how it all happens" William finished telling the girls his story.

"I'm surprised you didn't record this one, you always carry that little camera with you during combat didn't you commander?" Warspite asked William.

"That attachment works if I use combat goggles Warspite, this time I don't" William said to Warspite.

"You exposed yourself more to the enemy and that is quite dangerous, shikikan-sama" Shoukaku said to William while she frowned a bit.

"A fair trade for incognito status in my opinion. Obviously that didn't work since Crimson Cleanser already had a head start…Well, what's done is done. Now, I already reviewed about our situation…I'll be blunt, we'll be tested to see if whether we could survive by ourselves or not but from what I see I think we have a very good chance on making it. We already has several ties with private companies that would certainly not mind to work with us more closely and ten more companies that's interested with our fleet escort services" William said to the girls that were present in the meeting.

"Hai, what are thou orders shikikan-sama?" Nagato asked William concerning their next move.

"In a moment Ms. Nagato…Belfast, please give me a situation report first" William said to Belfast for status report.

"Yes master…We should have more than enough fuel to stay operational within our normal capacity for three months, our coffers is nearly full and the funding's on that offshore account would add nicely to our stock, we have enough daily necessity supply for one and a half month, ammunition fully stocked and base facilities are operational as intended…However, morale is quite low since the attack. Our priorities would be to see if Dr. Takeshi could create a cure and have the girls healed first, while we do that it would be best for us not to split our strength too thin…In case Sirens try to attack our base, we would need everyone capable to fight on standby" Belfast explained the situation to William.

…It would seems they won't have to worry about resources and money for a while but still it won't hurt to procure more, their only immediate problem would be the low morale amongst the ship girls ever since the attack. William would need to fix that morale problem as soon as possible and he might just have a way for that, unfortunately it will take some time to prepare so he might do that after he got everything done here. William looked at the stack of papers on the coffee table and read one as he grabbed his cup filled with tea then he sipped it, he's not that knowledgeable with all of this business paper horseshit but at least he understand what these proposal papers wanted…They want escort service while him alongside the girls want resources…

"…Agreed. For now, in order to fulfill the request orders have three man teams ready for each commission" William said out loud.

"That means sending thirty of us away to the front" Tirpitz who acted as Bismarck's stand in said to William.

"Relatively speaking these request each should only take two or three days, send out the ladies periodically. Have today for two commissions, then two on the next day" William further said out loud.

"That should work, master" Belfast said to William while she smiled.

"Shikikan-sama, Akashi requested quite some budget and resources for her research. Here's the details" Souryuu said to William as she handed him a paper compilation.

William cocked his eyebrows as he studied the papers, the paper was a descriptive essay and proposal regarding Albion armor. Akashi highlighted the issue with the design and her plans to make it 'wearable' and William widened his eye a bit when she get to the power generation issue, Akashi proposed to use wisdom cube itself…Wisdom cube capable in realizing collective consciousness but it's pure raw form could also be used as source of energy? What kind of bollocks is this? William was no scientist and what he just read didn't make sense, but he trust Akashi so he'll go along with it…

"She's making Albion…" William commented out loud.

"Does battle armor such as that really necessary?" Souryuu asked William.

"Yeah, look at how plasma weaponry did to my leg. This should give much better protection than standard Kevlar…Approved" William said out loud and stamped the paper in approved seal.

"If you say so shikikan-sama" Souryuu said to William and took the paper with her.

"…We already talk about all that needs to be talked about?" William asked out loud to the girls.

"I'd say we have everything handled for now, commander. All we have to do next is to execute the plan" Queen Elizabeth said to William then sipped on her tea.

"Excellent. Then, this meeting is done. You ladies are free to go, eat something so you don't collapse and rest if you're feeling tired" William said to the girls while he smiled.

The girls smiled and bid him good day, the meeting was done and the girls dispersed to do their other task or activities. William picked up his crutch and walked toward his office table, he set the crutch beside his table then sat on the office seat and it was the moment when he noticed that Belfast haven't left the room yet. Belfast tidied up the documents on the coffee table, she diligently sorted the papers, cleaned the left overs of the teapot and its cups before she put the papers to his office table. William stared at Belfast with narrowed gaze, didn't he tell the girls that they should rest?

"Belfast?" William asked her.

"Don't worry master, I will stay by your side" Belfast said to William while she smiled.

"You're not hungry?" William asked Belfast with cocked eyebrows.

"I could eat later" Belfast said to William.

"You'll get thin" William said to Belfast with concerned tone.

"Won't that serve as a win-win scenario?" Belfast asked William with cocked eyebrows.

"No, I'd like your figure as it is right now. There's no need for you to thin yourself" William said honestly to Belfast.

Belfast smiled softly at that remark, she really do noticed that William couldn't take his eyes off of her whenever she's on the office doing her work. So this current figure of her was the one interest him, she'll take his words and decided to keep her figure as it is. William thought on something, he never ever saw Belfast ate a meal…No, for real, he never saw her eat except for the few snacks that she ate due to him urging her to take one and that really concerned him. Is there any way for him to witness Belfast eating? This started to sound like a strange wish, but that's what he really want to see right now…Oh, perhaps if he 'forced' her to eat?

"…Bel, come here" William said to Belfast.

"Yes master" Belfast said to William as she approached him.

"Sit on my lap" William shamelessly said to Belfast.

"Pardon?" See? Even Belfast took a second to confirm that statement because she's honestly shocked.

"Sit on my lap" William said to Belfast.

"But master, your left leg-" Belfast said to William.

"Sit on my lap, Bel" William said to Belfast.

"…As you wish, master" Belfast said as she finally relented and approached William.

Belfast still had no idea on why would William asked such thing to her? It's quite sudden and confusing since William had never make this kind of request before, she knew him to be a bold person but that was mostly on the battlefield. Overwhelming curiosity however caused her to do what he says, she approached him and then sat on his right thigh…Yup, plump and soft ass, just like William had predicted but sexual thoughts wasn't going to distract him from what he's about to do. He already had a plan in mind, he don't know how she will take it but William's going in without a doubt it will work.

"Now, what I'm about to say is so controversial that you might flipped out but I request that you…turn off your maid mode" William said to Belfast.

"Turn off maid mode? But master-" Belfast said to William as she looked at him.

"Ah Ah Ah, try to call me William" William said to Belfast.

"…William" Belfast said his name out loud reluctantly.

"Good. Are you hungry?" William asked Belfast.

"I'm not at the moment" Belfast said to William.

"Really? You have a bit of break time and you still spend it working? Noon break such as now should be used to fill your belly, Bel" William said to Belfast while he smiled.

"Why did you really insistent that I eat something?" Belfast couldn't helped but to ask him.

"I don't want you to collapse like Hood when she overworked herself" William said to Belfast while he shrugged.

"But I always take good care and scheduled my actions properly" Belfast said to William.

"Nope, this being the example. You never seem to eat lunch" William said to Belfast

"I did, but never at your sight" Belfast said to William while she frowned a bit.

"…Then, eat here so I could believe you" William said to Belfast while he smirked.

"But what shall I eat master? I will have to head toward the cafeteria for that" Belfast said to William.

"No, I got something perfect for occasion such as this. Something horrendous according to any maid, something you surely despise with every inch of your being. But sometimes, it would be your salvation in darkest times" William said to Belfast.

Belfast curiously watched as William reached for the drawer, did he kept some food in the office table's drawer? Last time she checked there's none of it! William went to the bottom most drawer, he shuffled some documents and pulled out something that cause Belfast composure to falter as she stared at the thing on his right hand with shock and confusion. On William right hand there's a large cup of instant noodles, chicken curry flavor with double portion. This was something that William bought on purpose few weeks ago in case he had to do overtime or even felt bored enough to eat instant noodles during his spare time, the base has no shortage of food and ladies that could cook delicious dish…But his commoner soul kept screaming for him to buy and stockpiled those noodles! Something that his tongue craved once in a while!

"Behold, instant noodles" William said to Belfast.

"…Master…you're stockpiling instant noodles…" Belfast said to William with shocked expression on her face.

"Occasionally eating this shouldn't hurt you" William said to Belfast while he smiled.

"…Was…was my cooking unsatisfactory?" Belfast asked William while she frowned sadly.

"Huh? No, that's not the case" William cocked his eyebrows on her response, that's not how he predicted-

"Then, was the portion too small for you that you have to stockpile these noodle?" Belfast asked William as she grabbed on his wide shoulders.

"No, that's not…Hah…Bel, I just want you to relax for a bit and perhaps eat something that ordinary citizen would occasionally eat. I don't mean for this to show my disrespect at your cooking, the food you make is something I anticipated daily" William said to Belfast with serious face, damage control time!

Shit, his plan really backfired as he seemed to make Belfast upset! She misinterpreted him stockpiling instant noodles as a sign of him not liking her cooking, but that was the opposite as he's absolute enamored with her cooking! Belfast sighed in relief, she really jumped the gun there with her assumption when she should've known better. She always watched him eating her cooking and he never shown single hint of distaste at it, well with the exception of several vegetables that she threatened to shove down his throat when he was being an ass so other than that he never has problems with her cooking.

"…Is that so" Belfast said while she smiled.

"Yes. And, I just want you eat something and going to the cafeteria is a long walk. Just eat this, have you tried instant noodles before?" William asked Belfast.

"No I haven't. Instant noodles is…unhealthy in every sense possible, this stuff is really bad for your health. But I must say, why does people keep eating it? They surely know the risk and the hazards but they still keep consuming it…why is that, master?" Belfast did find it a curious thing…

"You will understand once you tasted one, I could give you an explanation here but without tasting the noodles it'll be…an empty explanation without meaning. Sit tight" William said to Belfast.

William used his right hand to lifted up Belfast from his lap and she widened her eyes, that's because he's actually strong enough to lift her with one arm without any sort of struggle…Just how strong is he really?! William carefully put her on top of his office chair, he then walked toward the water dispenser in the corner of the room, opened the cup noodle package, take out the contents except for the noodle, filled the cup with hot water, put the seasoning inside and sealed the cover back. He then walked toward the office table and put the cup on the table. Belfast stared at him curiously but William just put up his index finger as a sign to 'wait'…Three minutes later William grabbed the cup noddle.

"Three minutes, all in one package and the only thing you need is hot water…Here we go" William said as he opened the lid.

"This is…instant noodles" Belfast commented as she smell the aroma.

"Yes it is. Now…I present you the forbidden fruit, eat it Bel. Finish this and you will be given the wisdom, the truth of the masses! The real explanation that will make you understand society better!" William theatrically said to Belfast as he handed her the plastic fork.

"Yes master" Belfast said to William as she take the plastic fork and grabbed her first bite…

"…Well?" William curiously asked Belfast.

"I…I understand! I see! Now everything makes sense! These…these noodles, they are unhealthy, their nutrients value is low and they are not something you should eat…But! The taste! There's certain things in it that leaves you wanting more!" Belfast said to William with widened eyes.

"And that's the true power of what can this one cup do to a person! Addiction is a mere inch away! The temptation Bel, once you taste the thing that we call instant cup noodle…You will never forget how it taste" William said to Belfast while he grinned.

Belfast found herself unable to stop, she kept eating the noodles despite her mind telling her that it's not healthy. But the chicken curry noodle just tasted so damn good! She had never ate something with a flavor like this and so laced with powerful additives that even her willpower was outmatched then stripped, turning her into a slave in control by the delicious poison. Not a shred of her head maid composure remains, Belfast stared with the eyes of prey in fear at William who smiled maliciously at her. Oh yes, he knew this would be the result. No one can resist the power of instant noodles! Even Belfast the ever perfect head maid succumbed to its might!

"M-Master…W…What have you done to me!?" Belfast asked William with shaky tone.

"Oh I'm simply teaching you, the real truth about instant noodles. Remember, you're the one who taste it, you're the one who seeks the knowledge and you got it but at a price…No knowledge can be obtained without sacrifices, Bel! To understand instant noodles, first you must taste it! No matter what your status, race, religion or even nationality, instant noodles is a bridge that will connect the entirety of humanity! This one poisonous cup, has that much power!" William said to Belfast while he grinned maliciously.

"Master, I'm here to…"

The office door was opened and Edinburgh stepped inside carrying a stack of papers and that stack however immediately fell then scattered on the floor, Edinburgh widened her eyes at the sight in front of her. Belfast stared at Edinburgh on the door with teary eyes on the verge of crying, a shaky fearful frown on her lips, her right hand gripped on a plastic fork with empty cup of instant noodles in front of her, beside her was William who also stared back to Edinburgh with shocked face because he honestly didn't expect anyone to enter the office…

"…D-D-Dear sister…" Belfast said to Edinburgh.

"Is that…instant noodles!? Master, what have you done to our head maid?! What have you done to my little sister?!" Edinburgh charged forward while she scowled.

"Bollocks!" William cursed out loud.

SLAP!

.

"…That was quite the learning experience" Belfast said to William with her usual composed face.

"…Yeah, getting scolded by Edinburgh was something I didn't anticipate whatsoever though…" William said to Belfast while he rubbed his left cheek.

The fury of a sister is something anyone shouldn't underestimate, never have William ever saw Edinburgh that angry before and even she slapped her commanding officer and master because he bullied her sister (just a little). The slap even caused a giant like him to fell into the floor, that's how powerful she is despite her clumsiness. Eventually things were resolved and William spend the rest of the noon breaks scribbling something on a piece of paper, Belfast watched as William worked on something while she waited patiently by his side. She knew that William would have something for her to do after this…

"…How is it? The instant cup noodle?" William suddenly asked Belfast.

"…Good, but I will keep an eye on you even more from now on, master. I will make food so great that you won't have to eat instant noodles ever again" Belfast said to William while she smiled.

"Looking forward to it…Anyway, here" William said as he handed Belfast the paper he's been working on.

"This?" Belfast asked out loud as she viewed the paper.

"Yes, a training plan I've thought might be benefit greatly for the ladies" William said to Belfast.

"…Torpedo barrage dodge, anti-aircraft training competition, dummy sea mine avoidance maneuver…It's the usual but you make this sound like a game with these point system, master" Belfast asked William.

"It's on purpose, everything that has happened for the past few days really put bleak atmosphere around the base. This should distract the girls for a while, can I trust you with the execution, Belfast?" William asked Belfast while he smiled.

"As your wish master, I shall make sure to supervise this exercise with my absolute best" Belfast said to William.

"Glad to hear it" William said as he stood up from his seat.

"May I ask where you might be going?" Belfast asked William.

"Lunch business" William answered Belfast.

"Outside the base I take it?" Belfast asked William.

"Yeah. Before you fret about me going alone on my condition, Hood and Bismarck will accompany me so you have nothing to worry about" William said to Belfast.

"I see, in that case I could rest easy. Take care master and…thank you, for the lesson today" Belfast said to William.

"Don't mention it…I'll leave the rest to you" William said to Belfast while he smiled then exited the office.

…This morning William received a message from an unknown number, the message said 'I'm in the mood to visit Smith in the artic, I heard he has a shop and he's a great baker. The view in the afternoon is also splendid, very suitable for a date! – ...66'…Wrongly sent message? No, William immediately figured the message out. It was so simple that William was sure that anyone could crack the riddles if they think hard enough, with that in mind he never replied but he definitely understand the instruction hidden behind those words and he's set out to do it. That's why Hood and Bismarck were absent from the meeting before, William specifically ordered them to get ready.

"Good afternoon, milord" Someone said to William when he exited the administration building.

"…First time I see you dressed in casual outfit" William commented as he looked to his right side.

There, leaned against the wall was Hood herself who's dressed with white sunny dress complimented with gold necklace, a white sun hat on top of her head, a sunglasses hid her sea blue eyes, a blue and red themed purse slung on her left shoulder and blue heels on her feet. William kept his face smiling and composed while in the inside he marveled at how gorgeous Hood look right now! This would be the first time he saw her without her usual clothes and something much more casual, he watched as Hood went closer from her spot to him and noticed that he planned to go out with his officer uniform…Looks like William had no intention to hid his identity.

"What do you think?" Hood asked while she twirled once for William,

"You look gorgeous, a nice change of pace compared to your usual uniform" William complimented while he smiled widely.

"My, thank you for the compliment" Hood said to William while she also smiled widely.

"Kommandant, sorry I'm late" Someone said from behind William.

William turned around and he instantly grinned, why? It's Bismarck who appeared while she dressed with crimson one piece dress with silver crescent moon necklace, silver bangle on her left hand, black purse in right hand and black heels…Wow, Hood is one thing but Bismarck on casual clothes? Not even her fellow Ironblood ship girls ever saw her wearing casual dress for outing before, but it turns out she have one to use. Little did William know that Tirpitz was the one who helped her with the dress, that's because Bismarck spent so much time on trying to decide what to wear when William asked her to come with him to the city.

"Wow! Where's the usual Bismarck have gone to?" William asked Bismarck while he grinned.

"Um, please don't tease me so much…How is it?" Bismarck asked William, her cheeks reddening a bit.

"One word, beautiful" William said to Bismarck while he smiled and nodded his head.

"…D-Danke" Bismarck said to William while she smiled.

"Shall we?" William asked the two ladies.

The three of them then walked toward the garage, limping in William's case since he had to walk with a crutch but he proved that he's able to match the walking speed both Hood and Bismarck. William produced the car key for a spare SUV but Hood take the key away from his hand, she shook her head sideways as she silently get inside the driver seat…William shrugged, isn't the car an automatic? He won't even need two legs to drive it. But he choose not to argue, she just forgave him not too long ago and he want to be in her good grace as much as possible. The three of them were inside the car and few minutes later it exited the base and head straight to the city, Hood's driving, William rode shotgun and Bismarck sat on the rear passenger seat.

"Where to milord?" Hood asked William.

"Head for 'Wintersmith Café' on Uptown" William said to Hood.

"Now where have I heard that name before?" Hood asked out loud as she racked her memories.

"They sell the best cake in town, Hood" William said to Hood while he smiled.

"…I'm beginning to suspect you, kommandant" Bismarck said from the rear while she pouted slightly.

"What? You don't like sweets?" William asked Bismarck as he looked back at her from the front.

"What Bismarck meant is this outing is so out of the blue, milord. You're being secretive about it doesn't help to dismiss our suspicion" Hood explained while she smiled.

"You two will see why later" William simply answered vaguely.

It took a while until they reached uptown area, William checked the calendar and noticed that it's Monday. The city was bustling with activity in the clear sunny summer afternoon, that's unfortunate because traffic was being a bitch at the moment where they get stuck in a long line on one of the town's major uptown intersection. Hood commented that it'll take a while until they will reach their destination, William grunted as answer while he stared at the pedestrians and Bismarck commented that the island's getting overpopulated…They finally arrived after being stuck for ten minutes on the road, but the air conditioned shop filled with cakes and pastries closed its binds with word 'closed' on the entrance.

"Eh? It's closed?" Hood asked out loud in shock.

"Are you sure you don't want to have lunch somewhere else, kommandant?" Bismarck asked William.

"No, it must be here. Oh well, let's try entering anyway. Excuse me" William said out loud as he pushed the entrance open.

The three of them entered the shop, it's like your regular pastry shop with cakes and pastries on the aisle but it would seemed that the employees were absent from manning their post. That confused the three of them, the shop was closed but the cakes were on the aisle that means they are prepared for customers…Just as the three of them thought that they noticed that in fact there is someone that sat alone while looking at their phone, it's a woman with shoulder long light brown hair, amethyst eyes, dressed in black tank top underneath white jacket, blue jeans, a black sneakers and she turned around just in time to greet them.

"Ah, good to see you Will, Hood and even Bismarck!" It was Lena herself.

""EH?!"" Hood and Bismarck said out loud in surprise.

"Hey there" William doesn't seemed to be that shocked.

"I see you haven't told them" Lena said to William with amused face.

"I thought we're supposed to have zero contact with High Command during the activation of Trident Initiative!?" Hood asked Lena with furrowed eyebrows.

"'Officially' Hood, no one said anything about meeting on vacation" Lena said to Hood while she shrugged.

"Why is the store empty?" William asked Lena.

"We bought it-" Lena said to William.

"""What?""" William, Bismarck and Hood immediately said out loud.

"For today, I've talked to the manager and he agreed to lend this place for today. They'll be taking online orders only" Lena explained further to the three of them.

William, Bismarck and Hood proceed to sat in front of Lena, it's a six seat table where Bismarck choose to sat by the window, Hood on the middle while William sat beside her. Lena noted that William was injured but she hid her displeasure very well, It would seems that almost of his ground deployment now always resulted in him getting injured so is it possible that he's gotten rusty? Nah, he only need to return to his prime combat state like he was way back then and that would take some time. William set his crutch aside, he smiled at Lena.

"…Great to see you by the way" William said to Lena while he smiled.

"You too, despite the fact you're crippled. What did you do this time?" Lena asked William while she also smiled.

"Yeah, shite happens. I think it's a sign to start commissioning a research for blast plate made to withstand plasma projectiles, Siren got a lucky shot on me" William said to Lena

"Well it won't happen by anytime soon, Plan Bellator Luminis resulted with our armor factories currently producing Phase 1 General Purpose Infantry Armor or GEPIA Phase 1. It would be distributed as our new infantry standard body armor replacing our Kevlar vest with plating, Crimson Axis have also received the design and working to mass produced it like we do" Lena said to William while she smiled a bit.

"Ooohh, neat" William commented while he smiled widely.

"That I agree. Well I'm glad you manage to crack that message with simple encryption so go ahead, order what you like, my treat for today" Lena said to the three of them.

"In that case, I shall pick this chocolate fondue with fruits. I want it for a while but haven't got the time to order one…Bismarck, what about you?" Hood asked Bismarck as she looked at the menu on the table.

"I'm a bit confused on what to pick, everything looks delicious" Bismarck said while she flipped the menu page.

"Want my recommendations?" Hood offered while she smiled.

"Um…I think I'll be fine with my own choice…How about this?" Bismarck pointed at an image on the menu.

"Oh, vanilla soufflé? Not a bad choice by any means" Hood said to Bismarck.

"Then I'll pick this one…How about you, kommandant?" Bismarck asked William.

"Really? Is there no 'heavy' food here?" William asked out loud as he scanned the menu.

"I think this café served mostly female patrons that have fondness for pastries" Hood said to William while she smiled.

"Damnit…Uh…Cheesecake would do then" William said before he saw a cheesecake on display.

He's hungry and he did hoped that this shop would at least provided something other than a cake, he should've thought better than that because a cake shop is A CAKE SHOP! What else they have other than cakes and pastries, William!? Steak?! You better head for that BBQ Shop on the other side of the road then! William internally screamed at himself for his 'stupid' statement before…He sighed as he grabbed a bottled water that were provided on the table beforehand and drank from it.

"Excuse me, sir?" Lena said out loud.

"…You ready to order miss?" The freaking shop owner himself approached them.

"Yeah. One chocolate fondue with fruits, one vanilla soufflé, one cheesecake and a big creampie from you" Lena said while smiled.

PRRRFFFFTTTT!

Water spurted out of William's mouth when he's chocked after hearing Lena's order that prompted Lena, Hood and Bismarck to recoil in reflex. William coughed as Hood held his shoulder while Bismarck hurriedly took out her napkin and handed it to Hood, she used it to help wiped William's wet mouth and chin while Lena stared at William with opened mouth and widened eyes. The shop owner however looked like he's used to this as he's not even fazed with his poker face plastered on his face and he didn't even recoil when William choked on his water…

"What the fuck?!" Lena shouted at William.

"That's my line!" William shouted back at Lena.

"Ah, there's a bit misunderstanding here huh? Sir, my specialty is cream pie cake so you have nothing to worry about" The shop owner said to William while he smiled.

"…I…I see" William said to the shop owner.

"Would…that be all?" The shop owner asked them all.

"Yes it is, thank you" Lena said to the shop owner while she smiled.

"…Bismarck, do you get it about what they just talk about?" Hood asked Bismarck with low tone.

"…I googled it and what came out is pictures of cream pie cake…I don't understand why kommandant was so shocked?" Bismarck said to Hood with low and confused tone.

That must be because Bismarck put the google on 'safe search' feature on default, of course those kind of images won't show up on the search. William actually managed to get his mind into the gutter, but who can blame him really? Hood and Bismarck? Both of them have some knowledge regarding 'sex' but that doesn't mean they knew all the euphemism or even the slangs most people used. Lena looked at William who had to look away from the ladies with red cheeks due to embarrassment and shame, she grinned when he realized that Lena was the only one who understood on why would he choked on his water.

"Perv" Lena commented while she grinned.

"Shut up" William immediately fired back.

The rest of the chat involved some catching up for a bit before their treats arrived, William looked at his cheesecake and noted that the portion…is damn small! What's this? Dieting lady portion? Looks like it! Oh well, he decided to went to that BBQ shop after this and ordered a takeout because there's no way he could sate his hunger with just this one piece of cheesecake…Hope that misunderstanding with Belfast won't happen again, well as long he can explain it properly. William started eating when he noticed someone approached then sat beside Lena, he almost chocked when he saw Lucas just sat with them looking all happy like he's been with them and just went back from the toilet. Lucas wore dark red t-shirt, green short cargo pants and sandals…he dressed like he's on vacation or extremely casual.

"Ah! Good to see you and the ladies here!" Lucas said to them in merry tone.

"Lucas?!" William half shouted at him.

"Why are you so surprised?" Lucas asked William with cocked eyebrows.

"How the hell did you managed to do this and slipped by Intelligence Division?!" William asked Lucas.

"Convenient arrangements Will, it work wonders…Now, shall we begin? You start first, I'm sure you have a lot of questions" Lucas answered while he grinned.

"Bloody hell I do! First off, Trident Initiative!" William said while put the cheesecake aside, no way he could eat in this situation.

"It's a contingency Lena and I prepared in case someone from within will try to take advantage of the ship girls, it will allow ALASUC division to work independently without high command's intervention. We noticed that treachery have crept up even into the High Command's council, better safe than sorry" Lucas said to them with a serious face for the first time today.

…So their assumption was right, this whole Trident Initiative is another goddamn bait. Honestly speaking William was tired with this political bullshit, didn't Lucas promised not to hide anything from him if he's to take his job? But it would seems William had fallen to a pit trap that Lucas set up, there's no way he could just back down and actually left the girls after everything that have happened for the past few months so Lucas could 'bend the agreement' a bit. He himself would fight to his last breath if the girls were mistreated in anyway…He doesn't have the capability and the mind for political games, all he could do now is to go with the flow.

"You can do that without the other member of the council object it?" Hood asked Lucas.

"They would have, if it wasn't for William who's in command of you ladies" Lucas said to Hood while he smirked.

"I thought those bunch of bollocks call me a fuck up?" William quipped as he scoffed.

"In front of your face, yes. They're bunch of classical tsunderes, they might call you that up front but deep down they knew how skilled you are and how dedicated you are in order to do the right thing. Your stellar performance during Operation Ulysses and Operation Dradetheus have shown High Command that you're indeed fit to be the commander of a special division, they're just not willing to admit that your sometimes 'unorthodox' strategy work wonders but could cause you to seem 'undisciplined' in the eyes of the other commanders" Lucas explained while he smirked.

"I can vouch for that Will, no one complained when you led such significant force with Johnson to Terania. They believe you could thwarted whatever Siren's planning" Lena said to William while she smiled softly.

Operation Ulysses? Damn, it's among the first operation that Task Force Nimbus commenced during the opening stage of the war. Near Dragon Empery's northern-eastern border, a sizeable recon battalion of Sakura Empire Army set up shop in order to breach Dragon Empery's northern fortification and paved way for invasion. Task Force Nimbus was ordered to neutralize the recon battalion sized force all by themselves, tall order? It's practically a suicide mission…Lena came up with a plan to assault the battalion in one decisive attack, reckless but effective if commenced at the right situation. Weather prediction shown that a storm will pass the region on two days, so the task force hid themselves inside the thick forest as they watched the forward operational base that the enemy have set up.

The prediction came to reality, a massive storm clouds gathered on the area followed by harsh rain and strong winds. Normally that would deter anyone from making a move, not when visibility was so poor and the cold practically bite their bones…But the member of Task Force Nimbus was prepared for even such impossible task, that's why William and two dozen strong Azur Lane Special Forces Commandos that was part of Task Force Nimbus get in as close as they could to the base through the thick jungle. Each of them were equipped with their infrared friend or foe identification signal emitter, they equipped themselves with night vision goggles too so they could clearly distinguish friends and foe in the ensuing chaos. Then, they charged at the base, guns equipped with suppressor and laser designator as they swiftly attacked the unprepared Sakura Empire Army.

One thing that they failed to realize, the battalion that Sakura Empire sent to that area was known as Sakura Empire Army Special Warfare Group Battalion that was specialized in unconventional warfare and special activities. That's why even when they were caught off guard it didn't took them too long to form an effective resistance, the situation didn't look good for Azur Lane as they had to rely on the element of surprise and lightning surgical strikes to take the entire battalion down. That's when William ordered majority of the men to fall back toward the forest and provide suppressive fire as William alongside five volunteers would split up and flank them.

The flanking maneuver was successful but the enemy commander realized their strategy, he prepare an ambush of one hundred men within the base compound armed with guns and katanas. William have vague memory of what really happened but he remembered that he fought tooth and nail to survive the ambush, his weapons quickly ran out of ammo, his combat knife lost as it got lodged on one of his victims, he had to steal enemy katana to kill few others and when everything else fails his fists were more than sufficient. Realizing that the enemy battalion was distracted by five massacring monstrosity inside the base, the rest of Azur Lane unit charged in toward the base and seized the victory. That moment was the one that awarded William the title Nimbus Knight for his extraordinary resilience and pure skill in combat...So, Lucas mentioned that high command actually approved of his action but condemned him during debriefing for being a 'glory hound'? What a bunch of hypocritical fucks!

"…Pfft, two faced cunts" William scoffed as he folded his arms.

"Milord" Hood said to William while she smiled meaningfully as she pinched his right thigh…strongly.

"Ouch, alright, sorry!" William said to Hood as he winced and nursed his right thigh.

"Ah…I know who you should bring if there's a meeting with High Command Council, she seemed capable in preventing you from cursing" Lena said to William while she grinned.

"…Also, there's the talk from before about base expansion. How are you going to tackle that if Trident Initiative is in effect?" William choose to ignore Lena as he asked Lucas.

"You not need to worry about that. Soon, you'll be receiving major ship girl's reinforcement from all faction on this world both from Azur Lane or Crimson Axis. Erich and I have spoken regarding the technical details, it blend well with our grand strategy" Lucas said to William.

"You still think putting all of the ship girls on one place would be the best option?" William asked Lucas with unconvinced expression.

"What? You thought it's bad?" Lucas asked William with intrigued face.

"You put what basically the only people who can combat The Sirens effectively in one point on the surface of The Earth, won't that make the other place ripped for Sirens to harvest?" William explained his concern to William.

"…Think outside the box Will, put yourself in enemy's shoes. If the enemy gather their best hope in ending the war in one place, what will you do?" Lucas asked William with serious face.

"Launch a major offensive-" William said without hesitation.

"No, I said think outside the box. What will you do?" Lucas immediately rebuffed him and asked him again.

…Shit, William thought deeply but there's not much strategy that comes to mind except for rounding them up and smash them in one decisive battle…Lucas told him to put himself on the enemy shoes, Siren would definitely use that opportunity to strike other regions but is he sure on that what Siren would do? There's no prove that could say their thought process would be the same as humans, if that's the case then what other strategies they could possibly came up with? So far, they're still predictable…But William realized that it's their regular forces that he fought all this time, he haven't actually faced Siren ship girls in combat yet and certainly not against their commander directly…Holy shit…he have a huge homework.

"…There's a lot of options depending on our technological level, our combat doctrines or even the desperation in High Command to end the war" William choose that vague answer for Lucas.

"You see, this is a test…Based on the video you managed to record back on Terania we now know that The Sirens indeed has leaders and dare I say they are intelligent, Erich and I have decided to test in how good they are in grand strategy level. You see, this whole thing is but two ways bait. We want to see Sirens reactions and we want to see the traitor within High Command" Lucas said to William.

"…I must admit I'm still confused regarding the technical details, High Commander Lucas" Bismarck said to Lucas with concerned face.

"There's no need to understand it deeply for now Ms. Bismarck. You, Ms. Hood and William here only need to trust us for now and do your work to combat The Sirens. The less people who knew about the technical details then the better, secrecy is a luxury these days" Lucas said to Bismarck while he smiled.

"…Alright fine, how about the base renovation plan?" William decided to change the topic.

"You'll need to take the girls for a three days' vacation on a remote island nicknamed Eden, there's facility there enough to accommodate five hundred people and resources to could last for a year. Consider it an extended vacation, when you're back the base will be so brand new you won't recognized it" Lucas said to William.

"When?" William immediately asked Lucas.

"Hmm…In a week, get the girls healed up first and recover before you go. This, assuming that the cure could be produced by Takeshi…You've successfully brought him in, right?" Lucas asked William.

Yup, if they had to do it then there's no choice but to wait for the cure to be created and then wait for the girls to heal completely. Hood and Bismarck have heard about the renovation plan but they haven't heard regarding that island that will serve as their temporary home, also how will Lucas handle everything's necessary when Trident Initiative is in effect? William, Hood and Bismarck wasn't sure how but it would seems they have no choice but to go along…Lucas Carville had delivered so far, something went wrong and he still could provide a way out for all of them. William just had to let him and Lena deal with the higher bullshits, he should focus on the imminent problems.

"Of course…This won't end like last time right?" William asked Lucas with half closed eye.

"No need to worry, Central HQ already been on constant alert ever since then" Lucas said as he waved dismissively while he grinned.

"I'm not so sure but fine…So, anything else we should know?" William asked Lucas.

"Nothing that urgent save for few things…When Trident Initiative is lifted, you will maintain what you've did right now. That means, you'll be 'independent' to some degree and won't have to completely rely on High Command for direction. Maintenance, decoration, upgrades, it'll be up to you…Now before you start ranting, there's a reason why we did this. First off, as international anti siren task force we believe it might be in the best interest to let someone qualified to handle it and not to be directly under the command of Azur Lane nor Crimson Axis. It will be fairer in the eyes of the others and frankly speaking, both Azur Lane and Crimson Axis have faith in you" Lucas explained to William.

"Really" William said skeptically at Lucas.

"Believe it…Second, even though you're not under direct command you're still obligated to receive 'commissions' from both Azur Lane and Crimson Axis. Once you're done with the said commissions, rewards will be granted accordingly. Research results, technological improvements, blueprints and even resources will be granted each month as long as ALASUC actively doing their tasks. The amount might just be the usual one you receive before this entire clusterfuck, do forgive me for that Will…we need the money somewhere else. Ship girls can't be everywhere at once and for that we need to strengthen our regular armies, it'll hopefully be able to hold The Sirens off…at least until we really need the ship girls to fight. But rest assured, Azur Lane and Crimson Axis has no intention to abandon you, we might need you more than ever too and the rewards will be worth it" Lucas further explained to William.

Alright, that cleared few things on regarding what should they do next. It seems Lucas and Lena really have the intention to let them being an independent task force capable striking anywhere on Earth, but why wait so long to do that? They specifically waited until he's the one in command of the ship girls? William couldn't help but to feel that Lucas didn't tell him everything that he should know about this, there must be a reason on why was this changes only implemented now...Regardless of that, William choose to go on with it. Hood and Bismarck ingrained all of the information they just got now, safe to say there would be a lot of things to talk about with the secretaries and the fleet representatives...

"Third…Uh…remember about that thing we talked about in the office?" Lucas asked William.

"Yeah, what about it?" William asked Lucas back.

"The research isn't going well…We might need…Uh…" Lucas being uncharacteristically awkward…

"What?" William said to Lucas while he cocked his eyebrows.

"Uh, this is awkward. You know, I'm maybe a perverted bastard but-" Lucas said out loud while he stared to the side.

"Get on with it you bellend! What is it!? Don't make us-" William said to Lucas impatiently.

"I needs your cum" Lucas said to William in most monotone voice and his best poker face.

Bismarck widened her eyes as she quickly searched for water because a piece of her vanilla soufflé stuck on her throat, Hood stopped munching her strawberry dipped in chocolate fondue with widened eyes as she struggled not to spit out the fruit, Lena stared impassively at Lucas while William stopped moving as he stared at him with deadpan stare and disgusted mouth at the same time…Lucas thought a bit on what he just said before he widened his eyes in realization.

"""…WHAT?!""" Hood, Bismarck and William suddenly said out loud.

"…I should've worded that better. Oh yes, Research Division needs your sperm as sample for the test. They'll commence mutation with cells first before you know, 'work their way up'" Lucas said to William while he cringed.

"You really need to word that out better! Hah…when do you need it?" William sighed then asked Lucas.

"Right now" Lucas said to William.

"…You're joking" William facepalmed when he heard it.

"Unfortunately, he's not. We can't exactly stay here for long Will, we might need to bail out in the next two hours" Lena said to William with serious tone.

"I take it's more than enough for you to hand us a sample?" Lucas asked William while he smirked a bit.

Lena and Lucas used this chance to meet on this island with vacation as reason, there's no telling how safe they are without any kind of support out here. But the real reason on why the others let them two did this because the action they shown during Azur Lane Headquarters Raid where both of them shown their prowess in combat, there's no doubt in anyone's mind that both of them could handle themselves…William sighed as he looked a bit to the side and noted that Bismarck looked outside uncomfortably while Hood stared back and forth between him, Lena and Lucas because she sensed that something's off.

"...You expect me to masturbate here?" William asked Lucas while he frowned.

"I could always help you out~" Lena said from the side, both Hood and Bismarck jolted in surprise.

"As much that thrills me, you're a married woman Lena!" William said to Lena with half closed eye.

"Tch, figures" Lena clicked her tongue as she looked to the side.

"You don't mind regarding adultery?!" Lucas asked Lena with surprised tone.

"I'll be honest, I'd rather do it with Will than someone I didn't even love" Lena said out loud boldly…

…That was the most awkward, shameless and outrageous confession that both Hood and Bismarck ever heard. It would seems Lena didn't intend to hide her desires even one that could be considered as 'delicate' as the relationship problem between William and her, William too felt that Lena was being too forward. It's so unusual for her to be this direct and whenever she did that means there's something wrong going on...

"This is awkward…" Hood said to Bismarck while she grimaced.

"Indeed…" Bismarck said to Hood while she frowned.

"Will, we need that sample. I could help you or the girls beside you could help" Lena said to William with provocative smile.

"…Hood and Bismarck? Wait no, don't involve them in this!" William said to Lena while he frowned.

"Oh but this concern them too you know? Why don't you consider it as practice run?" Lena said to William while she smirked.

"No!" William firmly said to Lena.

"Ah I see, you want to date them first before you try something like that?" Lena asked William while she smiled.

"That's-" William said to Lena as he widened his eye.

"Am I wrong?" Lena immediately asked William while she smirked victoriously.

"…No" William said to Lena

"I always took you as the traditionalist~" Lena said to William while she grinned.

"…You do have such interest, milord" Hood commented while she stared at him, faint blush decorated her cheeks.

"Yeah of course I do" William said to Hood with serious face.

"So, what do you choose Will? Care to do it like good old times or you'll let the ladies help you?" Lena asked William while she smirked.

Really, that's the only choice? William closed his eyes, he still could vividly remember how Lena looked without her clothes…She laid down in a bed with her beautiful face, those perky C cup breast with pink nipples, wide child bearing hips, thick thighs and hairless slit…Shit, William stopped thinking about naked Lena but his imagination took even sharper turn deeper toward the gutter. William imagined himself laid down on a king sized bed with Bismarck and Hood slowly approached him in all four, predatory look in their eyes, dressed in cat girl cosplay and they snuggled up to him. Hood licked his right cheek as Bismarck nibbled on his left ear and both their hands reach down to his crot-. Focus William Blaze! Focus!

"…Can't I do this by myself?!" William immediately said out loud.

"Experiment indicated that masturbation won't yield as much sperm compared to when you do it with someone else, the results said that when you do it with the intent to impregnate someone then the yield would be the largest and the sensation is…amplified. They said there's a different sensation compared to when you have sex for fun and when you make babies, love would add as force multiplier" Lena said to William with sultry tone.

"…Not sure I trust that source" William said to Lena folded his arms with half closed eye.

"Oh but I do, it's certified too" Lena said to William as she also folded her arms.

"And who provided that conclusion?" William asked Lena.

"Research Division" Lena said to William.

"Really..." William was left speechless, Azur Lane Research Division?!

"Be a man and choose Will, clock's ticking. By the way, you need to fill up at least half of this" Lena said to William as she took out a plastic cup.

"…Half of THIS?!" William pointed at the medium sized painkiller sized bottle.

"You can cum more than that" Lena said to William while she grinned, Hood and Bismarck could only listened with red cheeks.

"Be quiet for a bit Lena! Lucas, help me mate!" William turned toward Lucas.

Only to found Lucas struggled to prevent himself from laughing his ass off because the scene that currently happened in front of them was hilarious (according to him), goddammit Lucas never know that Lena is actually this shameless. She's supposed to be the sane one! But Lucas guessed that's when Lena is working, she's currently on vacation now and oh my…Lucas managed to stop himself from laughing hysterically as he put on composed face, William need his help? Leave it to him! Lucas racked his brains in what kind of method that would work and it would be a win-win situation for all of them?

"Hehehehe…Oh well…Why don't you just have a foursome and be done with it? I'll do that if I'm in your shoes. Actually let me record it-" Lucas said to William while he shrugged.

"Fuck no! I need other solutions!" William said to Lucas while he scowled.

No? Well shit that would break the record of the most viewed video on porn site ever…Nah, Lucas isn't that evil enough to do that and he doubted William would allow him to see Lena, Bismarck or Hood naked. He made it pretty clear back during his visit to the base that William won't tolerate him if he's doing something outrageous, that previous idea would get him a gun pointed straight at his forehead by William if he insisted on doing it…That's when Lucas realized something, he did gave him a powerful tool if he's ever in a pinch…

"Well. How about that app?" Lucas asked William while he tapped his chin repeatedly.

"…Right…that app" William said to Lucas with widened eye in realization.

"What app?" Lena asked Lucas with curious tone.

"You know, that holographic sexual reliever?" Lucas said to Lena.

"Ah, the one that's being tested by Research Division to use in pair with solid hologram projector…Wait, you have one?" Lena asked William with narrowed gaze.

"Yeah, Lucas hand me one after my visit to HQ" William said to Lena honestly.

"…Wait, does this program have sound feature?" Hood suddenly speak up and asked out loud.

"Yes, you can customize it however you like too" Lucas said to Hood while he smiled, his eyes then widened when he realized that he just fucked up…

"Then that means back when we're just arrived at the base in the middle of the storm, when I knocked on your door…You were-" Hood said to William as she slowly turned to meet his face…

Hood looked at William with widened eyes of realization, Bismarck looked confused, Lena covered her gaping mouth with her left hand and Lucas winced at the sight of fellow brother in arms that fell down into a pit of purgatory. Lucas promised to apologize to William later after he gave him a suggestion with a device that he's sure the ship girls shouldn't know, he's in for trouble…William widened his eye on his late realization, he just realized Lucas mentioned something that they should've kept secret, he said that in front of Hood and Bismarck then William remembered what happened the night after they just returned from headquarters with that close call…

"Oh shi-"

_Insert To Be Continued Meme_

* * *

**What a rollercoaster that was…William would need to have his seed extracted but what about the methods? Okay, thanks for the review, favorite and follow dear readers! You wonder why this one updated faster? Yeah, house quarantine really give you the time and place to write. Anyway, that's it for this chapter so stay tuned for the continuation and stay safe during this Covid-19 pandemic alright?**

**See you next time and stay healthy!**

**\- Dasmara**


	19. The poison and the cure

"…Ms. Hood, I asked him to 'review' the equipment since it's relatively new" Lucas came for the saving maneuver, he fucked it up so it's his responsibility to mend the mess!

"Review it? Isn't Research Division alone would be enough to do that?" Hood asked Lucas with narrowed gaze.

"Well, in a sense. But William here is quite knowledgeable in technology business so his input is appreciated, right?" Lucas said to William while he smiled and nudged William's feet underneath the table.

William tensed up because Lucas nudged his left leg which was fresh from surgery yesterday, he stared at Lucas with widened eyes and scowled but Lucas was oblivious on the condition of his left leg so he just smiled that caused William to drown in the urge to sock him in the jaw. But, he don't want to cause a scene right now and that would even draw more heat from Hood who already stared at him accusingly…

"Right…" William answered with a forced smile on his face.

"…So, that voice was one of the experiment?" Hood asked William.

"Yes" William immediately answered.

"The one awfully sounded like me?" Hood asked William with cocked eyebrows.

"That's a coincidence" William immediately answered.

"Is that so?" Hood stared at William with unconvinced face…

"Alright alright, we can talk about it later…Will, your chosen method?" Lucas asked William while he smiled.

"…I'll use the app" William said to Lucas after he thought a bit.

"…Huh, he wants to keep the situation under control" Lucas said out loud with smug smile.

"My hands were forced by the circumstances alright? Now, do you have that solid hologram projector?" William asked Lucas while he scowled.

"Here…Do 'enjoy' yourself" Lucas said to William as he put the device on the table.

Hood and Bismarck watched as William took the device and left without uttering a word to the toilet while carrying the cup that Lena put on the table, both Lucas and Lena could only watched with unreadable flat expression on their face so the two ship girls couldn't exactly gauge what are they really after from their expression alone…Lena sighed a bit, she should've expected that he will brought a ship girl with him and Lucas just said all that in front of them. Did he planned on telling them about this genetic modification plan? Must be since he did all that, Lena just have to get along with his plan.

"Now, may I ask what's going on here? Why did kommandant William would have to give his sperm sample?" Bismarck asked out loud while she frowned.

"I thought you ladies already figured it out…Do you remember about the fact that the chance of you getting pregnant is only 0.8%?" Lena asked Bismarck back as she folded her arms.

"Yes" Bismarck said to Lena immediately.

"…His sperm sample is needed for 'experiment' of our DNA mutation technique, we have plans to mutate his DNA strain slightly to fit ship girls. We hoped that with matching physiology the chance would rise to acceptable level" Lena explained to Bismarck and Hood.

"…Are you going to turn him into one of us?" Hood asked what Bismarck about to ask to them.

"No, not entirely true. Just his DNA strain, hopefully this mutagen would allow the ship girls to conceive children" This time it's Lucas who answered the question.

Now everything made sense for both Hood and Bismarck regarding their entire situation, so this is the thing that hold William back from responding the ship girl's advances. He didn't want to let anyone down if things went even further so he hold his position as he wait for the result of the experiment, but as it turns out it didn't went as smooth as planned. It's also the reason on why he created that draft concerning the regulation for the child born from a ship girl, he didn't want them to be turned into weapons…he want them to have a choice in the future. All of these precautions, when did he ever thought about it?

"…Is this why he's been holding back? We aren't fools, he have interest with the ship girls but for some reason he doesn't actively pursue any of us…Is this why?" Hood asked out loud.

"Yes, that might be the case…Probably, he didn't want to bring your hopes up when any of you wanted a child" Lena said to Hood while she smiled a bit.

"Well it's not by anytime soon either, you ladies and William still have a lot of time to think about all of this" Lucas said to Hood and Bismarck.

"I know this sounded shady Hood but believe me, Lucas and I only have the best interest at heart" Lena said to Hood and Bismarck.

"So this is why he created that draft regarding children born from a ship girl" Hood said to Lucas while she frowned a bit.

"Yes, so you ladies already knew about that…It's a deal that William proposed when I revealed the plan to him, I had to accept that before commencing with the experiment…To tell you the truth, this won't be received well within High Command Council. There's only so much I could bend until they started pointing fingers at me…Regardless of that, I already have a plan to counteract the situation" Lucas said to Hood as he leaned on his seat.

"Ho? I wasn't aware that you are prepared?" Lena commented from the side with accusatory glance.

"Oh but I do. This is all nothing but the usual political battle" Lucas said to Lena before he winked at her.

Lena widened her eyes in response, whenever he did that it means he already have two or three backup plan ready for execution. Whenever there's a deadlock or fierce arguments within High Command Council, Lucas always did that to Lena to ease her worry regarding their decision making and Lucas always delivered results. The only occasion when he didn't do that was during William's court martial and Lena was hit by the strongest feeling of despair she ever experienced during that time, so it's a relief when Lucas did that gesture just now…

"…He took his time" Lena commented out loud.

"Well of course he would, who's the one who made him have to produce half of that cup?" Lucas asked Lena with half closed eyes.

"Just saying what they required you old fart, I'm confident that he could do it easily" Lena said to Lucas while she smirked.

"With your experience with him, I'm not surprised-" Lucas said to Lena with half closed eyes.

"This entire situation and Trident Initiative started to make sense" Bismarck suddenly said out loud.

"See? She gets it, pay up" Lena said to Lucas while she grinned.

"Damnit" Lucas said to Lena as he reached for his wallet and pulled out some money.

"Thank you~" Lena said cheekily as she stored the cash inside her purse.

"Hah…One other reason why we implemented that was the fact that there's no indication when High Command Council will use you ladies for their own twisted gain, I don't even know until when I could stay in power with Lena here. If the others find out our plan or our dealings then safe to say we could be removed from office, permanently if they have to. Power corrupts so with this, your independence is guaranteed…You ladies already brought to this world without any of your consent and fought on our behalf, I think it's only fair to ensure your freedom from those who seek to mistreat you. The scary realm of politics, it would be best if you don't get involved too much but in this case we have no choice…This also serve as my redemption" Lucas said to Bismarck and Hood while he smiled bitterly.

"In this ongoing war with Sirens we would need everyone that could fight and every edge we have…If this experimentation is successful, then…we might stood a chance against them" Lena added while she frowned and leaned on her seat.

"Is the situation that desperate?" Bismarck asked Lena.

"Our analyst have predicted that unless we start major upgrades and replenish our numbers quickly, we would lose Earth's terrestrial waters within six months if Sirens relentlessly attacked us. Then, it would take at least one or two years before they could subjugated fifty percent of our landmass…That, assuming we manage to hold them off. If they steamrolled us then it could also took half a year too before the entire planet is under their control, I prayed to anything holy out there that won't happen. It is why this major upgrade is required, Crimson Axis wasn't wrong with their views to use Siren technology in order to fight them" Lucas explained to them both.

"But why does Azur Lane refused to do so before? I admit, the mind control effect toward our leadership served as a catalyst for the war but why?" Bismarck asked Lucas curiously.

"…Admittedly, our councilors were quite naïve and idealist if you could say it. They believe that we should struggle as a 'human' and using their tech would make us no better than them, but that could no longer be viable here. Siren will unleash their full might against us and to survive that, perhaps we have to unshackle the border of the 'normal' humanity. We need to go further…To put it bluntly, Siren's presence forced us to evolve significantly. Any major wars would do that but this…this is different" Lucas said to Bismarck as he looked toward his feet while he frowned.

"Fortunately, most of the people we worked with shared our concern so work could begin immediately. Project Custos Terrae, our grand plan to upgrade our military might and civilization is what we came up as solution for the problem. We don't know how long until we could reach our end goals, but I assure you we won't stop until we get there" Lena said to Bismarck.

"And this end goal, what are they?" Hood asked Lena while she stared at her directly to the eyes.

"…Peak military combat capabilities, mass produced ship girl's riggings, evolution of our biology and many more but that's the general outline" Lena answered Hood with serious expression on her face.

"Mass produced ship girls riggings huh" Hood said out loud as she thought about it.

"We don't only plan to make the riggings for waterborne use, imagine if our army and air force could use such things too. Our tanks and combat aircrafts could be much smaller and more combat effective than our current one, we could cut cost for the materials, the trainings would be far more integrated with infantry training and the firepower of each personnel equipped with this? Marvelous…Ship girls, tank girls, jet girls? If this experimentation succeeded, it won't be far until that could become a reality. Would we still need the conventional ships, aircraft and ground vehicles? Sure, but our true power would lies with our new Tactically Enhanced Mechanized Personnel or TEMPER for short. That's right, we're preparing a branch specifically for those that will be like you ship girls" Lucas said to them both with serious expression on his face.

And that ladies and gentlemen, is the ultimate goal for their current military research. To search a way in summoning tanks and jets as humanoid too like the ship girls, the research is currently put on a grinding halt because if they indeed successfully summoned them then their use and number would be severely limited because they haven't found a way to mass produce the units. Ship girls are the pioneers for this research, everything depends on whether the ship girls could successfully procreate…

But the thought alone caused Bismarck and Hood to take a minute imagining the entire situation, their tank girls moving forward in formation with the infantries as they advance into enemy position, their jet girls flying freely on the sky providing aerial fire support and guard them from enemy aircrafts while the ship girls could support them from the sea and beachhead. If the situation require them to, the girls from the three branches could combine their entire firepower and possess the agility much better than their mechanical origins. The firepower, the agility, the easiness to find recruits, easier mass gear manufacturing and even the individual personnel skills combined with their equipment…It really defines the 'peak' in mechanical combat unit…

"I...I see now…so that's what you mean by peak military combat capabilities" Bismarck said to Lucas with widened eyes.

"Precisely. Azur Lane and Crimson Axis, both are currently implementing this project as our top priority...Now that you know about this, hopefully ALASUC could also help with the implementation of this project with your own ways. The potential for growth and research is limitless" Lucas said to Bismarck while he grinned.

What they planned might be the solution to hold off Siren's constant advance and harassment, it might be the key to defeat them in this war as well. Lucas thought deeply, he really want to avoid the use of mass destruction weapon as much as possible in the war against Sirens…Well, unless they somehow find a habitable planet out there, a space ship and faster than light method of travel then they could just nuked Earth into smithereens…Okay, that's too deep of a thought into dangerous territory. After they waited around half an hour more William finally returned to their table, he then put the previous cup in front of Lucas. One which almost filled to the brim, he then sat down with flushed cheeks without uttering a single word as Hood and Bismarck stared at him…

"Wow! You almost fill it completely! How much you got inside that balls of yours!?" Lucas exclaimed as he looked at the cup with astonishment etched on his face.

"You don't want to know and please! There are Hood and Bismarck here!" William said to Lucas while he frowned.

"I take they're grown up enough not to be embarrassed with this kind of talk" Lucas said to William while he shrugged.

"But still High Commander Lucas, please refrain from talking vulgarly like that!" Hood reprimanded while she frowned.

"See?" William said to Lucas.

"…Alright, alright I get it…Still, you could impregnate any girl with this much load..." Lucas commented before he stared at the cup.

"Don't you get any ideas, Lucas!" Lena said to Lucas while she scowled.

"I wasn't planning anything!" Lucas said to Lena.

"You totally just did thought up something!" William supported Lena's argument.

"You two lack any kind of faith in me!" Lucas said to them both with half closed eyes.

""And whose fault is that?!"" William and Lena said at the same time while they scowled.

Sure he's the one who got most of the brilliant plan that could bail them out from troubles but that was offset by the amount of ridiculous and insane ideas that came up on his head once in a while, William and Lena got enough experience to it but Lena was the one who had to face the majority brunt of the problem. For examples, he want to install dance poles on his office which pushed Lena to smack his head with a newspaper roll during breakfast. There's also a time when Lucas was so bored during his day job that he turned his office into temporary golf course, that's also Lena who had to clean up the mess…Now that she thought about it, she saved his ass multiple times already. She should've get a raise or something!

"Hehehehe…Oh by the way Will, I already explained everything to these ladies here" Lucas said to William.

"Everything?" William asked Lucas with cocked eyebrows.

"Yup, everything. There's no need for you to keep secrets anymore, just be honest with them" Lucas said to William.

"…Guess tonight there would be a long talk" William said out loud.

"Yes, I think so" Hood said to William.

"…Oh yeah, we would need a cooler to store this" Lucas said out loud as he pointed at the cup in front of him.

"I think you could buy one on a drug store, though it will be hard to-" William said to Lucas.

"I'll go then. Here, you hold this…Not comfortable in holding another man's cum with my hands" Lucas said to Lena as he handed her the cup and bailed out of the cake store.

"…And he went just like that while ignoring Hood's words before, he certainly lost few screws" William commented.

They finished their meals before Hood received request to buy few things from several girls back on the base, Bismarck choose to accompany her and both of them took the car as they went shopping. William let them since they might need some time too to discuss what Lucas and Lena just spilled to them which must also include that draft, boy…it'll be a long talk tonight with the secretaries and the fleet representatives. Both William and Lena waited outside the store near the back alley where there's a table and four seats whenever the shop employees want to take a break, both sat as they waited for Lucas to be done with his purchase.

"You don't look that tired" Lena commented toward William's still vigorous appearance.

"…Well, my hand sure does" William answered with half closed eye.

"You didn't use that app?" Lena asked William with cocked eyebrows.

"How could I use that within that small toilet stall? Nope, won't happen" William answered with half closed eye.

"…Still, you came that much. How many times you did it?" Lena asked William while smiled smugly.

"I'm not answering" William said to Lena in firm tone while he frowned.

"Aww, since when you become rigid like this?" Lena asked William with teasing tone while she grinned.

"You and Lucas have become more like each other lately!" William said to Lena while he scowled.

"Ahahahahaha! Guess you're right!" Lena laughed at William's remarks.

William snorted when Lena laughed, he then leaned on his seat as he looked at the busy street to their side. Civilians walked on the sidewalk going wherever they have business to, none of them shown any sign of fear or restlessness on their face even though not too long ago there's a shooting incident on the biggest casino on this island. Terror attacks just happened few days ago and they still take it easy with police acting as usual? William wasn't sure whether to call them brave or ignorant right now, but he guessed that's for the best…Terrorist greatest weapon is fear itself, showing them that they couldn't be affected by terror easily is pretty effective in his own opinion. Thinking about terrorist though, William remembered Jenny's face the moment she passed on…He subtly tightened his left fist beneath the table.

"…Lena…about Jenny" William said to Lena.

"I know…Hah…her family wept for two days straight, Will. Also, the one who shot her is Ronald himself, he was on this island" Lena explained to William while she frowned deeply.

"…Him again" William said out loud as he stared at the table.

"Yeah…We need to stop him before anyone else became his victim. I already lost my little brother and trusted operative to that bastard and there might be a good chance he will strike at our families, personally" Lena said to William with serious face.

"…I won't make the same mistake twice" William said to Lena.

"Me neither" Lena said to William as she leaned on the table.

"…Give this to her mother Lena and tell her that Jenny was sorry, she didn't specify it but…that's her last wish" William took out Jenny's necklace from his shirt pocket and handed it to Lena.

"…Her necklace…Ah, I get it" Lena said out loud while she smiled bitterly.

"You do?" William asked Lena with cocked eyebrows.

"This is her family's heirloom, the tradition in her family is whenever they found someone they want to spend the rest of their life with it's customary for them to gift this necklace to their lover…Jenny has no lover and she's honestly not that interested in marriage, until few months ago when she started to 'tease' this analyst on the headquarter. I can see from their interaction that Jenny held special interest on the guy, borderline romantic even…he might be the candidate to receive this necklace" Lena said to William as she inspected the necklace closely.

…The memento of fallen soldiers, each of them held a personal story that's known by their family or close compatriots. It's the one thing that many other soldiers carry with them when their brothers or sisters fell in battle and it's not possible to recover their bodies, they usually took the fallen soldier's item as something to remember them by or even something to give to their family later. Have William did this before? Yes…Benjamin, Lena's little brother always carried a valedictorian pin that he got after graduating from the military academy that he claimed as 'motivating tool' for himself during battle. William was the one who took the pin from his dead body personally and also the one who handed it to Lena, at that time Lena instantly howled in grief when she realized that her little brother was killed in action and swirled with anger when she knew that a fellow Azur Lane soldier was the one who put a bullet on his head…

…And now William just learned the significance of the necklace that Jenny have with her, though the first time they met he remember Jenny only wore a dog tag so she must've keep it somewhere else as obviously she didn't want that to blew her cover…So, Jenny have someone she's interested in central headquarters despite her lack of interest for marriage. She really upheld her family tradition too it seems by carrying the necklace with her, but it's a shame. Maybe she just found the 'right guy' based on Lena's story and worked her way up to win him over, all of that only to be killed by Ronald few days ago…William wonder on what would the guy thought when he heard that Jenny was KIA? Will he grieve for her?

"…Shame that romance couldn't ever happen now…But why said sorry to her mother? If I remember correctly she said she couldn't be there for something…" William can't help but to asked Lena since he's still confused regarding that.

"That might be because Jenny couldn't make it to the opening of her mother's restaurant, she was in deep undercover within Crimson Cleanser at that time and had to maintain zero outside contact…She talked to me about it, never seen her so depressed before…Jenny was a smart woman and she had keen sense of duty, she sacrificed her time for her family all in order to keep them safe, to make sure that whatever's threatening them would be dealt with…We also have recovered her body from the local morgue, cause of death is massive blood loss due to impact from 7.62mm to her liver" Lena said to William, his assumption is on point.

"…When would her funeral take place?" William asked Lena.

"In three days, her family was preparing whatever they needed before" Lena said to William.

"I want to recommend a spot on Azur Lane Heroes Cemetery" William said to Lena with serious face.

"Me too initially. But, as it turns out their family already have their private burial grounds" Lena said to William.

"Now I'm curious on her backgrounds, is she a noble or something?" William asked Lena with cocked eyebrows.

"Oh she's not. But her family is quite influential and possess quite of power on Eagle Union's senate" Lena said to William while she frowned a bit.

"…I see" William said to Lena as he nodded his head in understanding.

And she came from a well off family too! What made her want to be a soldier for Azur Lane? She's smart! Beautiful! Sexy! She would be an excellent scientist or even work in other field of business beside military and she would hit it off well! As William thought that he couldn't help but to thought about himself too because frankly speaking her situation was the same as him according to outside perspective, William had every chance to work in civilian sector yet he choose to be in the military…He guessed that he could never know Jenny's reasons now, it was far too late. Both Lena and William looked to the side when they saw someone approached them, he's Lucas who then proceed to seated himself on the chair beside them.

"Hey you two" Lucas greeted.

"Did you bought the cooler already?" William asked Lucas.

"I did, with some administrative reasoning that I didn't buy one for illegal organ harvesting business. You shouldn't left the two girls unsupervised in this town, Will. Dangers lurk in every corner" Lucas warned William with serious face.

"Its fine, they must've need some time to discuss what you just spoiled them" William reasoned as he leaned on his seat.

"Ah yeah, you're right…So, what are you two doing here?" Lucas asked William and Lena.

"Just talked a bit regarding Jenny" Lena said to Lucas.

"Oh, Jennifer Lawson…the one we lost few days ago, she's the one we count on if we require any infiltrators or someone to help with tech problems. We lost one of our best…" Lucas somberly said while he looked upwards.

"Yeah…hah" Lena said in agreement then sighed.

"Shame…she would go far in the world if she pick another career. But I respect that decision of hers to wield a gun, to be in the thick of it for the sake of peace" Lucas further said out loud.

"I thought so too" William said in agreement with Lucas.

Yeah, because he really thought so before and turns out Lucas have the same opinion as him. Lucas didn't know her that well, she's closer to Lena and worked together on almost daily basis but he at least knew her skills and capabilities to appreciate all her efforts. Lucas looked at William, he's the one who saw her died and it seems he wasn't shaken up…or he already seen so much death that while it did affect him he didn't shown it on his face. But he knew the mood was somber right now and Lucas choose to lighten it up a bit, he reached for something on his cargo pants pocket before he threw it on the table. A package of large brown cigar, one which caused William to widened his eye…

"Now, we don't have beer to wash the depressing mood away but I think these would do" Lucas said while he smiled a bit.

"Well…" William shrugged as he took one, Lena however just stared at Lucas while she frowned.

"You don't want one?" Lucas asked Lena with cocked eyebrows.

"I'd like to stay away from smoking as much as possible" Lena said to Lucas while she shrugged.

"Suit yourself, here you go" Lucas said as he lighted up his lighter, William used it to lit up the cigar on his mouth.

"…An old man's classic eh" William said while he smiled after he exhaled the smoke…

"Yup, my father used to smoke one too and it turns out I shared his taste. Nothing beat this alongside a bottle of Jack Daniels" Lucas said to William while he lit one up for himself.

"The bloody truth" William agreed before he sucked on his cigar again.

Well, few things that William and Lucas could agree in a heartbeat are their taste for good liquor and cigar. William thought a bit on the entire situation right now, he had to depend on Lena and Lucas even less now that the situation demands it…He guessed that this will be the time where his skill and knowledge as a commander will be truly tested, he had to make sure the base facility keeps running, the occupants happy, the economy keeps going and the ship girls as effective combatants against Sirens. He did played several management and base building games before, though he doubted that would help him much. Lucas then handed another thing to William, an ordinary looking flash drive but if the High Commander of Azur Lane himself who handed this then that means the content is important.

"My gift for you, database extension regarding recent events. This should help you" Lucas said to William.

"Thanks" William simply thanked him as he took the flash drive

"Anytime…We're in critical phase now Will, our plans is in motion and we absolutely can't fail. Keep your eye and ears open and make sure none will mess with ALASUC, we'll leave the girls in your care" Lucas said to William with serious face.

"Got it" William simply responded with equally serious face.

It took around two more hours until Hood and Bismarck finished with their shopping, they parted ways with Lucas and Lena who immediately choose to head to the airport as they went to their separate ways by boarding different flight…During the ride back to the base Hood and Bismarck didn't speak much, William himself stayed silent as he inspected the flash drive that was given to him by Lucas. He have much to learn and fast, refreshing his memories on grand military strategy, base management and he had to get as much as work done before the notification regarding base upgrade came in.

That night, William, the secretaries and the fleet representatives gathered inside his office to talk about everything that's been going on within central command and the overall direction for ALASUC in the future. Project Custos Terrae, the grand strategy of Azur Lane alongside Crimson Axis, the genetic modification experiments, the situation in the frontline with Sirens, the situation with Crimson Cleansers and Trident Initiative hidden purpose. If they had to be honest, it's a lot to take in…

"Politics, how troublesome…hah" Queen Elizabeth said before she sighed and sipped her tea.

"Agreed. But High Commander Lucas really looked out for us, he set up all of these precautions on purpose to keep our powers from being misused" Enterprise said out loud.

"On that I can agree…I take everyone understand regarding everything that we just discussed?" William asked out loud.

"We all understand its importance and the situation now, shikikan-sama" Nagato said to William.

"In that case, good..." William said before he gulped down his tea, his throat is like Sahara desert since he's been talking almost nonstop.

"Kommandant, does this mean you won't be going anymore in battling Crimson Cleanser?" Bismarck asked William.

"Not entirely…I didn't have to participate in every fight against them, Azur Lane and Crimson Axis could handle majority them. My mission for them is personal one, specifically to kill one person" William said out loud while he scowled.

William brought up his phone and swiped the image gallery marked as 'Kill on sight list' with only several photos of a same person there before William connected it to the holographic projector on top of the table, the ship girls frowned and some scowled at the sight of the person that caused some ship girls to be put on resting period due to the poisonous gas attack. Ronald Mitchel is clearly someone the ship girls won't hesitate to kill now, but the implication was clear that William is really eager to murder the bastard.

"This man, the bloody inhuman dastardly son of a bitch called Ronald Mitchell is the one responsible for many Crimson Cleanser atrocities including the poisonous gas attack on the next door base. He and I have a long history, we fought together as core unit of Task Force Nimbus until his betrayal during Operation Dradetheus. I shot him in the head, but that didn't stopped him from coming back alive…Now, he has personal vendetta against me and has set out to target everyone around me. You ladies, are among them" William explained to the ship girls.

"So that's what happened…" Warspite commented as she studied the image.

"And he murdered three of my best friends, in cold blooded…I'll be honest with you ladies, I want revenge against him" William said out loud.

"Revenge? Too many people died in doing so, commander. Won't this make you no better than him?" Enterprise asked William while she frowned.

"Perhaps…But as long as he's alive he will cause even more harm to this world. He already killed my best friends, he harmed ship girls on this base…it won't take him long to targeted someone else I hold dear, quite possibly my family" William said out loud regarding his worries.

"That's indeed possible" Warspite said out loud while she frowned deeply.

"Milord, this little quest of yours sounded dangerous. A personal revenge against a terrorist who we didn't know about his whereabouts?" Hood asked William while she frowned.

"I thought we-" William was about to protest at Hood.

"Dangerous as it is, we understand the weight of the decision to kill him. But let me ask you, are you going to do this on your own again?" Hood asked William as she stared at him with serious gaze.

Most likely he will go solo again in killing Ronald, but he still don't know where he is and going on a blind manhunt is not the answer because he still have the ship girls and the base to care. It pained him to thought about but it would seems he have to rely on Intel from Lena and Lucas regarding Ronald's whereabouts, or until he showed up himself. William stared at every ship girls that's present on the room…Hood, Enterprise, Hornet, Warspite, Queen Elizabeth, Brooklyn, Belfast, Souryuu, Bismarck, Prinz, Nagato, Shoukaku, Zara and Avrora stared at him. Each have their own expressions but it was clear that they are worried about his statement of wanting revenge…

"Depends…I still don't know where he is, I still don't know his plans, I still don't know what he's capable off. But in time, all of this would be revealed one way or another. Once I got solid actionable Intel, I will strike him down. This time, I may brought some friends if he choose to hide behind his rag tag group of men. The one that will cause us trouble most likely would be their mysterious Gemini Squad… But I…really don't want to involve you ladies in this quest of revenge" William said out loud as he smiled bitterly.

…This whole mess was started because he failed to kill Ronald himself, that 5.56mm bullet that hit Ronald straight in the head failed to do its job and that caused so much harm on the world today. An unforeseen consequences because he failed to confirm his kill or double tapping to be sure, William felt he was the one responsible for what Ronald did…The ship girls have been with him only less than a year, there's still so much they didn't know about his past and furthermore they didn't have connection with all of this mess because they just happened to be in Ronald's way of getting revenge and started another goddamn war with Crimson Axis…William and Lena are the last member of Task Force Nimbus, the two people that Ronald put on top of his priority target list. The ship girls-

"…kommandant, may I say something?" Bismarck asked William after being silent for a while.

"Sure" William said to Bismarck.

"You're an idiot" Bismarck said bluntly to William.

"Wha…" William was baffled that Bismarck would insulted him that bluntly.

"He attacked us, he tried to kill our fellow ship girls and none of us will take all of this without a fight so you could be sure that we are willing to participate in hunting him down…Kommandant, should you need our strength then we are more than glad to lend it to you. In fact, none of us want you to do this by yourself. Maybe you're the one he wants to kill the most and vice versa, but now you're our commander and that alone should already be an enough reason for us to help you. It's as you said, he could cause even further harm as long as he lives so it's within reason for us to put him down when we have the chance" Bismarck said to William.

Those words were followed by agreement from all the ship girls in the room, Bismarck said the truth about the whole situation. William was honestly taken aback, he remembered that the girls is actually a capable military unit that could handle wide variety of tasks at hand. He really need to discard his ego and overprotectiveness of them, he thought all this time that ship girls are only suitable for sea based combat…But just as they proven to him few times in the past, they're also effective combatant on land…should he considered training them in case they had to fight on land or in close quarter? So far, majority of them have weapons but what about those that don't?

"I see…You ladies shouldn't involve yourself in this fight against fellow humans if possible. But, it would seems none of you have any intention to back down…Fine, I'll consider you ladies participation when we moved in on Ronald. But promise me one thing…His life is mine to take" William said out loud while he scowled.

.

…Last night turn out pretty well, but William had to retire early to his bedroom while the girls continued their talk. He really wondered on what were they discussing without him present, but if it's important enough he guessed the girls will tell him eventually. Hood didn't spoke about what they talked last night though so he guessed it wasn't that important after all…Right now they're doing their daily task, William read through dozens of papers since morning with Hood beside him while he wondered on why they didn't just use a data pad as replacement for all of these papers. Data pad would make it easy for him to sign and not demoralized him with the sight of tall stacks of papers on his desk. Someone knocked on the door, both William and Hood stared at it before he told them to come in. A girl opened the door, a bespectacled brunette with crimson eyes while wearing white clothes. Yup, she's London.

"…Your excellency?" London asked William.

"Hmm? Ah London, how can I help you?" William asked London back.

"It's Mr. Koichiro, he request an audience with you" London said to William.

"Fine, bring him in please" William said as he finished the last paper on the current stack.

"Yes…He will see you now" London said to someone beside her.

London bowed a bit before she left and Takeshi entered William's office, he noticed that Takeshi looked around a bit regarding his office and it would seems he approved of it. Well when you have these ladies coming in and out of your office on daily basis it was unavoidable that they will suggested him to furnish the office with something, that's how he managed to transform the room into comfortable auxiliary living space.

"...Good morning, Commander Blaze and Miss" Takeshi greeted the both of them.

"Good morning to you" Hood politely greeted back while she smiled a bit.

"Yeah, morning doctor. What is it?" William said then asked Takeshi.

"I've done my research, the gas was unmodified so it would be possible to create a cure" That's a great news!

"Splendid! So, have you made it?" William asked Takeshi.

"Not yet, I have the components nailed down but I would need some time and resources for it…Here's the details" Takeshi said as he handed a sheet of paper filled with the things he needed.

"Hmm…Okay, we could get you all of this. Hood, please sent this Brooklyn and tell her to contact one of our client for the necessary stuff" William said after he inspected the paper and handed it to Hood.

"Yes milord" Hood said to William while she smiled.

Hood quickly walked out of the office as she took out her phone, both Takeshi and William only watched until she exited the office and closed the door. Hood smiled brightly at the news as she walked quickly down the corridor, she was very glad that the doctor could cure the girls…Takeshi looked at William who pulled checked the paper stack to make sure he already did everything, after that he stretched a bit on his seat and leaned on it. William saw that Takeshi still stood in front of him awkwardly…

"…Sit down doc, don't be so tense" William said to Takeshi.

"Uh…yeah" Takeshi said as he proceed to sit down in front of William.

"…I'm aware how the girls looked at you" William said to Takeshi.

"Yeah…most of them have been giving me the cold shoulder" Takeshi said to William while he frowned.

"I don't blame them, I would too" William commented offhandedly as he took out his phone.

"I was short sighted before" Takeshi said to William as he looked to the side.

"Indeed…But let me ask you something, do you wish to repent?" William asked Takeshi with serious face.

"Yes…I…just want to get this done, then come home. I left my wife for weeks already" Takeshi said to William with determined face.

"I see. Doc, cure my ship girls and few men that still struggle with their life back on the other military base and I'll make sure you return to Sakura Empire safe and sound. Do that, give us the knowledge regarding Marry and I'll get you home personally" William said to Takeshi while he folded his arms.

"That's a pretty generous offer" Takeshi said to William as he narrowed his gaze at him.

"You treat me good and I'll do vice versa, it's a simple rule…Is it possible to produce Marry here?" William asked Takeshi.

"It is…But, what are you planning?" Takeshi asked William with hint of worry on his tone.

"Retribution" William simply answered.

Well, an eye for an eye makes the world blind? Fuck that statement, those terrorist played with something as dangerous as chemical weapons so they should feel the consequences directly. Don't take William as some idealist protagonist from those shounen anime regarding war and killing, he won't hesitate to nuke an entire enemy army if it means victory in the most efficient manner as possible…Poison gas? It still mild compared to Tomahawk Missiles strike that Eagle Union used during North African Ironblood's base raid which obliterated an entire base in one salvo! The method maybe different but the end result is the same, people die in the end.

"…You…want to use the gas against Crimson Cleanser? That's a violation against Geneva Convention" Takeshi said to William.

"They're terrorist" William said to Takeshi in matter of fact tone.

"But they're still human, if you use the gas against them you'll be no better than them!" Takeshi said to William while he frowned.

"Then what does that makes you then?" William immediately asked Takeshi.

"…What?" Takeshi asked in shocked tone.

"You're the one who created the gas doctor, you're the one who created this weapon of mass destruction. You're the one who brought it to this world so your creation was used. Am I in the wrong to use it against those rule breakers?" William asked Takeshi in firm tone.

"…Yes, I'm the most horrible man to create such dangerous weapon. But that's all the more reason to stop you, commander. It's enough with me as the guilty one, there's no need for you to be involved" Takeshi said to William.

"…Takeshi, what's a universal language that everyone would always understand?" William asked Takeshi with firm tone.

"...Violence" Takeshi said out loud his answer.

"Exactly. These Crimson Cleanser, would only understand the extent of suffering they cause to everyone if they tasted their own medicine" William said to Takeshi as he frowned deeply.

"…But, it's still against the rules" Takeshi said to William as he frowned.

"Why do you think rules of war itself was created? War is chaotic doctor so there's something that would be needed to prevent it from breaking off into mass destruction but even some people could decide to ignore them to gain something, the only thing preventing Azur Lane and Crimson Axis from firing nuclear missile at each other in the last war wasn't the rules itself but the fact that we have Sirens roaming on the surface of the Earth. Crimson Cleanser? I doubt they have the respect to follow the laws of war, if we limit ourselves in the fight against those who don't then either we are amazingly arrogant or idealist bastards!" William firmly said to Takeshi.

Does that mean William is someone who like war and fighting? No, on contrary he prefer spending his days in peace playing games, eating good food, drinking fine wine and in the company of those he hold dearly. But, apparently destiny in collaboration with humanity told him to go fuck himself with that wish of his because every day they need to throw something at him. Terrorist attack, Siren attack and even freaking infighting sometimes…The laws of war, it's something that Crimson Cleanser would never follow. If Crimson Cleanser played outside the rules, then so did they…What? Beating a cheater while still following the rules? The world doesn't work as simple as that, that's what William firmly believe.

"You're an evil person, commander" Takeshi said to William as he frowned deeply.

"Evil? Good? Doesn't matter. In the fight against survival it won't do you much good…I'm prepared to be called evil if it means ending a threat once and for all" William said to Takeshi firmly.

"…I understand now, the extent of what I've done. You, the military, would not hesitate to use it for your own gains" Takeshi said out loud as he stared at the floor.

"And my gains, is the survival of humanity…We're at war with Sirens, Crimson Cleanser did nothing but fucking with the order of society by spreading terror and that only weaken us in our fight against The Sirens. They have to be put down, any means necessary…But rest assured, I'm not some genocidal bastard who doesn't care about the life of a human being. I don't plan to use the gas for that but for a retribution, a personal one against one guy that I considered worthy of such treatment" William said to Takeshi as he stared at him directly in the eyes.

"…I'm not sure you will keep your promise, commander" Takeshi still stood his ground.

"Okay…You're the only one who know how to make Marry, right?" William asked Takeshi.

"Yes. Those terrorist raided the only stash at Osaka Lab, I'm the only one that knows the formula" Takeshi said to William with confident tone.

"Then, I want you to create a small tank of it. Highly compressed small tank filled with Marry" William said to Takeshi.

"If I did created it…What are you going to do with it?" Takeshi asked William while he frowned.

"Like I said before, retribution…Just make it enough for one man" William said to Takeshi as he folded his arms.

Yup, there's only one man that came across when William said that and when he gets it, William will shove Marry down Ronald's throat, make him chocked on it, break his limbs and then locked him up so he could die slowly and as painfully as possible and it would be better if he could witness all that personally…William heard the door to his office opened and he dispelled the gruesome thoughts away as he watched Hood returned from her short trip, she smiled widely so it must be a good news right?

"How is it?" William asked Hood.

"We managed to confirm a purchase, the goods are being airlifted now. It should arrive in five hours" Hood said to William while she smiled widely.

"Excellent news. Well doctor, can I count on your help?" William asked Takeshi as he stared at him.

"…Just this once. After that, I will destroy the data and make sure none of this gas could be produced again" Takeshi said to William in low tone.

"It's a deal then. Thank you doctor, you may leave" William said to Takeshi as he smiled in satisfaction.

Takeshi nodded his head then stood up, he walked out and only offered Hood a brief smile before he exited the office and closed the door…Well, that was easier than he expected to be honest. William thought that Takeshi would offer more resistance to his request but it would seems he agreed to this request, what could be the reason? Doesn't matter, all William cared about is the fact that he agreed to create a small dose of that gas for his personal use and that's good enough.

"…What did you talk with him?" Hood curiously asked as she walked toward William's left side.

"Hmm? Ah, the cure and a bit of philosophical debate regarding weapons" William smoothly said to Hood while he smiled a bit.

"Is that so. Is it an interesting debate?" Hood asked William while she smiled.

"Yes…though, I believe the doctor is quite naïve" William said to Hood while he rubbed his chin a bit.

"Is he that kind of civilians who are reserved when it comes to ways of war?" Hood asked William again while she stared at him while she smiled confidently.

"Spot on…You're pretty good" William said to Hood with widened eye and astonished tone.

"Thank you~" Hood said to William while she smiled widely.

Then they resumed working…for a while, that until William and Hood finished off whatever job they have today and was left with some free time to kill. Hood opted to sat on the couch while she read a novel while William messed around with the holographic computer on his office desk in order to customized it, it would seems the novel that Hood read has engaging story because he could hear gasping in shock, making awed noises or even subtly groans once in a while and that really distracted him. He was really tempted to ask what's she reading right now but before he could his phone rang, William looked at the caller and it's Carl Johnson.

"Carl?" William asked Johnson on the phone.

"Haven't heard from you for a while, I heard from one of my medics that you have returned" Johnson said to William on the phone.

"Right, sorry for not telling you that I'm back already. But I do have good news. Takeshi would be able to produce the cure, the materials is on the way and your medics would brought it with them once it's completed" William said to Johnson on the phone while he smiled.

"Thank the lord! That's a damn good news, William! Man, I felt more at ease now!" Johnson said to William on the phone before he sighed in relief.

"Yeah, me too" William said to Johnson on the phone.

"You alright?" Johnson asked William on the phone.

"Hmm? Yeah I am, why with the sudden question?" William asked Johnson back on the phone.

"Just checking up on you who went off to Southern Ironblood with no backup, I know you're special force rating but damn that was reckless" Johnson said to William on the phone.

"I know…My secretary already nagged me about it, I better stop doing that unless it's necessary…or maybe I shouldn't do that again" William said to Johnson on the phone before he cringed and revised his statement.

Why you ask? Because as soon he said that, Hood stared back at him with cute pout and disproving expression painted on her face. While seeing a usually elegant beautiful lady like her pouting is unusual and honestly looking pretty cute like that, he cringed because he realized that she's listening on him. He only just remembered that some ship girls have keen sense of hearing, for a battle cruiser like Hood she could make out words from the phone call on low volume even though she's few meters away from him while reading a novel…Johnson heard that William got really quiet, he could only came to one conclusion.

"…She's there isn't she?" Johnson asked William on the phone with amused tone.

"Yeah…Hood, where are you going?" William answered on the phone before he saw Hood stood up.

"Lavatory, I think I drank too much" Hood said to William as she exited the office.

"Err, sure" William said out loud.

"Heh…Hey listen, I got new orders from High Command. Two days ago, Ironblood cargo plane passed through this area to head over toward a secret research facility somewhere on the Southern Pacific. There's an island there with multibillion dollar installation dedicated for research, thus they lack any significant protection aside from several patrol boats and lightly armed security guards" Johnson said to William on the phone.

"Hey, that must be the plane I rode to get here" William said to Johnson on the phone.

"Really? Man, talk about coincidence" Johnson said to William on the phone.

"What's the mission for them? Did you know?" William asked Johnson on the phone.

"From what they told me, it's reinforcement" Johnson said to William.

"…That doesn't make any sense. The plane is only filled with around a dozen of soldiers, what kind of reinforcement is that?" William said to Johnson on the phone while he rubbed his chin.

"…I don't know man, sounds fishy" Johnson said to William on the phone.

"Who's facility it is?" William asked Johnson on the phone.

"Eagle Union's" Johnson answered on the phone.

Wait what? An Eagle Union facility requesting armed reinforcement from Ironbloods? As in, Ironbloods legit government owned armed forces? It's nonsense at the highest order to be honest. Accordingly, a facility owned by Eagle Union would request help directly from Eagle Union's forces! That's just common sense, right? So, even though they're all friends now, why would you call someone else's armed personnel to that facility? What's going on over there? What kind of research facility is that anyway?

"Ha? A core member of Azur Lane's facility requesting help from an Ironblood forces and deployed straight from their home base? Nonsense, even though we're allies now a facility under their command supposedly ask help from Azur Lane forces directly if needed to. There's a protocol for that…" William said to Johnson on the phone while he frowned.

"Agreed, though I don't know whatever political bullshit that happened behind the scenes but the order is clear. Approximately three hours ago we lost all contact with the facility, satellite imagery shown that the facility is still active but there are no signs of activity on the surface. High Command already contacted Crimson Axis and they reported the same thing with their soldiers being out of contact…My forces was ordered to join Battle Group Dakota of Eagle Union's Third Pacific Fleet to investigate the facility, what's your thought on it?" Johnson asked William on the phone.

"Something went horribly wrong, I'm sure of it. Any research facility that lost contact with the outside world would be oozing with 'fuck ups' that you might want to tread lightly" William said to Johnson immediately on the phone.

"Yeah, countless movie said so too hehehehe" Johnson chuckled on the phone.

"Well I can't say anything else other than good luck with that, it's your mission. Though, if you require help I can provide you some" William offered to Johnson on the phone.

"Appreciated, I might want to hold on to that as a panic button. The ship girls would be invaluable reinforcement, if the situation is heading south then I know who to call" Johnson said to William on the phone.

"For sure. You're going out there too?" William asked Johnson on the phone.

"Hey, Task Force Commander. My ass have to be there, besides if these are caused by Sirens I want to be there in person" Johnson said to William on the phone.

"Alright then. Good luck mate" William said to Johnson on the phone.

"Yeah thanks, catch you soon" Johnson said to William on the phone before he ended the call.

William put his phone down on the table and resumed his modification before he wondered because Hood took her time, he hoped she didn't get stomachache or something…William was finally done with the modification, he grinned as he saw the result of his holographic computer screen modification in front of him. He took out the flash drive that Lucas gave to him before and put it on the interactive panel on top of his desk, the place that the flash drive put on top of glow blue around it and the holographic screen in front of him shown the file content of the flash drive…Technology, bitch! He saw this online and just had to buy one, it really made the holographic computer easier to use with digital keyboard and you could transfer file from the computer to a storage space just by putting down the device such as flash drive, hard disk or even phone on top the interactive panel installed!

The file that Lucas sent him was composed of many things, even some E-Books that might come in handy in order to be a good commander and leader too. But what caught his eye the most was the new database extension regarding Siren Armed forces…Okay, William choose to read the whole document. Work was done for the day and he doubted Hood would mind him learning something regarding The Sirens, this should help him plan and strategize better in the fight against them.

The first one are those black scaly creatures that William fought ever since Terania, command dubbed them as 'Brawler'…Strong, agile and terrifying in close up, this creature is unarmed but their natural strength make up for their lack of any weaponry on them. Few investigation and autopsy on their corpses concluded that this creature type are previously humans who are heavily mutated by some sort of Siren based organism, the organism that simply called Larva would then latched on the victim's chest area, overtime growing bigger to cover up the victim before rapidly mutated them into your standard brawler. The time for them require to transfer is unclear for now and no matter what the host sex was, each 'Brawler' would turn into 'male' the moment their transformation is completed…why this happened is currently unknown and under further investigation. Their diet is disturbingly primarily consisted of, human flesh…

They are strong, capable breaking human limbs and bones easily or even use their limbs to climb while carrying a fully grown man. Their jaw strength is enough to bit of a large crush bones, complimented with their sharp teeth then they could chew any creature easily. Their impressive endurance shown when they could face full brunt of bullet hails, one Brawler have been recorded to withstand twenty shots fired to their chest from an M16 Assault Rifle which means it could take almost an entire magazine itself to down one. Solution for now? Headshots, these creature has remarkable endurance but damage to their head is always lethal. It only took around one or two well-placed shot to their brain to kill them since they are unarmored, their speed and agility however would make that feat difficult enough under stress of combat. They've shown intelligence where they would set up simple flanking behavior during combat and could be forced to run according to combat situation…Conclusion, strong primal melee unit that come in large numbers. Threat level, 5…Threat Level, there's even a threat level that High Command set up?

Next is the 'Larva', William prepared himself to read something terrifying because his gut told him that this could be a nightmare fueled creature…Described as black starfish like creature at the size of adult human's torso, it possessed five limbs that shown remarkable muscular strength and flexibility. This creature is aggressive, anyone who met this creature will get attacked as soon as the creature detected them with currently unknown methods. As the evidence shown from gathered footages from those facility or personnel in contact with them, the creature has very basic intelligence which seemingly focused on attacking their prey as soon as they're within range. They attack by latching themselves onto their victim's torso with their four limbs securing their hold on their victim's body, their remaining one appendages would then chocked the victim to the point of unconsciousness. Once the victim fell unconscious, the creature would then started secreting unknown material until the victim was covered in these black materials that would branch out from the Larva in some kind of black veins.

Once the victim is starting to get covered by this unknown materials, they will undergo mutation process and eventually covered up completely into a cocoon. During this process, The Larva would blend its body into the cocoon while transforming into gunk mass of black flesh with currently unknown purpose. When the mutation is complete, a new Brawler would spawn but the larva itself would are always nowhere to be seen. Few biologist theorized that Larva itself is the first form of The Brawler, it would then find a host to transform into its mature form. They theorized it as a parasitic life form that need biomass from other creature in order to fully mature and then maybe reproduce, how they reproduce is still a mystery but William prayed to anything holy out there that they won't use humans as a host…Nah, he jinxed it, what are the chances they will use living creature as their spawning ground? Very likely with this kind of life cycle…Threat level, 4. Avoid being incapacitated around the creature at all cost…

…Disturbed? Hell fucking yeah, William was sure Siren is a spawn of hell of now. The next one is their armed soldier that William fought recently, they're dubbed by High Command simply as 'Sirens Trooper'. Trooper is an oddity because Trooper resembled your average human in many ways, their only differences was the fact that their eyes are glowing yellow, their hair are snow white and their skin lacks any pigment which makes them extremely pale…Sounds familiar? William remembered that the person they rescued from one of the cocoons on Terania was at the same state of this Troopers with one yellow eyes, are troopers just simply an incomplete transformation of Brawlers? William isn't sure.

…Trooper however is a lot stronger than average human, capable sending a human flying with just a punch. They are fully covered in some kind of Siren blackish metal armor which thankfully could still be damaged, destroyed or punctured by human conventional weapons. They are armed with a plasma weaponry which currently under intensive analysis by human researchers, details on them would be available soon…Trooper is the most common form of Siren encountered in the field with Brawler being close second, Trooper shown that they possess equal intelligence of a human and shown that they could coordinates with each other during firefight, use tactics in combat, they moved in squads and seems to possess some kind of hierarchy within the unit alongside specialization among them. They've been shown taking prisoners and speaking with English language…Well, with some Siren ship girls capable saying so it's pretty clear that these Troopers would be able to speak the language too. Threat Level, 6. How to fight them is already covered in basic training…Eh, right.

A section caught William's eye and he turned over to another section, vehicles section. Siren War machines have proven to be at the same level or even more advanced than what humanity has, maybe they could turn this into advantage to level the playing field in the future. First off their Main Battle Tanks which William already heard before, 'Spider Tanks'. Even though the design philosophy seemingly based on a crab, their mechanical limbs doesn't. This black mechanical machine is pretty tough opponent on the battlefield, capable moving at seventy kilometer an hour, capable climbing buildings and their legs could be used to jump around as primary evasive maneuver. That's made worse with the fact that their legs were equipped with some kind of bladed weaponry for close range attack, coupled with two rapid firing plasma turret and one large main cannon capable heavily damaging to outright destroy humanity tanks? This thing is an absolute nightmare in any combat theater, luckily for us their legs are vulnerable so immobilizing them is still a possibility. Threat Level, 8...As tank gunner, it's your primary target. As infantry, you better run or hide. As aircraft pilot, you're relatively safe in high altitude…Huh, this thing can't shoot upwards like AA guns?

Moving on, William felt reading their aircrafts. First thing that caught his interest are their jet fighters…It doesn't have official name but pilots among Azur Lane have agreed to call this bird 'Crow', black in coloring, came in hordes and their howling jet sounds means a certain death for those unlucky enough to be ambushed by them. Many have theorized that these jets are actually drones with how they maneuver and engaging in combat, but vehicle recovery and study shown that the plane possess a cockpit although all that were shot down are usually in unrecognizable shape or complete FUBAR. It's on par with their F-22 Fighter Jets and SU-57 in performance and size which seems to fit the role of Siren's fighter bomber, the jets usually spawn from carriers or shown up out of the blue through their portals. It has machineguns, firing off some kind of Armor Piercing rounds, equipped with missiles and bombs…If that didn't frighten anyone enough, this plane is shown capable hovering to provide aerial fire support and some saw their bombs switched out into high yield plasma cannon that could also wreck a tank in single hit…Threat Level 8…Shit, William actually survived numerous encounter against these deadly bastards…

Then William decided to read the last entry for the day, Siren's dropship which named 'Gunship'…Wait, gunship? The aircraft is diamond shaped large black metallic machine with powerful engines, tough armor and possessing numerous point defense turrets alongside its body and one turret as its primary means of attack. Comparable to a V22 Osprey in size and based on analysis it could fit around fifty people inside or Sirens, despite its lumbering size it has shown to possess remarkable agility as one of them could be seen turning around easily while under direct AA guns fire. The hatch is located on the underside of the aircraft which is the only access into the machine, it's also shown capability to airlift a Spider Tank through some kind of force field on its underside. However, this aircraft didn't shown to possess any kind of missile avoidance system such as flares or EMP jamming and instead rely on volume fire from their point defense turret to destroy an incoming missile…Well, glad this thing have a weakness at least. Threat Level, 8…

"…Shite, I felt like reading FPS video game codex or something…well technically, my experience and video recording while facing them could be turned into an FPS game itself" William commented out loud.

"Lord William, I'm coming in" Someone said from outside the office.

William got no time to respond as the door went opened immediately afterwards, someone came inside the office and stared at William who closed the holographic computer screen. This person possess long light brown hair, styled in twin tails that almost touched the floor in length, mesmerizing crimson eyes and dressed in black gothic clothes. Congratulations to those that was right, she's Formidable, Illustrious' younger sister…Formidable walked closer to William as she closed the door, she then sat on the chair in front of him, looking cute and all that…Honestly speaking, William still haven't figured Formidable out and the interaction between them is sparse. Why did she come here now? She must've require him for something.

"Oh. Formidable, shouldn't you be resting right now?" William asked Formidable.

"I wasn't that affected with the gas that much Lord William, aside from occasional headache I'm quite fine" Formidable said to William while she smiled cutely.

"Well, you shouldn't be moving around too much" William said to Formidable while he smiled a bit.

"I'll be honest milord, I was bored" Formidable said to William while her shoulder drops.

"Bored?" William asked Formidable with cocked eyebrows.

"I want to entertain myself" Formidable said to William.

"And that's why you came inside my office? Really…" William asked Formidable with narrowed gaze.

"The entire fleet knew your office is the hotspot for 'entertainment'~" Formidable said to William while she smiled playfully.

"Oh?" William said out loud.

"Music player, flat screen TV, game console, a fridge full of snacks and drinks? With all that, surely you know that one or two or even dozens of girls would be flocking here" Formidable said to William while she smiled.

"Eh…You're not wrong. So, you basically came here to disturb me?" William asked Formidable as he reached for his drawer.

"Not quite. Allow me to stay here for a bit milord, I promise I won't bother you" Formidable said to William while she smiled.

"Alright then. Just be ready if Hood have few choice of words for you later" William said to Formidable as he took out a small tool box from the drawer.

"I'm sure she'll be fine with this" Formidable said to William with confident tone.

"Let's see about that, shall we" William said to Formidable as he smiled.

William took out his Colt Python revolver, unloaded the rounds from the revolver chamber and started to disassemble it for regular maintenance. A well maintained gun is a must and William is diligent in routine maintenance for his guns, he stared at the disassembled parts to check for any signs of damage and then took out the tools to clean the parts. Formidable is actually paying attention on what he did, she noticed that he deftly disassembled a weapon without any sort of difficulty and then proceed to tinkered with it…However, she got bored so she started to look around and then noticed that William's game console is located on a small aisle underneath the coffee table. She grinned a bit at the thought, perhaps playing some games would alleviate her boredom a bit.

"Hmm…hey, what kind of games you have on that console?" Formidable asked William.

"Action, shooter and strategy games?" William said to Formidable without looking at her.

"That's it?" Formidable asked William as she frowned.

"…Yeah? I don't really play other games" William said to Formidable with cocked eyebrows.

"Hmm…hey, do you mind if I download a game?" Formidable asked William while she smiled.

"With my money?" William asked Formidable back with narrowed gaze at her.

"Your salary really pays well, right?" Formidable asked William back while she smiled widely.

"Oh well. Check the storage first, I assume you know how to operate it?" William said to Formidable as he took out a controller from his drawer.

"Don't worry, Formidable shall not disappoint" Formidable excitedly took the controller and sat on the couch.

"…So, how much?" William asked Formidable after she turned on the console and the TV.

"You still have five terabytes worth of space" Formidable informed William.

"…Huh, that's a lot. Alright, just pick something you like from the online store and then download the game. Shouldn't take you five minutes, the internet speed on this base is guaranteed" William said to Formidable.

"Don't mind if I do!" Formidable said to William while she grinned.

Yeah, in this base you could watch video in ultra HD 4k resolution with minimum 60 fps without any sort of buffering. You can play games and there will be no lag whatsoever even during intense storm, the speed was so great that William downloaded games worth of three terabytes are all finished under one hour. Well, this privilege come at the cost of this particular job to fight The Sirens so it's not like he have lots of free time to spend when you have to constantly strengthening your fleet and combat capabilities of the base. Oh but when he do, even Belfast had to pinch his cheek in order to get his attention and scolded him for using noise canceling headphone for gaming…After a while he finally finished with his maintenance and stored the tools back, that's when the office door was opened and Hood went inside…

"…You took a while" William commented as he saw Hood.

"A bit of detour to the dormitory, milord. We just heard news from London" Hood said to William.

"Our London here or the London over there?" William asked Hood as he leaned on his seat.

"The one over there, they just briefed her majesty and she asked me to rely the info to you" Hood said to William as she smiled a bit.

"Oh, what is it?" William curiously asked Hood.

"Periodically, Royal Navy will send ship girls here starting from tomorrow. The first group that will come here are consisted of Unicorn, Juno, Foxhound and Abercrombie" Hood said to William before she frowned a bit.

…Wait a minute, that's rare! Hood frowned when she mentioned a ship girl's name? She did that when she mentioned the last girl, Abercrombie…Now he didn't know who she is yet but if she hailed from Royal Navy then it's safe to say that Hood and her have some history together, but to actually make Hood frown that girl must be handful in a sense…

"…Your face changed drastically when you mention the last one" William commented to Hood.

"Abercrombie is a bit…handful, to say. Abercrombie is a good girl, she really is but she's quite mischievous sometimes" Hood said to William, oh so his assumption was correct.

"That's putting it lightly Ms. Hood, she's at Ms. Saratoga's level when it concern pranks" Formidable commented while she's playing.

"Uh…right" Hood said out loud while she smiled bitterly.

"Another Saratoga on the base? Oh I see…what's her worst case?" William asked Hood.

"She even dare to prank Her Majesty Elisabeth herself" Hood answered William's question then sighed.

"Yikes, no doubt I'll be within her strike range" William said to Hood while he cringed.

"Precisely" Hood simply responded.

"…I'll deal with her antics when the time comes. So anyway, that would means tomorrow we would have to pick them up from airport. Have Brooklyn been notified?" William asked Hood.

"Yes, she and Illustrious would be the one who pick them up" Hood said to William as she smiled a bit.

"Excellent" William said to Hood.

Then, Hood turned around to stare at Formidable who played a game without much care in the world while eating tortilla chips and drinking a can of soda. Hoo boy, William haven't been paying attention but Formidable clearly acted unladylike right now! Formidable seemed to sense someone staring at her and she turned around to look at Hood while she's munching some tortilla chips, Hood stared at her while she cocked her eyebrows in wonder on what was she doing here during work hours when she's supposed to be resting but Formidable stared back with oblivious gaze at her.

"…Ms. Formidable, shouldn't you be resting?" Hood finally asked Formidable herself.

"I've rested quite well, Ms. Hood" Formidable answered while she smiled.

"Let her be Hood, I can relate that being stuck in bed with nothing to do is not amusing" William said to Hood while he smiled.

"But still, if I remember correctly Illustrious handed you some novels?" Hood asked Formidable.

"Read them all already" Formidable said to Hood as she turned around and resumed gaming.

"Five three hundred paged books? You're that bored?" Hood asked Formidable with astonished face and tone.

"Mhm~" Formidable said to Hood without looking at her.

"Hah…I suppose this is fine on occasions. But Lord William, this room is a work office so you need to be firm when you need to, understood?" Hood relented before she said that to William.

"Yeah, got it" William immediately responded with tensed expression.

Why is he involved with this?! Oh, William guessed that he did let Formidable played around the office so it's kind of his responsibility. Now that he thought about it, he's being quite lenient on the girls who visited his office. Few days ago he let several destroyers sat while enjoying fish and chips on the table as they waited for class to begin, just yesterday he let several girls from Sakura Empire to play some Shogi on the office as they have nothing to do in the afternoon and they had to wait for a bit before talking about the meeting result between him, Hood, Bismarck, Lena and Lucas…Just as he thought that, William witnessed that Hood walked forward and sat beside Formidable and picked her novel from the coffee table.

"…What game are you playing right now?" Hood curiously asked Formidable.

"Ah, it's this game about farming! They have cute characters, cute designs and overall it's quite easy to play!" Formidable said to Hood while she smiled widely.

"Interesting, to be able to raise your own farm like this virtually. Can you also went out to a nearby town?" Hood asked Formidable while she smiled.

"Yes! You could buy a lot of things for the farm, seeds, manure and even some food for the live stocks" Formidable said to Hood.

"Ho. That is a lot of items…Hmm? What is that?" Hood said to Formidable as she pointed at the screen.

"Premium option? Hmm…Gain monthly boost income and other benefits? I should buy this…Eh? Aww, real life money? Fine…Lord William, may I know your credit card numbers and PIN~?" Formidable asked William cutely while she smiled.

"Yeah sure, it's 0846…HOLD THE FU-!"

.

"The cure is ready, this should neutralize the poison in their system. Please give this through their IV" Takeshi said to Vestal as he handed her a vial with crystal clear liquid on it.

"Thank you doctor, I'll get on it. Let's go" Vestal said out loud to the medics around her.

"Right behind you Ms. Vestal" One medics said to Vestal.

"Enterprise, Prinz, go help them out" William said to Enterprise and Prinz.

"Ja kommandant" "Yes sir" Prinz and Enterprise responded before they followed Vestal

Takeshi had gathered few of them on his room in the morning, he worked overnight and successfully created a working cure to neutralize Marry. William, Prinz, Enterprise, Vestal and the medics gathered around as Takeshi put the cure on the vial before he handed it to Vestal who's face immediately brightened and went out half running to get the cure to the sick girls as soon as possible. William watched the hallway, after confirming it to be empty he closed the door of Takeshi's room.

"…Is it ready?" William asked Takeshi.

"…Not easy doing it with Ms. Prinz breathing down my neck but I did it…Thanks to a last minute resource delivery, ignorance is bliss isn't it? Anyway, how do you manage to get those ingredients?" Takeshi asked William.

"Manjuus, pretty easy when you got helpers ready at moment notice" William answered while he shrugged.

"I see" Takeshi nodded his head in response.

He agreed to William's request but he would need several ingredients that were different from the one that Hood ordered, thus when he said his concern to William he only told Takeshi to handed him the list and William would take care of the rest…William ended up asking a Manjuu to buy the stuff, he won't bother asking how did those birds managed to make it back with the necessary stuff safely. William handed the ingredients to Takeshi and he took care of the rest. Takeshi reached for something that was taped on top of a drawer's ceiling, it's a drink bottle sized chrome gas canister which he offered to William.

"This is it, this tiny tank is the remaining Marry on this world. The dose isn't as strong as the original due to the shortage of the ingredients and I can't compress the gas due to the absence of equipment. Best I could do in this situation…The entire tank is enough to fill this room within seconds, I predicted the dose will kill someone within three minutes of continue inhalation" Takeshi explained to William.

"Wow. It is much weaker in dose, on the previous attack it only took around half a minute to kill a human" William commented as he inspected the gas canister.

"But during that three minutes, the victim will experience the most excruciating pain they'll ever felt to their body. Breathing problems, muscle spasms, splitting headache and nausea" Takeshi said to William.

"That's awfully specific" William said to Takeshi while he narrowed his right eye.

"Hey, I'm the creator of course I know what this thing does…All yours to use, handle with care" Takeshi said to William.

"I take this works like a hand grenade? Thanks" William said to Takeshi after he noticed a safety pin on top of the canister.

William just received what basically a hand grenade, this should make things easier…But, William had second thoughts on using Marry. You know, breaking someone with your own two hands felt much more satisfying than using a gas or even a gun. Just look at that new DOOM game but imagine you doing it to someone you hate from the bottom of your heart and felt nothing but urge to kill whenever you see his image, okay okay that's enough thinking about the ways to kill that bastard…When the opportunity came, William would know what to do with him. He just have to be patient…

"…I must ask though, what makes you want to use this on that person so much? Wouldn't a bullet to the head would be enough?" Takeshi asked William curiously.

"Ironically, I tried that already and he's back from the dead. Have to make sure he won't this time" William said to Takehsi with half opened eye while he shrugged.

"Oh. Just…one more thing commander…Promise me, you won't synthetize this gas" Takeshi said to William with serious face.

"You have my word" William answered immediately without single hint of doubt in his voice.

"Thank you…Now…" Takehsi took out a flash disk, he threw it to the toilet before flushing it.

"…Alright. You have some free time, call your wife or something. I'm going to check the ladies" William said to Takeshi.

"Okay" Takeshi simply responded.

…What he just threw back there must be the data regarding Marry, flushing it down to the toilet the data inside would surely be too corrupted to recover…William walked toward his personal room and make sure he wasn't followed or that no one saw him, he successfully entered his own room and locked the door. Now, where to store this without having any of the curious girls possibly finding out? William suddenly had an idea as he took out his old suitcase that could only be unlocked with a four digit code that he's sure to be only one who knows…9-0-2-9, the suitcase was opened and he stored the canister on a secure strap. He smiled a bit as he closed the suitcase and put it underneath his bed, he's confident that not even Belfast knew about the code to this one. After that, he walked toward the infirmary before he heard loud shouting, he proceed to speed up and opened the door to the room only to be hit with relieved feeling.

""""""BIG SIS!""""" Aulick and her sister shouted when Fletcher was able to respond.

"Is it working?!" One medic asked out loud.

"It's like magic, it works wonderfully fast!" Vestal commented out loud while she threatened to cry in relief.

"KISARAGI-CHAN! UWAAAA!" Mutsuki said as she and the others hugged Kisaragi in group hug when she wakes up.

"…Guess we owe the doctor" Hornet said out loud.

"That indeed" Mikasa said to Hornet as she sighed in relief.

"Kongou nee-sama, how do you feel?" Haruna asked Kongou.

"A whole lot better. I'm still feeling weak though" Kongou said to Haruna while she smiled weakly.

"Saratoga?" Lexington asked Saratoga who sat on the sick bed.

"Sara is feeling healthier already, big sis!" Saratoga excitedly responded while she smiled widely.

"You're teasing me again!" Hipper said to Prinz while she blushed.

"It's to see the rosiness came back to your face. Gut, the cure is working" Prinz said to Hipper before she hugged her tightly.

"Carabiniere. Take it easy" Zara said to Carabiniere while she smiled.

"Don't worry, I felt fine now" Carabiniere said to Zara as she tried to sit.

Huh, what a miracle drug they got there. The effect of the poison were neutralized that quickly, William was glad that Takeshi was willing to uphold his end of bargain and use his knowledge to help all of them in more than one ways. He should return the favor and make sure Takeshi could made it back safely to Sakura Empire, William saw Hornet who stood beside him with Mikasa watching the touching scene from afar…William remembered that aside from this recovery, there will be new arrivals today. They will need to prepare a banquet and they don't have a lot of time.

"Hornet, please get a word to Hiei, Shoukaku, Belfast and George. New mission, I want a banquet meal ready for tonight. This prompt for celebration and as well for the welcoming of the new arrivals" William said to Hornet.

"Got it boss~, anything else?" Hornet asked William while she grinned.

"No that will be all for now, thank you" William said to Hornet as he smiled.

* * *

**Yeah, that took a while but glad the girls are on their way to recovery…Anyway, thanks for the review, follow and favorite! You know, a guest asked me in the review on what's my opinion regarding Azur Lane The Animation. So, this little afterword would also serve to answer the said guest question…Feel free to read further but be warned, this is my opinion, some of you might disagree with me but hey, each to their own so let's not hate each other due to differences, shall we? Oh yes, SPOILER ALERT!**

…**Okay, I had a very mixed feelings regarding the anime, really. Let's start off with the good things first. The opening is short nothing but awesomeness in all corners! Sometimes I found myself singing it unconsciously, the song and the cinematic showing the ship girls from majorly four primary nations between Azur Lane and Crimson Axis was done really well and fit overall with the theme song, graphite and diamond. Someone mentioned that the name really described the conflict between Azur Lane and Crimson Axis really well, graphite and diamond possessed the same element in periodic table but they turned out pretty differently and I agree with the guy! Azur Lane and Crimson Axis both fought The Sirens, but their approach to it are really different from one another…see what I mean? That's why I never skipped the opening when I watched it, not even once. The song and the scene is so memorable…**

**Some of the combat scenes are really good. Seeing ship girls fighting in animated scenes is really great, first episode alone already kicked in with combat scenes when Sakura Empire attacked a newly set up Azur Lane base. The fight between Zuikaku and Enterprise too was awesome and even more so when Belfast just interrupted the fight without much effort while smiling smugly, there's also the one where they rescued Edinburgh, Sheffield, Akashi and hoo boy that one episode was filled with action. Then there's the huge fight in the last episode, PRINZ USED HER RIGGINGS TO CHOMP A SIREN! Damn! Now that's how I imagined what she would do with her rigging, that one German shipfu never disappoint thus far!**

**We could also see how the shipgirls interacted with each other outside of combat and storylines in the game, it's a refreshing sight and definitely an interesting thing to see. We could see how they do their daily life aside from fighting, the close up shot of locations on the base that we normally only could see from bird eye view and…Man, the fanservices…Believe me, I stopped leaning on my seat with face focused directly on the screen when the bath scene shows up. Arizona rear shot? St. Louis radiating ara ara energy? First time Hood's and Cygnet's underwear exposed to the world? Illustrious and Prince of Wales naked in all their glory? Hell yes…The doujins, keep em coming my artistic friends! Those scenes, should serve as great material mwahahahahahahahaha!**

**Now, the bad things according to me…The anime went downhill quickly, first few episodes were great but I started to notice the dive in quality on the next episodes. Episode four, brrrr, that one scene where Edinburgh and Akashi used a suicide boat? Shit, that was ugly as hell and obviously poorly animated. There's few other scenes too but that one was the most obvious one…Oh, there's this scene in episode 12 where everyone lined up and attack? The ship girls were actually the 2D model that we have in game copy pasted into that scene, damn that was disappointing…Then there's the pacing, sometimes in one episode it felt the story was rushed and it was quite jarring to watch. Not to mention the dub…oh my god, the English dub…hilarious while cringe inducing would sum it up well, in my opinion.**

**The ship girls characteristic…You know, I didn't mind that the anime want to try something different but they could pull it off better in my opinion. The relation between ship girls such as Enterprise and Belfast seems to work well, Akagi and Kaga, Kaga and Prinz and alongside the other ship girls too. In my opinion, it would work well with platonic relationship and that's when the problem starts…Those relations, are filled with yuri baits. Hell, I never expected that when I first watched it. I'm no fan of Yuri and I'm sure the anime didn't actually try to enforce pairings on them, but the community certainly reacts and…voila, Belfast x Enterprise pictures started to surface. No hate on them, that's their preference and taste, each to their own…But my real problems come with how they interpreted Enterprise's character on the anime. Enterprise while being extremely lethal in combat and a skilled warrior is actually a kind girl who valued her friends and family, many sources indicate so such as her scenes in the manga as a great example. This interpretation of her in the anime, I'm quoting others is that she's quite 'edgy' and 'rigid' in this one. I simply found her interpretation on Azur Lane Crosswave to be better overall.**

**The plot itself is simplistic which I found okay, but the lack of exposure for other ship girls are…disappointing. For example, we are teased from the opening that Bismarck would somehow get involved in the anime but when? She briefly showed up near the end as cameo, am I right? There's Iris Libre and Northern Union with Saint Louis and Avrora shown in the first episode but that's it. There's a cameo of Zara and Pola in the background during Episode 3 if I'm not mistaken, but that's it for Sardegna Empire ship girls…What I'm trying to say is, there's many source material, factions and amazing ship girls so it's unfortunate that the studio couldn't utilize their full potential. I understand that including all of them with speaking roles where there's around four hundred ship girls is unrealistic and unreasonable request for a twelve anime episodes, but they could at least make the relationship between the factions clearer, gave them equal spotlight and maybe get the audience acquainted with them better. Plus, each ship has its strength and weakness but carriers on the anime? They're overpowered in a sense huh.**

**Then, the lack of human appearances…I'll be honest, this one really put a big question mark over my head. Where are the humans? They aren't shown in the anime, there's no explanation on why they didn't show up and that really put a lot of questions. Aren't the ship girls fighting Sirens in order to save humanity? What about their chain of command? How about logistical support? If the purpose of ship girls is to protect humanity by combating The Sirens, then show it! Show the state of humanity after they're being pushed to the brink by Sirens, show that the ship girl might be their last line of defense, show that humanity while battered and weary put on all they got to protect the innocents, show the audience the relation between ship girls and humans, what's their opinion on each other, show them a scene where a human city is under attack by Siren forces and the local military was overwhelmed until ship girls shows up and saved the day! That way, the ship girl's purpose is clearly outlined and the audience would realize the ship girl's importance in the war against them. That way, their question of their existence would be answered easily…Speaking of humanity that brings me to something I really want to say out loud…**

**Where. The fuck. Is Shikikan?! Okay, okay, personal opinion ahead! In many storyline, it was hinted that Shikikan is someone important both in the eyes of humanity and Sirens. Humanity saw Shikikan as someone that unifies the factions of earth and turned them into unified fighting forces, Siren saw Shikikan as a disturbance to their overall plans as 'anomaly'. I heard Shikikan doesn't exist in the anime as a way to avoid representing a group of people? You know for example, shown him as American and Japanese people won't be able to immersed themselves fully as Shikikan in game and vice versa. In my opinion, Shikikan could still be present in the anime like Kantai Collection did and excuse my language…without fucking up as many have said, like Kantai Collection did. If you ever curious on why many people have that opinion, you could watch the anime yourself.**

**Every time Shikikan appear, studio could make the scene turned into first person from Shikikan's perspective like on Kantai Collection or when Shikikan indeed had to appear on screen they could always obstructed Shikikan's features with anything (Thousand animes did so with their fanservices or even character tropes, come on!). That way, shikikan's identity would always remain a mystery…Oh Dasmara, what if Shikikan speaks? Won't that give away Shikikan's identity? No, not necessarily. In certain ani-, screw that, a hentai! The protagonist doesn't have a voice but still interact with the girl he fucked, how? Subtitles! That way, the audience could still read the line and felt themselves interacting with the ship girls around them! But wait, isn't Enterprise the protagonist of the anime? Well they don't have to make Shikikan as a protagonist if they really insist, even an important major character would serve Shikikan's role well! **

**Won't that really changed the story line and filled with political bullshit? Absolutely, but let me tell you something about politics. The short description of it is 'Who gets what, when and how' and that means everyone do politics every day. So what if a bit of politics were involved in the story line? As long that's not the main focus, I believe the anime could still runs well! So if you're the one in charge to write the anime, how will you do it? Oh boy, this is it…bear with me for a while. If I was the one in charge for the storyline, it'll be like this…maybe incorporate the elements from the anime.**

**Episode 1**

**Background narration on the situation of the world, show the audience when humanity had first contact with Sirens, how outmatched they are in fighting them with conventional weaponry, how by some miracle the found the wisdom cube, utilize it and managed to create ship girls. The ship girls proved to be an effective force to fight the Sirens and the nations of the world such as quickly build their own ship girls in order to combat Siren's threat, but the efforts were disjointed and lack any coordination. In order to fight in united front, an organization was created to harness the full might of humanity's greatest military alliance in history, Azur Lane.**

**The alliance shows result, many battles were won because they work together. That until The Sirens thrown their full might against humanity by including their own ship girls, the war continued on but cracks started to show in the alliance. Some believed that incorporating enemy's technology would make them prevail in combat better while the other believed they shouldn't due to it's dangerous nature, the alliance split up and those that want to incorporate Siren technology into their arsenal formed Crimson Axis. They strategized by pretending joining Siren's side while plotting to destroy them from within, that resulted in a massive global open war. Then, show the first battle of the anime. Azur Lane have initiated a desperate strategy and that is to secretly combine their ship girls strength to face a massive Siren forces position in order to prevent destruction to several human coastal cities according to their Intel, but before they could sortie a surprise attack hit their staging ground. **

**The attack was committed by Sakura Empire ship girls who led their mass produced ship to raid the base and making sure the major offensive is a success, battle ensued between Azur Lane ship girls that gathered on the base with Sakura Empire ship girls. The situation looked dire for Azur Lane until a military transport managed to land despite the raging battle, shikikan themselves has arrived. Shikikan was the chosen commander to lead the defensive operation against massive Siren attack and had been with Azur Lane ever since it's conception, but Shikikan had to command the base defenses since the local commander was apparently killed in the first shelling and it was Enterprise who's commanding their forces right now. Taking up immediate direct command, shikikan contacted the ship girls through their radio to let them know that Shikikan would be in charge from now on as Enterprise relinquish overall command to Shikikan. Shikikan quickly ordered the base into full defense, learning the situation before finding an exploit on Sakura Empire ship girls forces. Shikikan ordered the Azur Lane ship girls to attack the said exploit and managed to break through the attacker's formation, the ship girls battled with each other, wounding one another before Akagi who's in charge of the operation on Sakura Empire side realized that they exceeded their attack time limit and ordered their forces to withdraw while wondering how can they get organized so quickly.**

**Episode 2**

**The raid was partially successful as Sakura Empire managed to inflict major damage against the base, the ship girls get acquainted with Shikikan as they plot their next move. Shikikan briefly studied the ship girl's profile and their current situation before concluding that they still need to prevent the amassed Siren forces from attacking, but it was clear with the fact that Crimson Axis will actively preventing them from doing so. He ordered them to pursue the attacker fleet in order to find out their staging ground, he choose the ship girls that will went on the mission and Enterprise as the leader. As the chosen ship girls set sail to track the escaping Sakura Empire Fleet, the rest focused on repairing the base necessary facility, tend the wounded and be on guard for another attack.**

**The Azur Lane ship girls took some time to catch up and they did, Sakura Empire was cruising back into their staging area as they lamented the fact that their raid was only partially successful but assured themselves that they at least managed to cripple the base for a while. That until they detected the pursuing Azur Lane ship girls in the distance, they opted to split up in order to prevent Azur Lane ship girls from discovering their staging ground. Another fight ensued between them, in the ensuing fight Sakura Empire received a communication from patrolling Ironblood ship girls led by Prinz Eugen who showed up to aid them few moments later. Seeing the Sakura Empire fleet in messy state, Prinz told the Sakura Empire ship girls to retreat alongside the others for now. Some argument happened between Prinz and Kaga because they have their own pride to fight too but Prinz reasoned that they need as many people as they can to make sure the future offensive operation is a success, thus the Sakura Empire ship girls and the fleet reluctantly pulled back as Ironblood ship girls hold the line against Azur Lane ship girls.**

**In the ensuing fight, Enterprise realized their exhausted state and lack of preparation for prolonged combat meant they're not ready to engage the more combat ready Ironblood ship girls so they choose to retreat. While they retreat, they know better than to led the Ironbloods to their already damaged base so they choose to take other route where they hopefully could lose pursuit. It was successful attempt by Azur Lane as Ironblood ship girls received new orders to intercept an Azur Lane convoy, they proceed to disengage and Azur Lane ship girls managed to return back despite their failure. Shikikan told them it's fine, they already tried their best.**

**Episode 3**

**The scene opened with Sakura Empire ship girls and the fleet returned to their joint staging ground between Crimson Axis members, repairs immediately commenced and the ship girls went inland. After having a brief meeting to discuss their raid and the girls went to rest their weary bodies, the scene show the audience of how the Sakura Empire ship girls proceed with their daily lives on the frontline in a bit slice of life style. Shown the interaction between ship girls on each Crimson Axis factions, the condition of their staging ground and their day to day routine, Nagato as the leader of Sakura Empire Naval Forces then received new order to prepare few ship girls to escort several technicians to a secret facility in order to work on a secret project.**

**Meanwhile the Ironblood patrol made contact with the convoy, it turned out to be a reinforcement from Royal Navy. After asking Bismarck herself, the commander of Ironblood Naval Forces the patrols were given permission to engage them. The fleet was led by Elizabeth herself and while the fleet itself looked small that's because their main convoy was far behind, the fleet that Elizabeth lead is but a decoy. A huge fight ensued as the Royal Navy main convoy used their carriers to fend off Ironblood's patrol, seeing the situation is unfavorable for them Prinz ordered the fleet to disengage and escape. Royal Navy was about to pursue before Elizabeth told them to use the planes to tail the fleeing Ironblood ship girls, their priority is to get the convoy on to the base that was hit by Sakura Empire's raid.**

**Nagato selected Akagi and Kaga to be the escort for the technicians, they learned that the supposed secret project is in actuality is Orochi. The two ship girls also met with Tester Alpha who oversaw the construction, she get acquaintance with the two of them and tell that the plan to make Orochi ready for operation will require some things to be done. Akagi and Kaga initially refused to work with her, but Tester Alpha persuade her with the possibility of reviving her sister, Amagi from her supposed demise. When Akagi asked on the possibility, Tester Alpha mentioned that Siren technology would make it possible and that it rivaled the power of gods. Akagi relented as she agreed to help Tester Alpha, Kaga still shown some reluctance but with Akagi's reasoning she decided to follow Akagi. Tester Alpha then assure them that she will handle the business with Nagato and the others regarding their 'reassignment'.**

**Episode 4**

**Royal Navy convoys arrived on time to join the Azur Lane forces on the damaged base, there Shikikan was introduced to Royal Navy's and Eagle Union's side better. Elizabeth and Hood shared their Intel on what they have based on their aerial reconnaissance, Shikikan now knew where Crimson Axis staging ground is. Shikikan was faced with hard option, to go immediately straight in the defense of those coastal cities which Azur Lane predicted a massive battle about to take place or divert temporarily to strike Crimson Axis staging ground. In the war council, majority of them agreed that weakening Crimson Axis on their way to reinforce the coastal cities defenses. However Shikikan received a communication from Azur Lane Central Command that Shikikan's amassed forces would have to wait for now due to discovery of the said Crimson Axis staging ground, if they moved in now then those amassed forces could easily flank Azur Lane defenses. Shikikan's forces was told to wait and intercept them if The Crimson Axis decided to join the offensive, crush their forces and attack Siren forces from the rear.**

**With the unexpected delay of their operation, the ship girls choose to spend their suddenly acquired free time to get to know one another. They spend time doing activity together, eating together and even trained together. No one knows how long it will be delayed so they choose to repair the base and prepare themselves for the inevitable battle that will occur, Elizabeth immediately incorporated The Maid Corps to help with the base daily activities and sent Belfast herself to help Shikikan and Enterprise who seemed to be the one in charge of the base. The three of them started doing their work as usual, but Belfast quickly found that Enterprise actually has bad habits of eating MRE so with permission from Shikikan she would often reminded Enterprise and advise her to lead a better lifestyle. Enterprise confessed that she ate MRE so she could be ready for combat anytime and MRE could be carried around for a long time, the two talked with one another and share experience as the two quickly become friends.**

**Meanwhile, Shikikan, Elizabeth, Hood, Lexington, Yorktown discussed their next move. Hood suggested to send infiltrator into the staging area in order to acquire more Intel, with sufficient one they could attack them preemptively and perhaps ended the threatening fleets before it moved. Shikikan, Yorktown and Lexington expressed concern regarding who should go since it would Eagle Union ship girls lacked good infiltrators. That's when Sheffield and Edinburgh was appointed, both of them would monitor the staging area from within, periodically sending Intel to them and then send the signal to begin the attack if possible. The plan was commenced short time later and both Sheffield and Edinburgh departed for the Crimson Axis staging area.**

**Episode 5**

**Akagi and Kaga attacked an Azur Lane research facility with several Siren units, they were tasked by Tester Alpha to recover Wisdom Cubes for Project Orochi. Kaga expressed her discomfort in working together alongside Siren units but Akagi reassured her that it should be fine, they are to endure it if they ever want to see Amagi again. Kaga convinced herself and the both of them entered the decimated facility, many personnel evacuated themselves and majority of them were killed when Siren ships commenced their shore bombardment. Akagi and Kaga proceed further when they encounter several scientist defending the cubes and told them that they will have to take their lives if they want to take it, Akagi sighed before she resolved herself that nothing will hold her back from seeing Amagi again as she summoned her paper planes. Then she proceed to kill the scientists, took the cube and escape from the area with Kaga as she thought that this will be the first of many facility to tasted their strength directly.**

**Azur Lane was notified that one of their research facility was attacked, they immediately tasked ship girls from Iris Libre to investigate the cause since they are the closest. Le Triomphant alongside Saint Louis and Emile Bertin arrived on site and destroyed the sieging Siren ships, the survivors greeted them and provided information that there are two ship girls that lead the attack and possessed fox tails. After they managed to get all the information they could from the survivors, Iris Libre ship girls then contacted Azur Lane High Command regarding their findings and they were told to scout the area for those ship girls as High Command proceed to hunt for clues. Le Triomphant sent Saint Louis and Emile Bertin to scout the area as she investigate the facility further, she then found out that all of their research were still there with Wisdom Cubes being the exception.**

**Le Triomphant then received information that it's possible that the perpetrator for the attack is 1****st**** Carrier Division's fox sisters based on the information they gathered. She was told to return to their base. Meanwhile, Sheffield and Edinburgh arrived on the staging area by posing as helpers for Sakura Empire side since Ironblood ship girls would more likely to recognize any of them. It helped a lot that each faction had their own separate areas with few merged into one for public use such as a park and shopping area. Both of them had to be careful not to expose their identity but found their job getting harder and harder after they managed to get themselves involved with Mutsuki and her sisters, they decided to play along for a bit and to collect Intel at night. Bismarck read the reports on Azur Lane research facility's destruction from U-556 who she ordered to tail Akagi and Kaga, Bismarck wondered on what is those two up to by working directly with a Siren and noted that she will found out why soon. **

**Episode 6**

**A Sardegna Empire fleet led by Littorio was on regular patrol when she heard transmission that they have lost contact with their forward guard post near Azur Lane base, Carabiniere wondered out loud if Azur Lane managed to find out their remote outpost used to monitor them from afar. Littorio said that if they did it might be because of their carriers though expressed her no concern whatsoever regarding the carriers since a battleship like her would certainly defeat it if she ever spot one, Zara commented that they should at least investigate on the cause and Sardegna Empire fleet volunteered themselves to investigate the base.**

**As it turns out, the transmission was sent by Sheffield who need the area clear from any Sardegnian ship girl. She went to the shore and rendezvoused with Dace who she gave a package compiled with Intel for Shikikan and the others, Dace immediately set off back into Azur Lane base. Sheffield continued her undercover activity when Edinburgh said they managed to locate Akagi and Kaga then decided to follow them, after following them for a while they stumbled upon a secret facility that housed Orochi. Both Sheffield and Edinburgh was taken aback by the size of it, Sheffield took out camera as she photographed the ship for evidence. Before they head back, they saw that Akagi and Kaga was talking with a Tester Alpha and also took photo of them. However Akagi and Kaga's keen sense of hearing heard the camera shutter and their cover was blown, both Sheffield and Edinburgh immediately made their way to escape and decided to break the radio silence as Kaga set off the alarm.**

**On Azur Lane base, Shikikan received the transmission and immediately ordered the ship girls to sortie. Belfast immediately volunteered for the mission alongside Enterprise, they organized several ship girls from Eagle Union and Royal Navy as they set to rendezvous with Sheffield and Edinburgh. However both Sheffield and Edinburgh cannot proceed with their usual route because it was blocked by Sardegna Empire who diverted from their task after Kaga sounded the alarm. Littorio immediately ordered them to open fire and short battle happened between them, Sheffield contacted their base for Plan B as both she and Edinburgh escaped to different direction.**

**Episode 7**

**Large Sakura Empire ship girls fleet led by Shoukaku and Zuikaku was mobilized to search for Sheffield and Edinburgh who had to retreat into a small city island, both had choose this spot as their hiding spot as Sheffield check on their photos. During the last photo she noticed that Akagi was handing a cube to Tester Alpha and both girls dreaded on the possibility, then they noticed that Sakura Empire have arrived and begun their search for the both of them. The ship girls started citywide manhunt aided by local Sakura Empire troops, Sheffield and Edinburgh received transmission from Belfast that Azur Lane have waited nearby and asked for her location. Sheffield told them their location and warned them that there's a huge fleet waiting for them, Belfast assured her that they came 'prepared'.**

**Azur Lane begun their attack to serve as a bait for Crimson Axis, Enterprise leading the attack alongside Lexington as they separated themselves into two fleet. Shoukaku and Zuikaku reacted by engaging them with several other ship girls in tow, Zuikaku faced Enterprise while Shoukaku faced Lexington. Both battle happened, while Enterprise managed to hold off Zuikaku well, Shoukaku was craftier in her tactics and managed to land a fatal blow to Lexington and forced her out of action. Shoukaku rejoined forces with Zuikaku as they focused on the fleet that Enterprise leads, that until they heard communication that their flank was breached by Royal Navy fleet. Enterprise and Eagle Union fleet was there to serve as a bait, because she's out of options Shoukaku ordered Takao and Atago alongside Ayanami to went in and capture Sheffield and Edinburgh on the city. The three of them managed to find them as they try to escape but found that Javelin, Laffey and Belfast was there to guard them, short battle ensued before Cleveland shouted at them to stop fighting in the middle of heavily populated areas. **

**By the time the fighting stops, they realized that they heavily damaged the part of city they're in and many civilians were injured as collateral damage. Takao said that one does not harm the innocent as they fight and sheathed her blade as both sides helped the civilians out, both sides spoke a bit and expressed respect for one another because despite being enemies of one another both sides agreed that civilians shouldn't be involved in their fight as they fight for humanity's future. With that, both sides agreeing to continue the fight on the open waters. But Takao, Atago and Ayanami received direct order from Nagato to pull back to their base, something has happened and all Sakura Empire ship girls need to be present on the base. Reluctantly, both sides retreated from the battlefield while carrying their injured.**

**Episode 8**

**Vestal and the other ship girls worked hard to treat those that were wounded during the previous battle, ship girls consoled one another that the fight is long but together they will prevail in the end. Shikikan received the Intelligence from Sheffield regarding Orochi, Shikikan held another war council and majority of the ship girls expressed that the ship looked like Siren in design aesthetics and something that big will definitely pose a major threat if it functioned. Shikikan noted that the ship looked like to be completed but why didn't Crimson Axis used them yet? After thinking for a while Shikikan remembered about the reports that Azur Lane research facilities were being attacked one after another, the wisdom cubes on those facilities were the only things that were stolen. The ship girls concluded that the wisdom cubes is capable in creating miracles and the possibility of using those cubes for Orochi is very likely and they need to act soon.**

**Back on Crimson Axis staging ground, everyone was recalled in order for the release of Orochi. Nagato, Bismarck and Vittorio declared that the time has come for the offensive operation to take place but first they would need to destroy Azur Lane ship girl's forces in order for the offensive to progress smoothly. They will rest and prepare for a while before they will make their final attack, morale was high with the addition of Orochi. In the shadows, Akagi and Kaga demanded that Tester Alpha to uphold her end of the deal because they've helped her out but Tester Alpha said their deal isn't over yet since Orochi haven't proved itself yet. Once Orochi proved to be a success, Tester Alpha will uphold her end of bargain. She advised that Akagi and Kaga to join this final assault against Azur Lane so they could witness themselves on just how capable Orochi would be, Akagi and Kaga started getting suspicious on Tester Alpha but decided to play along a bit longer.**

**Just as Akagi and Kaga returned from the secret facility, Bismarck and Nagato confronted them and asked why did they kept this project a secret. Akagi and Kaga reasoned that the secrecy is necessary to prevent Intel breach but since it was compromised already, they decided to reveal it to Crimson Axis to boost morale for the final assault. However, Bismarck wasn't fazed and demanded to know on why would the two of them worked closely in collaboration with The Sirens and asked whether they already forgot that Sirens are their true enemy. Kaga then expressed her concern that The Sirens might be on their side for now but she believe it won't be long until they will stab them in the back, Akagi started to have doubts but she assure them that she will make sure The Siren won't be doing anything against them before she and Kaga left. Bismarck and Nagato didn't believe what Akagi just said because frankly speaking they are also getting suspicious on Akagi and Kaga's independent operations. Both agreed to form a contingency plan and decided to contact someone they never thought would call, but desperate times require desperate measure.**

**Episode 9**

**Sometime has passed and the preparation is ready, Crimson Axis ship girls expressed their optimism in this massive offensive operation and they readied themselves for the day. This will be the final operation launched from the staging area because once this was done they will also move to another base, the ship girls expressed that it will be a shame since they made many memories on the place and they will miss going back here. After everyone was ready, they parted ways from the Crimson Axis regular naval forces and then set out with Orochi in formation filled entirely with ship girls. Vittorio asked Bismarck regarding the last night plan, Bismarck said that she's confident that it will work but they have to be convincing about it.**

**Hornet was on patrol when she detected movement from her aircraft, she widened her eyes in realization and notified Shikikan that Orochi is on the move. Shikikan immediately gathered the leaders in preparation for a large scale battle, he then explained to them that there's additional information regarding Orochi and he received it from trusted source. The ship girls then prepared their defenses, majority of them waited until Orochi is within sight while several carriers attacked with their aircraft earlier on to harass Crimson Axis formation and gather Intel on them. Nagato saw that Azur Lane already noticed them and ordered that the assault to commence immediately, two sides of worthy of hundred ship girls stared at each other across the horizons before the battle commenced.**

**Everyone is in the massive fight, even Bismarck, Nagato and Vittorio joined the fray personally. The battle happened for a while, Bismarck and Prinz had to face off against Hood and Wales directly, Enterprise, Yorktown and Hornet had to face Sakura Empire Carrier Divisions, Illustrious and Formidable squaring off against Sardegna Empire ship girls, and many others involved in straight up artillery fight or use their personal weapon for close quarter attack. Shikikan watched calmly from his command room with Belfast beside him, Shikikan looked at the large screen in front of Shikikan when the screen shown warning signs for anomaly and the whole area turned into Mirror Sea. The ship girls was startled and confused, but Nagato, Bismarck, Vittorio, Enterprise, Elizabeth and Shikikan smiled because the prediction become a reality and it's time to execute the contingency plan.**

**Episode 10**

**This entire operation was a trap schemed by Tester Alpha to eliminate majority of the ship girls in one fell swoop, she then summoned Siren ship girls alongside massive mass produced Siren ships and surrounded the entire area. That's when Shikikan opened an open communication channel to Crimson Axis side and spoke directly to Bismarck, Nagato and Vittorio that it's time to enact Plan Origins, they agreed and Shikikan announced loud and clearly on the open channel that Azur Lane and Crimson Axis would fight The Siren as allies without exception. This announcement shocked those who weren't told but when considering the situation, all of them didn't hesitate to turn their guns from another into the approaching Siren forces.**

**Another battle ensued as the joint forces of Azur Lane and Crimson Axis fought against The Sirens, the leaders of the ship girls met in one location and banded together surrounded by the other ship girls. Tester Alpha giggled in amusement before she show herself in front of them, she openly wondered on how did her intention was founded out. Bismarck simply stated that their alliance would doom to fail from the start and that it's only matter of time before Siren would stab them in the back, Tester Alpha clapped and congratulate them for figuring it out before someone else appeared beside her and revealed to be Purifier. The battle resumed, Tester Alpha hanged back as Purifier stayed and challenged those who seek to sink her. Shikikan noticed that the fight won't last long if they didn't act soon, Shikikan quickly studied the Sirens formation and concluded that Orochi won't be joining the battle directly. Shikikan contacted Crimson Axis ship girl leaders to ask permission in commanding their forces, one that they agreed to and Shikikan started issuing orders on what to do.**

**Akagi and Kaga sneaked off and confronted Tester Alpha directly while enraged that she won't uphold her end of bargain, the three fight her but Alpha managed to beat the two and fatally damaged them to the point both couldn't fight anymore. Alpha watched the battle and she noticed that the ship girls are coordinated, both Azur Lane and Crimson Axis forces fought beside each other effectively. Purifier contacted her to tell that these ship girls received orders from someone else, Tester Alpha confirmed Purifier's statement as she noticed that the fight is slowly but surely tipped in Azur Lane and Crimson Axis favor. They decided to retreat for now and employed Orochi to use but to do that they would need to arm it with their own weaponry, Tester Alpha predicted the refit would at least take three days and then vanished alongside the other ship girls while leaving the mass produce ships to stay and cause as much as damage them could before their inevitable destruction.**

**Episode 11**

**Crimson Axis decided to stay with Azur Lane on the base, the leaders gathered on Shikikan's office to talk properly this time and in video conference with High Command of both sides. After explaining the situation to them, it was revealed that Crimson Axis High Command predicted that this would happen soon and already made plans to adjust to the situation and that the massive Siren attack they predicted was 'never came to fruition'. It was agreed that Azur Lane and Crimson Axis would enter new alliance and fight together as united front, just like they used to do before the split. They noted that Shikikan's strategic performance during the massive battle was impressive and they made shikikan as the commander of the combined ship girl's joint task forces as they believe Shikikan is the most suited person for the task, after that clears up Shikikan and the ship girls leaders decided to talk about the more imminent problems. Making sure that the ship girls won't kill each other now that they're living together.**

**However, shenanigans ensued as both sides still bear grudges at each other. Shikikan was involved directly in defusing many of the tension between them before it could blow up into second civil war between them, those that less hostile with each other started to get to know one another and tried to live harmoniously. In the precious down time they got, everyone was busy preparing themselves for the next battle and making friends with one another. It was a sight that brought nostalgia to Shikikan's eyes, the first time Azur Lane was conceived ship girls and regular soldiers are all fought together in united front and displayed the truest unyielding resolve of human resistance. Shikikan then visited the wounded and talked to Akagi in the sick bed, she explained her motivation to help The Sirens and expressed her regret that she should knew better than to trust their enemies but she was blinded by her greed and selfishness to see her sister again. (This episode could be used for fan service, no, please, make this one where the girls took a hot bath together! What do we need from that scene in episode 7? Even more girls from Crimson Axis side with hot bods!).**

**Few days after the battle and that everyone already getting used to live with one another, they received a news that a major city was obliterated in a Siren attack that has Orochi on its formation. The devastating strike came from a missile that was fired from Orochi, it impacted the city and basically destroyed it in thermonuclear explosion. Shikikan came up with a plan to put Orochi down for good and the ship girls are all agreed to it, Shikikan then contacted Azur Lane High Command and Crimson Axis High Command regarding his plan which they found to be reckless but it's surefire way to eliminate Orochi. They agreed to the plan and the next morning, Shikikan assembled the ship girls in preparation for Operation Crimson Lane. Their objective, destroy Orochi no matter the cost.**

**Episode 12**

**Intel that they received revealed that Orochi is en route to attack another human city, this time it's a big metropolis with millions of people living in it. Although majority of them have been evacuated into underground shelter and the regular army are prepared to fight, Orochi could easily decimated them and only ship girls that could stood a chance. Shikikan also personally joined the fleet to fight the Orochi above a special command ship, Shikikan will directly command the attacking forces that participate in Operation Crimson Lane. Orochi was soon in sight and the battle commenced, however The Sirens anticipated the massive attack and deployed massive forces to protect Orochi as it prepare to launch its weapon of mass destruction.**

**The fight didn't went well as ship girls made little progress to breach Siren's defenses, but Shikikan convinced them to have faith because it's still according to plan. All of a sudden Shikikan executed an offensive tactic, combined submarine ship girls fleet suddenly raided few key ships important in Sirens defenses. While Sirens trying to adjust with the sudden attack, reinforcement has arrived. The remaining ship girls from all faction arrived on site to support the attack according to shikikan's request, Eagle Union, Royal Navy, Sakura Empire, Ironbloods, Eastern Radiance, Iris Libre, Vichya Dominion and even Northern Union were all present. The reinforcement allowed them to push Sirens defense line all the way that forced Orochi to participate in combat directly, however it failed as the ship girls combined relentless offensive leave its escort in pieces. Then, they commenced the final attack. Shells, torpedoes and air strikes repeatedly slammed Orochi's hull until it can't take no more and it sunk as the gargantuan ship split in two. The ship girls cheered at their victory and the whole city population thanked them for what they did, the city celebrated this major victory and the ship girls are all invited.**

**During the celebration, Shikikan went to the rooftop of the building the celebration was held to take some breath of fresh air. All of a sudden Shikikan was joined with Tester Alpha who commended Shikikan for the victory today, she confessed that Shikikan wasn't a variable that she accounted for when they created Orochi for trapping the ship girls. Shikikan expressed that as long as Shikikan is alive, Shikikan will make sure to thwart whatever Tester Alpha was planning. Tester Alpha giggled as she disappeared into the portal while she promised to visit him again soon with her forces in tow, Shikikan fearlessly said that they will be waiting for that moment. The door to the rooftop was opened and several ship girls asked what was taking Shikikan so long outside and the fact that Shikikan was needed to give speech on the party, the dragged shikikan back inside as the shikikan wondered what will happen in the future and shikikan is eager to witness it.**

…**Well, THERE, DONE! At least that's how I will write the storyline if it was left up to me…Wow, this might be the longest afterword that I ever wrote in my entire life. But that's how I feel regarding Azur Lane The Animation, thank you for reading it until the end. Anyway, that's all for now and let me know your thoughts.**

**See you next time!**

**\- Dasmara**


	20. To the east!

"For the recovery of our sisters, for the new arrival to this base! Cheers!" Wales said out loud while she smiled.

The audience cheered back as they raised their glasses filled with drinks and drank from it, it was night and the canteen was lively as the base occupant celebrated the recovery of the sick ship girls while also welcomed the new arrivals. Food were plenty, drinks flew freely and the mood was great as the party went on with soft classical music played from the canteen speaker. Edinburgh walked around with a tray full of drinks on top of it, several girls that passed her took the glass one by one to switch their empty glass. Edinburgh dutifully went through her route and saw someone who sat alone on the corner of the room, he looked at the partying girls with a faint but bitter smiled plastered on his face. That person is Dr. Takeshi who went to attend the party after William himself told him to attend…

"Drinks, Mr. Koichiro?" Edinburgh asked Takeshi as she offered the drinks.

"Ah thank you" Takeshi took one of the glass from Edinburgh's tray.

Edinburgh carried on while Takeshi sat alone as he sipped on the drink, he thought that these girls are still suspicious regarding him working with Sirens and they seems to don't want to associate themselves too close to him. Well, to be fair, he did earn that because in his state of despair and hastiness he decided to allied himself with the entire humanity's enemy so it shouldn't surprise him when the humans were reluctant to take him back…Though maybe he got away easy because none of the girls harassed him, even though the ship girls didn't saw him as an ally they still have the heart to treat those working with them right. Someone approached Takeshi and sat beside him, it's William who were dressed in super casual black track suit, black track pants and grey sneakers.

"Don't be so gloomy doc, drink up" William said to Takeshi as he downed his glass which was filled with cognac.

"Not in the mood to drink right now, commander" Takeshi said to William while he frowned a bit.

"Then why took the glass?" William asked Takeshi with cocked eyebrows.

"I'm blending in with the atmosphere" Takeshi said to William.

"That so…Did any of the girls mistreated you horribly?" William asked Takeshi.

"N-No, they did no such thing!" Takeshi said to William.

"Well then what get you to look this miserable?" William asked Takeshi while he grimaced.

"My wife is pregnant" Takeshi said to William.

William nodded his head as he sipped his cognac before he stopped with widened eye and stared at Takeshi, wait really? Hope it wasn't because he left her for weeks and some other guy managed to score…William choose to keep a positive thought, he despise NTR with all his being but the possibility of it happening is always there. If he had to be honest, he also kind of got NTR'd too when Lena was forced to marry someone else than him when he already got a ring ready…For fuck sake, now his mood went down a bit when he remembered that but he struggled to make a smile for Takeshi since it's a great news.

"Um…congratulations?" William said to Takeshi while he smiled a bit forcefully.

"Thanks…god, what a bastard I am…She planned on surprising me when I return from the mess with Crimson Cleanser and Sirens" Thank god that Takeshi didn't look at his face.

"What did you tell her?" William asked Takeshi curiously.

"That I've been a fool, I told her a revised version of what happened. Crimson Cleanser attacked me regarding my work and I had to stay under protection for a while, a truth in a sense but with far less details…I…told her that I should've refused this business trip to spend more time with her" Takeshi said to William as he stared at the floor.

"But what's done is done. What's her reaction?" William reasoned then asked Takeshi.

"She forgave me, that kind woman forgave me despite everything, despite worrying her…God, I love that woman so much! I swear, I'll treat her right from now on!" Takeshi said out loud before he drank his whole glass of alcohol.

William smiled a bit as he stared at Takeshi, that man really do love his wife huh? So that was what they talked about when William told him to call his wife. Since Takeshi kept his end of the deal, William choose to keep his. He already called Erich and talked regarding Takeshi's condition, even he said that he will get Takeshi's home personally for what he did. Erich agreed to William's request with the condition that he will have to talk to someone on Sakura Empire official to confirm the pardon that Takeshi will receive upon his return.

"Good for you doc…Listen, I've arranged your return" William said to Takeshi.

"Really?" Takeshi asked William with widened eyes.

"Yeah. Chairman of Crimson Axis himself gave me the details personally" William said to Takeshi as he took another glass from Suffolk who passed by with a tray of drinks.

"…Sorry but, who the hell are you? You appear in front of me with a ship girl, a soldier and commander from Azur Lane but possess a connection directly to Crimson Axis chairman himself!" Takeshi asked William with curiosity edged on his tone.

That really baffled him to be honest, how could some commander like him possess a direct connection to Crimson Axis chairman? Despite now that both sides have joined forces, it shouldn't be that easy for him to request something like Takeshi's pardon. Nevertheless, Takeshi figured out why he had that connection at least…In his brief time around this port, he managed to observe the life of the ship girls on this base. There are lots of them and everyone hailed from different factions, tension is high sometimes as few girls didn't get along well with each other by appearance but they trusted their commanding officer…Someone that could unite the ship girls must've got some special treatment from the brass, according to Takeshi.

"Well, I do have some friends in high places. Connections, in this world, we're going to need it one way or another" William said to Takeshi then sipped on his drink.

"Huh…" Takeshi said to William.

"Back to the topic. We will go with military C-130 tomorrow morning, a flight straight for Tokyo. Apparently, you will need to be debriefed first" William informed Takeshi.

"Debrief, they could've-" Takeshi said to William with widened eyes.

"Kill you? No, they won't, you have my word on that. Sakura Empire are willing to forgive your mistakes and treachery on one condition, you are to disappear" William said to Takeshi, looks like the doctor is a bit paranoid.

"D-Disappear?!" See?

"Witness protection program. Essentially, you'll be given new name and move somewhere else out of Osaka. That good enough deal for you?" William asked Takeshi as he folded his arms.

"It is…but how? How did that happen?" Takeshi asked William curiously.

"Hah…just call it a favor, you owe me for this one doc" William sighed then said to Takeshi.

"I see…Thank you, commander Blaze" Takeshi said to William before he sighed in relief.

He felt bad that he asked such favor from Erich, it's not like he actually already did something for him that warrant him the ability to ask favor from the man but he took two request directly from him. One when he had to go toward Southern Ironblood to pick up Takeshi while the other one is to get him home, maybe Erich agreed because he also wanted to finish this current task with Takeshi then moved on to the next one? Maybe…William leaned on his seat when he noticed Illustrious walked toward him with a little girl in tow, she smiled softly as she bowed her head a bit.

"Lord William" Illustrious greeted William.

"Illustrious, don't go too hard on the wine alright?" William said to Illustrious as he smiled.

"Mou, I'm not as bad as you with alcohol~" Illustrious said to William with teasing tone while she smiled.

"Fair enough. Hmm?" William noticed that the little girl peeked out from behind Illustrious.

"Milord, Unicorn here would like to get to know you better" Illustrious said to William while she smiled.

"Is that so? Come here Unicorn, you don't have to be shy. Come and sit down with me" William said to Unicorn while he smiled gently.

"Um…Y-Yes" Unicorn nodded her head.

Illustrious gently brought Unicorn to her front, the little girl with purple hair shyly looked at William while she hugged the unicorn plushy close to herself. Adorable? For sure, this little girl just oozed with an aura that makes him want to protect and head pat her. Unicorn sat while Illustrious kept her company by also sitting beside her, Unicorn stared at the glass of alcohol that William gripped on his hand but Illustrious gently poked her shoulder and moved her index finger sideways as if saying 'no, no' to Unicorn. She nodded her head and then stared at William who cocked his eyebrows in wonder what will Unicorn said to him?

"C-Commander, I…heard a lot about you" Unicorn said to William.

"Oh really? What did you hear?" William asked Unicorn.

"I heard that commander is very strong, brave and kind person" Unicorn said to William.

"Oho…Now, who told you that?" William asked Unicorn while he smiled

"Lots of big sis said that, even big sis Illustrious said so!" Unicorn said to William while she smiled.

And with that, Illustrious body jerked in remembrance while William and Takeshi stared at her…There's a reason on how Unicorn saw William as such and maybe that was influenced by Illustrious talking about him during their return from the airport, Abercrombie asked on what kind of man is in charge of the base and Illustrious was the one who explained from when William came for the first time to their base all the way until his latest operation with Brooklyn adding few parts of the story.

"I…kind of went overzealous when I talk about you on our way from airport" Illustrious said to William sheepishly.

"That so…Well how about you? What do you think when you saw me, Unicorn?" William asked Unicorn while he smiled.

"Um…Commander is a nice person but, your face…it's frightening me a bit" Unicorn answered truthfully.

"Ouch…children's honest words do hurt the most" William said out loud while he cringed.

"Children?" Illustrious asked William with cocked eyebrows.

"She's at destroyer age appearance wise, isn't she?" William commented to Illustrious while he shrugged.

"Agreed…Hmmm, now I know your taste in woman, I'm glad" Illustrious said to William while she smiled widely.

"Wait, really? What's that supposed to mean?" William narrowed his confused gaze at Illustrious.

"Um, can I call you big brother?" Unicorn suddenly asked William.

"That came out of nowhere…May I know the reason?" William was genuinely surprised to say the least.

"I always wanted a big brother, I have a lot of big sisters already" Unicorn said to William with hopeful eyes…

"Hahahahaha, alright alright, you can call me that from now on" William relented and allowed her to call him such.

"Yay! Thank you big brother!" Unicorn said to William while she smiled widely.

"Unicorn, please follow me for a bit. Thank you for your time, milord" Illustrious said to William as she stood up.

"Thank you, big brother" Unicorn said to Illustrious while she smiled and waved at him.

"Don't mention it you two" William said to them while he also waved and smiled.

…William looked to the side to see Takeshi stared at him with confused gaze, William just shrugged and Takeshi also shrugged back then stood up before he left the party area, William kept his gaze at him all the way to the canteen's front door. Well, as long he didn't try to dick around the base William would let him to his own means. Just as he about to enjoy his drink again he saw Abercrombie who sat with Hood on one of the available seats in the corner, she looked like she's telling Hood a story enthusiastically while Hood listened at her while she sipped on her wine…Looking at them from afar, you could mistake them as a daughter who just returned home from school as she enthusiastically tell her mother how her day have been going…To be fair, they do look alike with how their blonde hair and blue eyes matched each other. Few moments passed before Hood pinched Abercrombie's left cheek as she said something while she smiled…Huh, William only assumed that Abercrombie is being handful just like Hood had said. Suddenly though he was rammed by someone from the side, William caught the person and it turned out to be Prinz herself.

"Whoa, careful there" William said to Prinz while he smiled.

"Whoopsie, ehehehehe~" Prinz said to William while she giggled.

"…How many bottles you drank already?" William immediately assumed that Prinz have been drinking.

"I lost count…at three" Prinz said to William as she leaned on his face.

"Damnit Prinz, I do gave you permission to drink freely but that doesn't mean you have to be wasted in every party that we held!" William said to Prinz as he held her face to prevent her advance.

This is the current problem he have with Prinz regarding her drinking problems, she didn't hesitate to drink on daily basis and during a party she could be guaranteed ended up being drunk. Once in a while should be fine but this happened on every party or celebration! She could be uncontrollable too so William made note to always be aware where Prinz was during a party so he could quickly bail her out from causing a scene if something happened…

"Oh come on…We're celebrating! My sister's…recovery! And the new girls! What's wrong with…getting a little wasted, huh?" Prinz asked William while she poked on his right cheek.

"The fact that you have morning patrol duty tomorrow?" William was left unfazed as he stared at Prinz with half closed eye.

"That? Bah! You know, I could hit…a Siren while in the point of passing out…I'm sure…I could do so with a hangover~" Prinz confidently said to William.

"Just so you know I'm going to remember those words of yours…Gneisenau, come here for a bit" William called Gneisenau over.

"Ja kommandant, you need me for something?" Gneisenau asked William.

"Help me a bit by getting her back to her room, she looked like she's about to pass out any moment now" William said to Gneisenau as he handed Prinz over to Gneisenau.

"…Again?" Gneisenau asked William with half closed eyes.

"…Yeah" William said to Gneisenau while he cringed.

"Hah…Come on Prinz" Gneisenau said out loud as she scooped Prinz over on her shoulder.

"Weeeeee~. I'm flying~" Prinz said out loud while Gneisenau carried her back to Ironblood's dorm.

"Sheesh, how many drunkards this base going to get when all the ship girls are here?" William said out loud before he facepalmed.

.

The next morning, William prepared for his trip to Sakura Empire with Belfast's help. Dressed in his white officer blazer, white shirt, black tie, white pants and black shoes, William checked himself in the mirror and he felt he looked neat though when he looked at his face closely he could saw that his beard have started to grown…Guess he forgot to shave in the past few days, Belfast gave him an all clear before she offered him his snub nosed Colt Python handgun which William took and holstered on his holster on the hip. Why did he carry the hand cannon most of the time now? Turns out, he prefer solid firepower and hand cannons are moderately effective against Sirens…Last he read from a field report. William exited the administrative building and immediately saw four girls stood on the front door.

"Atago, Takao, Zuikaku, Shoukaku…Isn't Hood being a little overprotective, again?" William muttered to himself as he walked toward them.

"Ohayou gozaimasu, shikikan-dono" Takao greeted William.

"Ohayou, shikikan!" Zuikaku greeted William.

"Ohayou gozaimasu, shikikan" Atago greeted William.

"Ohayou gozaimasu, shikikan-sama" Shoukaku greeted William.

"Morning ladies…So, your four are my escorts" William said to them while he smiled.

"Hai, with the four of us you have nothing to worry shikikan!" Zuikaku said to William while she grinned.

"I thought so. Where's Takeshi?" William asked as he looked around.

"He went to the toilet" Atago said to William.

Toilet? Well, better went to one because it'll be a long flight from this island all the way to Tokyo. William shrugged as he walked forward to see that the SUV have been prepared, who's going to drive this one? Shoukaku stepped forward a bit and noticed that William wasn't carrying a crutch but he got a walking stick instead. Walking stick? When did he buy one? The truth is that he didn't, Belfast secretly ordered one online because she thought that one day William will have to go outside but carrying a crutch would make it look awkward. So she ordered one with express delivery straight from London and it only took one day before it arrived…the head maid is scary sometimes.

"Hmm, you switched your crutch into walking stick" Shoukaku commented while she smiled.

"Belfast bought one for me, it'll be awkward if I have to use crutches she said. I like it though, makes me looked a little classy, don't you think?" William asked Shoukaku as he spun the stick a bit.

"Perhaps. All you're missing now is a monocle, a pipe smoke, a top hat, thick coat and classic British aristocrat's attitude" Shoukaku said to William while she smiled.

"Huh, right" William said to Shoukaku while he pursed his lips.

"I'm here" Takeshi said out loud from behind William.

"Good, come on let's go. We're late" William said out loud to everyone.

They headed for the airport, specifically the secluded military hangar on it, boarded the C-130 cargo plane and immediately took off and headed straight for Tokyo…Accordingly, the flight will only took around four hours. Nothing eventful happened during the flight, all of them were busy minding their own business. William himself spend his time in flight reading through the database and E-Books, Atago was busy watching videos, Takao took a short nap, Zuikaku and Shoukaku spend the time by talking while Takeshi himself spend majority of his time in flight staring outside the window…Four hours went by, they reached Sakura Empire and currently flown on top of it before landing.

"Look there, shikikan. We're entering Tokyo's airspace" Zuikaku who sat beside William said while she pointed at the scenery outside the plane.

"Wow…the rebuilding progress are quite fast" William said out loud while he smiled.

"Our people valued our work ethics and discipline" Shoukaku said to William.

Little side note, Tokyo was under attack by Eagle Union on a daring raid to crumble the morale of Sakura Empire fleet out there. A task force slipped behind the frontline, two carriers, several battleships and dozens of cruisers and destroyers. The task force dealt significant blow on Tokyo's infrastructure and severely crippled Sakura Empire forces on Tokyo, fortunately Sakura Empire have ship girls on standby in case of an attack on the mainland…That time, 1st, 3rd and 5th Carrier Divisions of Sakura Empire was on shore leave, they immediately joined the fray and filled the sky with hundreds of planes. The scene was described from one of the surviving crewman 'The sight of hundred steel birds diving down on us with bombs, torpedoes, rockets and bullets. They might be outdated compared to our fighters, but they still destroyed eighty percent of our fleet under five minutes'.

…The plane landed on one of the military base's airport, William and the others disembarked and saw several people waiting for them directly in front of the parked plane rear hatch. There's an elderly man dressed like Sakura Empire Commanding Officer and he was escorted by four soldiers with poker face and Type 89 Howa Assault Rifle on their hands, he must be the one in charge of the base and the one Erich told to welcome them. The man walked forward and William managed to take a better look at him, he saw the rank patch and William went tense a bit…the freaking General of the Army of Sakura Empire himself was the one who welcomed them?!

"Good morning Commander Blaze, I'm General Satoshi Kabakura. A pleasure to meet you personally" Kabakura offered his hand as he talked to William.

"Likewise general, my name's William Blaze. Good to be here" William immediately composed himself as he shook Kabakura's hand.

"I see Dr. Koichiro is safe and sound" Kabakura commented as he saw Takeshi behind William.

"Commander Blaze here is really capable, general. He rescued me and kept me safe" Takeshi said to Kabakura while he smiled.

"Good to know. Please, follow me. Let's talk inside" Kabakura said to them as he started to walk.

William and the group followed Kabakura inside the military installation, they went through several corridors until they arrived at double wooden doors. The men that were with them opened the door and revealed a meeting room that looked to be used for confidential meetings, they went inside and seated themselves on the chairs. William subtly noted that the men stayed outside…Hmmm, well, William try not to think too much about it as Kabakura sat in front William.

"We've heard of your prowess Blaze-san, I think every unit of any military force on Earth does" Kabakura said to William while he smiled.

"Really? What part exactly?" William curiously asked Kabakura.

"The part where you fought on the Isle of Terania with The Sirens or the part where you infiltrated a facility full of terrorist and swarmed by Sirens but managed to get out without a single casualties?" Kabakura asked William back as he rested his arms on the table.

"…Ho, that was pretty detailed" William narrowed his gaze at Kabakura.

"Your combat recording become the source of example commander, an example of what one ordinary man could do" Kabakura said to William while he smiled.

"You know, I couldn't do all that without the ship girls" William said to Kabakura honestly.

"That you are, but you still combated Siren infantries by yourself and that is something admirable for anyone out there…It shown our soldiers that the Sirens could be defeated" Kabakura said to William.

"I see" William said as he nodded his head.

…It looks like the combat recording from the camera attachment that William handed over to Lena were being used as reference material, William admitted that he's among the few that survived several encounters against Siren in close quarter and that prompted his recording as valuable source of Intel and direct example on what one man could do against them. But this really gave away his reputation and identity, now there's a good chance that majority of the people out there knew about him and he felt uncomfortable with the thought…he always enjoyed anonymity after all. Suddenly the door was knocked few times before it was opened and several people went inside with trays and trolleys, is it lunchtime already?

"Now, shall we eat something first? We could discuss Dr. Takeshi's situation over meal" Kabakura said to William while he grinned.

"Great idea general" William said to Kabakura while he smiled.

The people that brought the food expertly set everything up under three minutes, the plates, the utensils, the food and then they bowed a bit before they closed the door again. Now, what's in front of them were wide array of food made in Sakura Empire style. William immediately went hungry just from smelling the fragrance of the dishes, the ship girls and Takeshi also looked astonished and delighted at the sight of their lunch. Kabakura nodded his head in satisfaction, he's pretty sure that eating good food would ease any tension between them.

"Whoa…" Takeshi said out loud while he smiled.

"Please, no need to hold back" Kabakura said to them while he smiled.

"Don't mind if we do, general" William said to Kabakura while he also smiled.

Oh yes, don't mind him filling his belly with good food. Looks like the theme for today is sea food, William took some of the fish, the tempura, sushi and few other side dish. William briefly looked around and noted that everyone have begun eating, the ship girls were all chatted merrily as they enjoyed the dish, Takeshi was busy filling himself with food and Kabakura himself already started munching on the tempura shrimp. William smiled as he ate the sushi and then followed by the tempura shrimp, Kabakura noted that William expertly used the chopsticks to eat.

"You know how to use chopsticks" Kabakura commented at William.

"Atago here taught me how" William said to Kabakura as he pointed at Atago who sat beside him.

"Commander William is a fast learner, it didn't take long until he could use it effectively" Atago said to Kabakura while she smiled.

"Hahahaha, is that so…must be tough isn't it? Becoming a multinational leader for a specialized task force? You have a lot of culture to learn" Kabakura asked William while he grinned a bit.

"Yes, you're correct on that one" William said to Kabakura while he smiled.

They ate their lunch while occasionally talked about mundane things, Kabakura felt like he should know the man he's dealing with first…The man that sit in front of him, William Blaze possessed a direct connection that even enough to influence someone like Erich Von Steinberg himself to play on his favor. Plus, the man possessed amazing combat capabilities and he didn't even flinch when he had to face a Siren in close quarter combat. In his eyes, William Blaze was someone Kabakura didn't want to mess with despite him greatly outranked the commander…After he thought a bit, Kabakura decided to get into the main topic of William's visit today.

"…Koichiro-san, I have to be honest. What you did is treachery on the highest order, our emperor himself wasn't pleased to discover that one of his own people are trying to work together with Sirens after what happened between us last time. Accordingly, you should be sentenced to death…But, Chairman Erich is adamant that you are to be spared, that alongside Blaze-san request have been taken into consideration and thus you are spared" Kabakura explained to Takeshi with serious face.

"I can't thank everyone enough for giving me a second chance" Takeshi said to Kabakura as he smiled in relief.

"You should, so honor that by not doing that ever again. Also, your position on Osaka lab has been removed. From now on, you will work directly under the Empire's science division" Kabakura said to Takeshi.

"A promotion?" William curiously asked Kabakura.

"His knowledge and skill should be useful…I take that you have no objection, doctor?" Kabakura asked Takeshi while he intertwined his fingers.

"I-I have none whatsoever general! I am glad!" Takeshi said to Kabakura while he bowed his head a bit.

"But before that, you will have to undergo witness protection program. You and your wife would have to remain incognito as you move to Okinawa" Kabakura said to Takeshi.

"After what I've done, I think I'm in no position to bargain" Takeshi said to Kabakura as he smiled bitterly.

"I'm glad you're a smart man. The details will be given to you later, you will be given three days to head to Osaka to pack your things" Kabakura informed Takeshi.

"Hai, wakarimashita" Takeshi nodded his head in understanding.

"Yosh…Now, Commander Blaze. I've heard that your division work by accepting commissions?" Kabakura asked William as he shifted the topic of conversation.

…What is this? Why Kabakura suddenly mentioned commission? How did he managed to get the information that ALASUC worked by accepting commission? William came to a simple conclusion, Erich must've told him…Its fine, ALASUC didn't limit the commission acceptance from Azur Lane only as they could do so from Crimson Axis and other organization too provided they have the necessary capability to reward them. They're not mercenaries though, if the work didn't suit their purpose then they could flat out refused the commission. Now, if Kabakura mentioned this then William was sure that he will request something from ALASUC.

"Yes. Essentially, we're still under the command of Azur Lane High Command despite we've been given more…freedom in the way how we works. But we are allowed to take on requests or 'commissions' from others and we could choose to work on it or not, I have to warn you that utilizing ship girls resources would cost you quite a bit" William explained to Kabakura regarding the commission.

"I've heard. There's an order to send ship girls to your base in accordance with the direct order from the council, although we need to send them out periodically so as not to arouse suspicion from the Sirens I am willing to immediately send you eight ship girls directly after the commission is complete alongside…this" Kabakura said to William.

Kabakura also shown William a hologram picture that came out of the room hologram projector, it's a model of swept wing aircraft but the model suggested that it's not a fighter or a bomber aircraft. There's a door behind it, hmm that alone served as indication that this aircraft is some kind of transport. However, William noted something because the engine of the aircraft isn't a rotor but it's a jet engine…Wait, they manage to make a Vertical Take Off Landing aircraft that's even larger than Harrier and F-35 Fighter jets?

"…A transport" William said to Kabakura.

"Not just any transport. This is our first prototype for a dropship, Hybrid Transport Model One or HTM-1 or as the engineers like to call 'Acheron'. VTOL craft with jet engines, armed with flexible armament tech derived from wisdom cube, this aircraft could fit in fifty or more people and has capability to fly on Mach four. Impressive piece of work for a prototype, isn't it?" Kabakura asked William while he folded his arms while he smiled confidently.

"It is, I am impressed that our engineer could already produce this kind of aircraft" William said to Kabakura while he stared at the model with awe.

"You must understand that we previously worked with Siren for quite some time, they share some of their tech with us and this is the result" Kabakura explained a little to William.

"Fair enough…So, this aircraft alongside eight ship girls? That's quite a lot for a commission's reward. I'd like some details" William said to Kabakura, now he's interested.

"We could discuss the details later but here's the outline…Yesterday, our military complex on the isle of Furushima was hit by Siren strike team. Those monsters managed to set up shop on two of the island and constantly brought reinforcement there, that army is withering our forces bit by bit. So far we could hold the line by ourselves but this constant deadlock wouldn't last much longer…Few ship girls are already there in the defense of the isle, the task is to reinforce the isle and beat Siren back to wherever they came from" Kabakura explained the situation to William.

"This military complex, is that important to you? I've seen tactics to do torch and burn operation to deny the enemy from acquiring any of your tech and information. Why didn't you do that on this one?" William curiously asked Kabakura.

"…This facility is where we do research on wisdom cubes and the place of our shipyard, it's also our largest staging point for our combat operation on the northern pacific. To put it shortly, it's very important for Sakura Empire to not lose the base as it will definitely cripple our capability on fighting the Sirens there…Can we count on your help?" Kabakura asked William with serious tone.

…So, a military complex, shipyard and wisdom cubes research facility all in one? No wonder Siren want to raze it to the ground so bad. That facility on Furushima could be valued as strategic site and losing it would set back years of research, resources, severe loss of manpower and that will definitely crippled Sakura Empire forces in the area. William understood the situation but he need to know more, but asking for more information could give suggestion to Kabakura that he will accept the commission…Truth to be told, William do wanted to help but he really need to ask the secretaries and fleet representatives opinions. They're the one who knew Siren better than him and the one with more experience in facing them, he want to involve them in the decision making too.

"I have no problem whatsoever, but I will also consult on my secretaries and fleet representatives before executing a high risk commission" William said to Kabakura.

"I understand. How long would you need?" Kabakura asked William.

"I'll let you know when we're done, general" William said to Kabakura.

"Alright, just please don't take too long as our forces will depart for the isle tonight" Kabakura said to William while he smiled somberly.

…After the talk with Kabakura, William and the ship girls decided to take Takeshi to the nearest train station because he had been cleared to return home. After a brief discussion on what transportation he wanted to take, Takeshi said he wanted to ride the train. Not sure why, but William went along with his choice as he probably want to buy some souvenir for his wife…They reached the station with the borrowed car from the military base, after parking the car they immediately headed for the entrance.

"Well, I guess this is it?" Takeshi asked out loud as he turned around.

"Yeah…Sorry I couldn't take you to your home personally, something urgent came up" William said his apology to Takeshi.

"I understand, our forces would definitely need you and the ship girls help there. I'll be fine on my own from here on, this is my home after all" Takeshi said to William as he shrugged.

"Yeah, I reckon…Thanks for everything doc" William said to Takeshi as he extended his hand toward him.

"No, I should be the one who thank you for saving me from a horrible fate. If you weren't there, Sirens would've got to me and I wouldn't have another chance to come back home" Takeshi said to William as he shook William's hands.

"Then let's thank each other…Good luck doc, take care of yourself and your wife" William said to Takeshi as he smiled.

"To you as well commander, may you attain victory in all of your battles" Takeshi said to William while he also smiled.

"Hakase, kore" Atago said to Takeshi.

Atago handed him something, Takeshi looked at what he's handed at and saw a red and blue card. The card shown a picture of him working on the infirmary in sketch artwork, who could've created that? Must been one of the sick girls that was exposed to the gas, the drawing looked exactly like him when he did monitoring to one of the sick girls. There's a message written 'Doctor, thank you for healing us!' and an attached Medal of Honor on it. Takeshi smiled widely, the girls do care for an outsider like him who helped them out…William tapped Takeshi's shoulder, he smiled as he pointed at the card.

"This medal was given to you in recognition of your service. You saved thirteen ship girl's life and for that, your action worth more than the destruction of a Siren's base. Their life's aren't replaceable…You earned it Takeshi" William said to Takeshi while he smiled.

"I…don't know what to say, this really makes me happy" Takeshi said while he smiled widely.

"You could always framed it…Don't forget about us, you hear?" William asked Takeshi.

"For sure…Kimitachi, arigatou gozaimasu. Boku ga kanshahsimasu, shiawase dayo" Takeshi said to the ship girls.

"Doitashimasite hakase, kyoushikete kudasai" Zuikaku said to Takeshi while she smiled.

"Hai…Dewa, sayonara" Takeshi said to the ship girls.

Takeshi bowed his head and waved at William alongside the ship girls as he disappeared into the station, William and the ship girls waved back while they watched all the way until they couldn't see Takeshi anymore…They might suspect the doctor back then, they might be reluctant to work with him few days ago but the doctor is a man of his words and seemed to regret his action back on Southern Ironblood. That's why the girls appreciate what he had done, they may didn't have the chance to thank him personally but that card did and will serve as a memento of his time with ALASUC. Now that one thing is off his check list, he really need to call the ladies back at base regarding this huge commission…But William felt that he's in Tokyo, he haven't been here before and perhaps he should look around a bit? Going here with only business in mind is a bit boring.

"…Well, we're in the middle of Tokyo. Should we go around for a bit?" William suggested out loud to the ship girls.

"Shikikan-dono, have you forgot that we have a commission to think about?" Takao asked William with hands on her hips.

"Not at all Takao, but we're already here so why not go around and enjoy ourselves a bit? You know, since this is my first time being here" William said to Takao while he smiled.

"…I suppose that's fine" Takao relented after she thought about it.

"Hey, why don't we go shopping for a bit?" Atago suggested out loud.

"And carrying it around even if we accept the commission?" Takao asked Atago with cocked eyebrows.

"Didn't you know that these days shops provided delivery service? We could have our things shipped directly to our base" Atago said to Takao while she smiled.

"Really Atago…" Takao said to Atago while she stared with half closed eyes.

"Mou its fine, Takao. Imagine finding some new clothes that might not be available online, I think it's worth the effort to look around for a bit" Shoukaku said to Takao while clasped her hands.

"If nee-sama said so. Shikikan, looks like we will go cloth shopping" Zuikaku said to William.

"…Lead the way then" William said out loud while he shrugged.

After they discussed it a bit, they agreed to stay close to the station and the parked car but they didn't really account for the fact that there's a giant Caucasian man in navy commanding officer uniform, two girls dressed in white with animal ears while carrying a katana and two girls dressed in fancy kimono styled clothes all walked down the streets together. They really stood out among the pedestrians! Everyone stared at them as they walked down the streets while looking for something that could catch their interest…William decided to ignore the stares, he put on a wireless headphone and decided to call his personal secretary, Hood.

"Good afternoon. Did you miss me already, milord?" Hood asked William as soon as she answered the phone call.

"Oohh, you're being flirty today…Something good happened?" William asked Hood on the phone while he smiled.

"You can say that. I just finished the novel that I have with me yesterday, the ending was so adorable it makes my heart squealed in happiness" Hood said to William on the phone before she sighed, she still remember those scenes very well.

"Glad to hear that" William said to Hood on the phone while he nodded his head.

"…By the way, you didn't answer my question" Hood said to William with teasing tone on the phone.

"…Well, how about 'wish you were here with me in Tokyo'? I reckon an afternoon tea on a side street café would be lovely in this weather, especially in the company of refined lady such as yourself" William said to Hood on the phone while he smirked.

"Ufufufu, indeed. I'm afraid I have to decline though, you're thousand kilometers away after all" Hood said to William on the phone after she giggled.

"Hmph. Here I thought you'll do anything for the man you lo-" William said to Hood on the phone when he felt someone clung to his left arm.

"Shikikan-sama, you have four beautiful girls here and you still calling another girl? Aren't the four of us more than enough?" Shoukaku asked William while she playfully frowned.

"Ara ara, naughty boy~" Atago said out loud as she clung to William's right arm.

"Shikikan-dono, let's go there. I think I saw clothes that will fit you" Takao said to William as she pulled his left hand.

"Ah! Yeah! Come on shikikan!" Zuikaku said to William as she pushed him from behind.

"Okay, okay! Easy there ladies!" William said out loud to them.

Well, if they're attracting attention before then now they're making the civilians around them to whisper at each other. The four of them are obviously Sakura Empire ship girls who clung closely at a commander who wore Royal Navy naval uniform! Majority of the civilians didn't know how they exactly operate yet so they're certainly will cause rumors to surface with this little antic! Bah! William decided to give zero fuck on it, he'll let someone above handle any mess regarding their public appearance!

"…You're having fun there?" Hood asked William on the phone with amused tone.

"I'm about to turn into a mannequin for a fashion show, define 'fun' for me?" William asked Hood on the phone with half closed eye.

"Oh I'm sure you'll enjoy it" Hood said to William on the phone.

"I wonder…Alright, enough chit chat. Hood, assemble the fleet representatives and the secretaries online. We have a request for big commission but before accepting it I want to hear you ladies opinions" William said to Hood on the phone.

"Consider it done, wait one moment" Hood said to William on the phone.

They arrived at a large boutique, William cocked his eyebrows as the ship girls lead him in. The boutique were lined up with various clothes, outfits and costumes…Huh, looks like this is the kind of shop where it sells every kind of clothes imaginable. The boutique is also quite vast, safe to say this shop have been successful for quite some time. An employee who stood near the entrance smiled at them, she's about to greet them before she saw William and she sweated a bit because she didn't know English. However, upon seeing four girls with Asian features the shopkeeper immediately assumed them knowing Japanese.

"Irashaimase, okyaku-sama" The shopkeeper said to them which they replied by smiling.

"Okay, four of us will pick an outfit for you and then we'll judge it together!" Zuikaku said to William.

"Right, sure" William simply replied.

And just like that William was left alone in the middle of the boutique with the employees and several customers staring at him, William only shrugged while he grinned as he started to inspect some clothes around him…Did he really need additional clothes? Maybe, he didn't have much clothes back on the base so possessing some more outfits when he have to go outside would be nice. He'll let the girls pick out his clothes, admittedly girls are more proficient when it concerns fashion sense in which William got almost zero knowledge. After waiting for quite a bit while he browsed for some good boxers, the girls returned each with their selected outfits on their hands. They dragged him to the nearest changing room, the first one that will presented their findings is Shoukaku.

"Try this please" Shoukaku said to William while she smiled.

William wordlessly took the clothes and he went inside the changing room…After a while, William opened the changing room doors and presented himself to the waiting ship girls. He's dressed in light brown leather jacket, crimson t-shirt, black leather gloves, black jeans with sunglasses donned on his face and a dog tag around his neck. William come out of the room and he honestly caused few ladies customer to stop and looked at him.

"He looked stylish" Zuikaku said out loud while she smiled.

"Have to agree. All you lack now is a motorcycle" Atago said out loud.

"Not bad, not bad at all" Takao said out loud.

"Alright, my turn!" Zuikaku said out loud as she handed William her chosen outfit.

"Okay" William simply said to Zuikaku.

Zuikaku's choice of clothes caused William to narrow his eye a bit, but he shrugged and wore it anyway…William opened the door to the changing room, he now wore blue turtleneck sweater with black blazer, denim blue jeans, non-prescription oval glasses and an analog watch. Mhm, he had to say that he looked dashing especially with slicked back hair style which will turn him into your standard anime antagonist…

"Semi casual outfit really looks good on you, shikikan-sama" Shoukaku said to William while she clasped her hands.

"I think you're right" William said out loud as he turned around to check how he looked.

"Shikikan-dono, that outfit should serve you well for your outing" Takao said to William while she smiled.

"I think you will look even better if you change your shoes" Atago said to William while she smiled.

"…Not happening" William said to Atago, he hate to took off and put on his shoes multiple times.

"Oh well. My choice are next" Atago said to William.

Atago dumped the clothes she chose to William and the man reentered the changing room to change his clothes again, the girls turn out choose many nice clothes for him to use…William came out of the room and this time he's dressed in black overcoat with grey sweater underneath, black gloves and comfy long black pants. Simple, neat and should function really well during winter time…William started to see a pattern with how the girls choose the clothes for him, why does most of them selected the clothes with black color on it?

"Whoa, looking neat shikikan!" Zuikaku said to William while she grinned.

"You could very well use that during winter, right?" Atago asked out loud.

"Oh right, that looks very warm Atago" Takao commented while she nodded her head.

"Indeed, but don't you think it's a bit tight?" Shoukaku said to Atago while she pointed at William.

"Shikikan do have big body, I'll go ask for the biggest size available later" Atago said to Shoukaku.

"And maybe get him a wool hat while you're at it" Shoukaku suggested to Atago.

"Well for now it's working as intended and he looked dashing, I considered that as a plus. Now, it's your turn Takao-nee" Atago said to Takao while she smiled.

"…I'm not that knowledgeable regarding outfits, but here you go shikikan-dono" Takao said to William as she handed the clothes to him.

"Alright, let's see" William receive the clothes from Takao.

Takao's choice were lighter than the others, oh well William shrugged as he started to put on the clothes Takao choose…After a while, William shown the ship girls how he looked. William wore green shirt, light brown cargo pants, complimented with sunglasses and small sling bag. This time however the girls took a while in analyzing his looks and that caused William to stare in confusion. Did he looked weird or something? He looked good in his own opinion when he checked himself out in the mirror earlier…

"How do I look?" William curiously asked them.

"Takao-nee" Atago said out loud.

"W-What?" Takao asked Atago with nervous smile.

"Shikikan looked extremely casual" Atago commented on William's appearance.

"Agreed" Zuikaku said out loud.

"I-Is it bad?!" Takao asked out loud nervously.

"No, not at all. It looked good on him…Then again, why do I have a feeling that any clothes will look good on you?" Shoukaku asked out loud while she stared at William and smiled.

"…Don't get any funny ideas, Shoukaku" William got a bad feeling regarding that stare of hers.

"Awww, don't ruin the fun shikikan-sama" Shoukaku said to William while she smiled.

"Milord?" Hood asked William on the phone.

"Ah Hood, is everyone already online?" William asked Hood on the phone.

"Yes, since fifteen minutes ago…" Hood said to William on the phone.

"You were all listening…" William said out loud on the phone with half closed eye.

"To be honest master, we would like to see what's really happening there" Belfast said to William on the phone.

"Too bad eh Belfast?" William asked Belfast on the phone while he smirked.

"It is, truly" Belfast said to William.

…William sighed in relief because if he somehow has a camera active on his body then the world will see William Blaze and his boxer inside the changing room that could serve as perfect blackmail material, which will certainly be embarrassing for him. If the secretaries were online already then he need to get this done, there's no way he could talk about the commission while shopping for clothes and pose as mannequin…Okay, he had tried every clothes that the girls picked for him. Should he buy those clothes? Those will certainly expanded his wardrobe.

"Shikikan-sama, which clothes do you like the most?" Atago asked William while she smiled.

"I like all of them, I think I'm going to buy all the outfits that you ladies picked" William said to them while he smiled.

"Tch" Shoukaku clicked her tongue as she stared sideways.

"I should've known" Atago said out loud as she facepalmed.

"He took the easy way out" Takao commented while she folded her arms.

"Typical anime protagonist!" Zuikaku said to William while she frowned.

"…How come you ladies aren't satisfied with that answer?!" William was honestly shocked beyond belief, he thought he did the right thing.

""""Why do you think!?"""" The four of them asked William at the same time.

"Damn…" William winced to their respond.

How come something went so nice and easy only for it to get fucked in the last minute anyway?! Didn't they have nice atmosphere and scenes going on between each other just few seconds ago?! All of a sudden though the ship girls burst out giggling at each other and that leaved William even more confused, what the hell ladies!? Well, he could rest assured knowing that the entire skits before is nothing but a mere inside joke to those four…at least he didn't disappoint them or something.

"Okay, enough with the jokes. Hand over the clothes shikikan, we'll take care of it. You should discuss the situation with the others" Zuikaku said to William as she extended her hand.

"Might take a while, what are you ladies going to do?" William asked them while he handed some of the clothes back at Zuikaku.

"We're going to shop for our own clothes of course, maybe you could also give your input on the outfit that we choose?" Atago asked William while she smiled softly.

"Heh fine…Here, take this" William said to Atago while he handed her a card.

"Eh? Your credit card?!" Atago asked William with surprised expression.

"Consider the outfit you four will buy a gift from me" William simply said while he smiled.

He got more than enough to empty the entire store and still has some for a trip around the world, he has that much money in his bank account so indulgence for once in a while shouldn't hurt…Oh you wonder how the fuck William has so much money? Simple. He never really use the money he earned from all his time working in the military, he only used it once in a while for shits and giggles or when his little sister do need some money…Oh yeah! His little sister! William just remembered that he haven't contact her for a long time, he really need to speak with her later when he got some free time.

"Thank you shikikan!" Atago lunged and tackled William in a bear hug which surprised him.

"Atago!" Takao reprimanded Atago's action.

"Thank you shikikan-sama!" Shoukaku also jumped and hugged William tightly.

"Shoukaku nee-sama!" Zuikaku said out loud with faint blush on her cheek.

"…Ugh, those two! They're causing a scene!" Takao said out loud before she sighed and facepalmed.

"P-Please don't mind us over here! We're really sorry!" Zuikaku said to the onlookers while she bowed her head in apology.

…William opted to go out of the store while the girls do some shopping for their own, he choose to sat on one of the benches outside underneath a tree. He then explained the commission to the secretaries and the representatives, what they need to do and the reward that General Kabakura would give upon its completion…No matter how William looked at it, this commission would take significant resources if they have to hit and destroy not one but two Siren military base. He'll be honest, he doesn't have much experience in siegecraft, that's more of Lena's thing and he's the one who carry the guns alongside explosives to do the heavy field work…He should consult on those ship girls who faced them during the battle on the north pole, he'll need their experience and he should review their combat recordings too.

"Hmmm, eight ship girls and one prototype transport? All that so we could help with the isle's defenses…I have to say, that's a generous reward" Enterprise said to William on the phone.

"It is…But here comes the question, we still don't know how powerful they are. Hood, how is the satellite imagery over the isle?" William asked Hood on the phone.

"I have done some observation milord and safe to say, the situation isn't looking good for Sakura Empire forces. If we're going to accept the commission we would need a large fleet of dozen of ship girls to handle two base of Siren forces. Sakura Empire already have reinforcement en route to the island, but without our help that reinforcement is like lambs that is being brought into a slaughterhouse. If we're going to participate on this battle, we shouldn't do it halfheartedly" Hood explained to the audience on the phone.

"I agreed with Hood, kommandant. Judging from the image and the possibility, this battle could very well take days or even weeks just to contest one isle…We have to be prepared. That's being said, the Ironbloods are ready to head into the battle. All you have to do, is to give the word" Bismarck said to William on the phone.

"The same goes for Sakura Empire, shikikan-sama. Our forces took a deadly blow in defending that strategic position, ship girls reinforcement will greatly relieve the tension so we are ready to fight them. Just say the word" Nagato said to William on the phone.

"…Your orders, milord?" Hood asked William on the phone.

"…Can Royal Navy and Eagle Union hold the fort?" William asked out loud on the phone while he smiled.

"Who do you take us for!? Of course we could! We shall protect our base with our life!" Queen Elizabeth said to William on the phone with haughty tone.

"Rest assured commander, we will stood guard and make sure you and the others will have home to return" Enterprise said to William on the phone.

"Don't worry, I'm just joking. I know that you ladies could do it, I trusted all of you…In that case. Bismarck, Nagato, ready everyone that could fight immediately. We will rendezvous on Furushima and take the fight straight into their doorstep" William said out loud on the phone.

"Ja kommandant!" "Wakarimashita, shikikan-sama" Bismarck and Nagato said to William on the phone.

"This meeting is done. We'll head over to Furushima directly...That is all" William said out loud as he ended the call.

…Done and done, looks like William would work directly with Ironblood and Sakura Empire ship girls on this one. Hood would be the one who assemble the rooster for deployment, she will probably sent around twenty to twenty four ship girls as reinforcement. Their reference is Terania and North Pole battles, if Siren possess two military base and ass load of army out there…They may need more than two dozen ship girls to face them on this fight, but William will assess the situation first before asking more reinforcement from Hood. William looked at his phone, he then decided to call Kabakura's personal number.

"Yes? Who is it?" Kabakura asked William on the phone.

"It's Commander Blaze, general…I'm informing you that we have decided to accept the commission" William said to Kabakura on the phone.

"Excellent news! Our second reinforcement wave will depart from our headquarters in few hours. We'll be waiting for your arrival, the details for the operation will be sent to you momentarily" Kabakura said to William on the phone with relieved tone.

.

…It was nearly dawn on Isle of Furushima, both Sakura Empire and Siren forces stood in guard on their respective position as they waited for one another to continue the fierce battle that wreck the isle yesterday…Kaga, a ship girl aircraft carrier of Sakura Empire 1st Carrier Division walked down the corridor of the traditional styled building the ship girls stayed at, a building dedicated for the VIPs of Sakura Empire Armed Force. Kaga walked toward the room at the end of the dimly lit wooden corridor, she passed several technician along the way who gave her short nod as greetings which she returned. She reached the room on the end of the corridor, she politely knocked on the door before she opened the sliding tatami door. Kaga was immediately faced with a girl who dressed in a pajama kimono sat in the middle of the room, that girl is her own sister…Akagi heard the door to her room was opened by someone and she noted that it's Kaga who did that, she wondered on what Kaga want with her so early in the morning? It's not like they have planned mission for today, maybe Kaga just want to visit her…

"Ohayou gozaimasu, Akagi nee-sama" Kaga greeted Akagi as she bowed her head a bit.

"…Ara, ohayou Kaga…What brings you to me so early in the morning?" Akagi asked Kaga while she smiled.

"Amagi nee-sama asked me to wake you up, she have something important to say to the ship girls" Kaga said to Akagi.

"I see…Please wait for a bit while I prepare myself" Akagi said to Kaga, it looks like their elder sister have something planned.

"As you wish" Kaga said to Akagi as she closed the door.

Akagi stood up, she decided to take a quick shower, dressed in her usual attire and then meet up with Kaga outside her room. Together they walked out of the building and headed straight for the regional headquarters building, along the way Akagi and Kaga noted that the soldiers were busy preparing for something and the fact that they haven't see any ship girls around the area. Kaga lead her into a room deep within the headquarters building, they opened it and found all of the ship girls on this isle have gathered inside the room. The one that stood on the podium facing them all is their eldest sister, Amagi. She turned her head toward the only door to the room to find her two little sisters who finally arrived to the meeting…Akagi stared at Amagi when she noticed one small thing about her, her eye bags are faintly black.

"Akagi, you're the last one to arrive" Amagi said to Akagi while she smiled.

"Amagi nee-sama, did you rest last night?" Akagi asked Amagi while she frowned a bit.

"I didn't sleep well, that is why I spend the rest of the night by assessing our situation" Amagi confessed while she smiled bitterly.

"You should take care of yourself more nee-sama" Akagi said to Amagi with concerned tone.

"Thank you Akagi, I'll be sure to get some rest after this…Headquarters have notified us that the second wave of reinforcement is on the way here, they also said that they brought ship girls as reinforcement" Amagi said then she immediately started the meeting, Amagi turned on the projector that displayed the plan she had created into the screen beside her.

"Then that shall ease our burden in the frontline greatly. But why didn't you look happy, Amagi nee-sama?" Akagi asked Amagi curiously, that's because Amagi didn't smile despite the good news.

"…Sirens is definitely plotting for something" Amagi said to Akagi.

"Of course but what makes you come to that conclusion?" Akagi asked Amagi.

"The evidence is there. They forced us on a desperate defensive position, fully knowing that we cannot lose this isle…They forced us to divert more units here and even went so far to make headquarters desperate enough to call ship girls reinforcement, they're definitely planning something" Amagi said to Akagi.

"Maybe they are nee-sama, but we shouldn't let that distract us from the real objective here. We have to fight them, in attrition battles if we have to. We need to hold on as long as we could, until our reinforcement arrives and drive them back to whatever they came from" Kaga said to Amagi while she folded her arms.

"You're right regarding that, Kaga…I already have an operation planned for today. Last night we received Intel that our forward operation base or FOB are seized by Siren ground forces with Siren ship girl's support, today we're going to retake the FOB with the same manner. Why? Because that FOB has so many supplies on the storage in preparation for an offensive to their base and losing them will definitely impact our army's performance in the near future. I already proposed this plan to the local commander, he agreed to send out his forces to retake the base with the condition that we supported their advance" Amagi explained the operation for today.

The FOB was designated by Sakura Empire command as the staging ground to raid one of the Siren's base, unfortunately their close distance to the enemy's position mean they are easier to spot and thus attacked fiercely. It didn't take long until the FOB defenders fell or retreated from the site, the Sirens immediately locked the site down and posted sizeable forces to hold the area and perhaps use it as staging ground to attack Sakura Empire forces. Amagi immediately proposed a plan to counter attack against them, they need to retake the area before they're able to use their prototype weaponry against the Siren's base. Local commander immediately agreed to the plan with condition that all of the ship girls will participate to ensure the mission is a success, Amagi agreed on the condition and she immediately planned for the operation to retake the FOB.

"Ground operation support huh? It's not the first time, I'm ready to do it, Amagi-san" Hiryuu said to Amagi while she smiled.

"I like your enthusiasm, Hiryuu…The operation is a simple frontal assault through the southern beachhead, marines and armor will land there with Akagi, Kaga and Hiryuu supporting them with aircrafts. Kawakaze, you will act as vanguard rapid responder for any Siren ship girls counter attack. Kinu, you will act as Kawakaze's support when they show up and I will provide overwatch and tactical orders. Yuubari, Kako, you two will stay with me…Is that clear?" Amagi asked out loud to the ship girls.

"""""""Hai!"""""""" The ship girls responded to Amagi.

"Good. This meeting is done so please eat some breakfast, study the plan further and we execute the operation at eight o'clock. Dismissed" Amagi said to the ship girls.

The ship girls immediately dispersed from the room as they headed to the mess hall to fill their belly with breakfast, however Akagi and Kaga remained as they stared at Akagi who stared at the screen to make sure her plan is flawless. Amagi know that the operation is quite simple, it isn't hard to plan for this operation but the chance of this operation going south is quite high. Siren won't stand still when they retake the FOB, Siren will surely send some reinforcement to face their unit. Sakura Empire only able to muster limited number of forces to retake the base, they won't even have tank support…It's all depend on the ship girls to make sure this mission to went off without hitch.

"Onee-sama" Akagi called at Amagi.

"Yes, what is it?" Amagi asked Akagi as she turned around.

"…There's something you haven't told us, isn't it?" Akagi said to Amagi as she stared at her.

"You're quite sharp. Yes I do…But it won't be any concern for now, I'll tell you two when the time is right" Amagi said to Akagi while she smiled reassuringly.

"If you say so nee-sama, we trust your judgment" Akagi said to Amagi while she smiled.

"…Now go to the mess hall you two, I will join you shortly" Amagi said to Akagi and Kaga.

""Hai"" Amagi and Kaga bowed a bit then left the room.

…Amagi looked back at the screen once more, what she thought right now isn't about the operation but the reinforcement that will come from the mainland. Amagi had heard that the reinforcement will included ship girls under the command of ALASUC, Azur Lane Anti Siren Unit Command. Amagi herself only heard the stories regarding this group from Akagi and Kaga. Supposedly, the unit already exist as far when Azur Lane was first conceived but kept under tight wraps. At that time, Crimson Axis haven't defected from Azur Lane yet…The unit itself is their primary adversary during the Great War, now that they're allies again Amagi have taken the liberty to access the files concerning ALASUC current situation.

The base is located on northern pacific region, their operational and combat capability is higher than any nation on the planet relatively speaking. Their unit has actively fought the Sirens and were involved in the battle on the North Pole, a battle on Terania isle and a battle over an unknown Island. In all of those major engagements, the ship girls successfully took down or escaped from Siren forces. Their stellar achievement is also available in video recording from the point of view of their commanding officer, William Blaze. Speaking of the commander, Amagi actually tried to access his files but not even her clearance as strategic advisor of Sakura Empire forces is enough to warrant access to his true files. Yes, she managed to access the fabricated one for public use but she knew better than to trust that one…

The files were too clean. It was written in the public record files that William Blaze served in Azur Lane Marines prior to the Great War, he was handpicked straight from Royal Marines after graduating from a Naval Academy. His service in marines division brought him on several tours of duty, from the battlefield in Europe, Africa and all the way to Asia. He was then moved to rear administrative work for two years, this is the part that Amagi suspected the most about him. There are no records whatsoever regarding his administrative work on any records available, at this point Amagi deduced that something must've happened behind the scenes that require William Blaze to disappear. He was then mysteriously and suddenly assigned to ALASUC after two years of that suspicious administrative work, he replaced the previous commanding officer and so far he proved to be exemplary…

A soldier of his caliber? He must be involved in Special Forces division, Azur Lane aren't that stupid to waste such potential. The records are the prove she needed because even when the whole scenes aren't shown, he managed to infiltrate a hostile facility and fight his way out like a trooper by himself so that's the proof she needs. He makes her anxious to be honest, his record lacks details and some of the clues she gathered didn't add up with the public records. For example, it wasn't specified what unit he served with and what was his position…But if he's as deadly and capable as the recording shown her, then she could rest easy knowing that he's the one in charge of ALASUC reinforcement to this isle. She could continue her investigation later, she better go to the mess hall before Akagi deemed her taking too long and drag her forcefully out…

"This is Task Force Commander Meguro, all units report in!" Commander Meguro said out loud on the radio.

"Unit one, ready to go" The first marine mechanized assault unit responded on the radio.

"Unit two, we're in position" The second marine mechanized assault unit responded on the radio.

"Unit three, we're ready storm the base" The special force platoon on standby near the FOB responded on the radio.

"Unit four, we're ready to move in as soon the shelling are finished" Amagi responded on the radio.

"Artillery team, we're ready to commence shelling on your word commander" The artillery team that are on standby responded on the radio.

The units are on standby to hit the FOB that were guarded by Siren infantries, Spider Tanks, plasma cannon emplacement and several jets parked on the spare land inside the FOB. The plan is simple, shelled the defenses and softened them up as much as they could with single artillery barrage on the marked site by the Special Forces platoon. After the shelling are completed, the marine mechanized assault unit will waltz in from the southern perimeter where the beach area is rocky to aid the marines for cover. They will assault the base under the cover of fighter and bombers support from Akagi, Kaga and Hiryuu…If Sirens try to reinforce the base? Kawakaze, Kinu, Yuubari and Kako would handle them, as ship girls they're the crucial unit on this mission. Without them, the assault forces attack would be futile when Siren counterattacked.

"This is team three, target marked" The special force platoon leader said on the radio.

"Target designated. Artillery team, clear to begin bombardment" Commander Meguro said on the radio.

"Roger that, we're firing now" Artillery team said out loud on the radio.

…Several cannon fire sounds could be heard from the distance, Amagi took out a binocular and watched the base. She waited for several seconds and the artillery rounds rained the base, the Siren forces on the base immediately went on alert. The shells destroyed a quarter of their cannon emplacement and took out several parked jets, several of their infantries were torn to pieces and splattered yellow blood everywhere. Amagi clicked her tongue in dissatisfaction, it would seems the artillery failed to take out half of their intended target…Well, it can't be helped, shit happens. Amagi quickly looked at Akagi, Kaga and Hiryuu who already had their riggings ready.

"The shelling has stopped but it's only moderately effective…Akagi, Kaga, Hiryuu, launch your bombers and target those emplacement in the southern perimeter" Amagi said to the three of them.

"Hai, nee-sama" Kaga said to Amagi.

"Bombers away" Hiryuu said out loud.

"Unit four here shikikan, there's still some defensive emplacement remaining on the southern perimeter. We will send in our bombers" Amagi said to Meguro on the radio.

"Damnit! Roger that Amagi-san" Meguro said to Amagi on the radio.

Akagi, Kaga and Hiryuu launched their fighter and bomber aircrafts, the planes they summoned immediately filled the skies and headed into the base like angry swarm of locust. The three carriers prioritized the defensive emplacement on the southern perimeter first, the emplacement immediately opened fire at the aircrafts. The plasma bolts are admittedly slower than AA guns bullets so the three girls still managed to control their planes to dodge the projectiles easily, their main problem would be if they installed those pulse laser point defenses which could very well wreck their planes in one hit to the mainframe…The planes dived in before they quickly dropped their bombs on the emplacement and immediately destroyed them, the planes pulled up to avoid crashing to the ground as Siren forces scrambled to do whatever they can to defend their position.

"Defensive emplacement on the southern perimeter are neutralized. Unit one and two, you're clear to advance" Amagi said out loud on the radio.

"Roger, we're starting our landing!" Unit one leader said to Amagi on the radio.

"…Marines are on their way to the beach, they're starting their assault…Support them Kaga, help unit two to break through those cannon emplacement on the base entrance. Akagi, blow the walls so the marines could storm in with less resistance" Amagi ordered to Kaga and Akagi.

"Hai nee-sama" "Wakatta nee-sama" Akagi and Kaga said to Amagi.

"Siren ship girls with their escorts are approaching us!" Kako said to Amagi.

"Right on schedule. Kawakaze, Kinu, hold them off" Amagi said to Kawakaze and Kinu.

""Hai!"" Both ship girls said, break off from their formation and immediately moved to intercept.

"Yuubari, Kako, start shelling those mass produced ships that's approaching us. Let Kinu and Kawakaze handle the ship girls" Amagi said to Yuubari and Kako.

"Yes Amagi-san. Yuubari, let's go" Kako said to Amagi then break off from formation.

Things went as planned for now, Sirens were being predictable so far. Kawakaze and Kinu respectively drawn their katana from the sheath, both of them glided at maximum speed toward the advancing Siren forces. Taking out the ship girls would be an extreme challenge for only two of them, but both Kinu and Kawakaze are deadly proficient with their katanas and the quickest way to kill a Siren ship girl is arguably by direct melee attack. Siren sent in several Scavengers, Navigators and a Smasher…Kinu and Kawakaze would be in for a tough fight, but they successfully avoided the mass produced Siren ships. It's open sesame…

"Kawakaze, take the left side!" Kinu said to Kawakaze.

"Understood!" Kawakaze said to Kinu as she broke off to the left.

Kawakaze dashed quickly to one Explorer on the right side of their formation, she fired several shots from her cannon which Kawakaze effortlessly dodged. Kawakaze readied her katana, she jammed it in the Siren's stomach before she yanked the sword to the right and causing the Explorer to fell into the sea with massive bleeding on her lower left stomach. Another Explorer dashed close to Kawakaze and attacked with its shield like rigging, Kawakaze successfully blocked the attack before she slid the Explorer off the water. The Explorer's feet were off the water and she's about to fell down, but before that happened Kawakaze brought down her sword in lightning speed and split the creature into two. Kawakaze wasted zero seconds moving to her next target, but her katana strike was blocked and that forced her to reposition. She noted that several Explorers and a Navigator managed to surround her, Kawakaze sighed and nodded her head before she set her stance.

"Surrounding me huh? Fine…I'll finish this in an instant" Kawakaze said out loud.

Two Explorers charged at her, Kawakaze ducked when one went for her head and she quickly stabbed the creature in the neck. An Explorer manage to get a hit on Kawakaze with her rigging, Kawakaze winced in pain before she quickly react by pulling the sword out then diagonally slashed the creature clean from her right shoulder all the way to her left lower torso. The two remaining two Explorers and a Navigator opted to use their cannons this time, Kawakaze swiftly stride and circle around the three remaining Siren on her sight. She released torpedo barrage which forced the Sirens to reposition but that's the gap she looked for because as soon as they did that she charged at them in lightning speed. She sliced off the neck on one of the Explorer, dashed then stabbed the other in the neck before she jumped, spun in the air and slammed down her katana on top of the Navigator's head which successfully split her head in two…Kawakaze landed on the water, she swung her katana sideway once to get rid of the yellow blood and sheathed the sword as she looked back at the carnage she just caused with dead Siren corpses floating on top of the sea.

"Tch, I only got the small fries…" Kawakaze muttered to herself.

Meanwhile Kinu charged forward at the Smasher, several Navigators and two Explorer, The Sirens wasted no time firing their weaponry. Kinu nimbly avoided the flying shells and laser pulses, she grinned as she accelerated even further and get in close at one Explorer who also charged at her while firing her torpedoes and cannons. Kinu jumped while she swung her sword, The Explorer fell seconds later as her head had been decapitated. Kinu quickly landed and get close to one of the Navigator, she climbed the rigging on her rear to avoid the cannon fire but the other Sirens didn't hesitate to fire at their own allies. Kinu was forced to jump off the Navigator which were hit by dozens of shells and several torpedoes.

"Those whackjobs were nuts!" Kinu commented while she gritted her teeth.

Kinu landed on the water but the spot she landed have been targeted by the Siren ship girls who quickly rained the spot with relentless weapon fire, Kinu clicked her tongue as she pulled back a bit to avoid the projectiles. When the Sirens were done firing Kinu immediately retaliates, she rapidly fired her guns at the Siren's position. But the projectiles were stopped by the Smasher who deployed her energy shielding field, Kinu dashed forward once more and she intended to break that shield. Kinu launched a torpedo at the shield but the last Explorer stood in front of it and took the torpedo directly, she sacrificed herself to make sure the shield still up and protected The Smasher and the remaining Navigators. Kinu knew she doesn't have much option left, she dashed forward and rammed through the shielding field which destroyed it. The Siren ship girls immediately moved in to kill Kinu when she managed to break the shielding, Kinu grinned as she kept charging toward them.

"Don't even think about it!" Kinu declared boldly at The Sirens.

Kinu fired off her cannons rapidly and unleashed her torpedoes at the approaching Siren ship girls, this time all of them jumped in the air to get a bead on her. The Kinu smirked as she fire all of her cannons including her AA guns to provide saturating fire, the barrage forced the Sirens ship girls to protect themselves and Kinu launched herself upwards to meet them. She stabbed one of the Navigator in the head, took out her sword, used the dead navigator as stepping platform and launched herself at the last Navigator. Just like before, The Smasher readied her cannons and fired at Kinu who's still attached to the Navigator. Kinu used the Navigator again to dash toward the Smasher who used her multiple limbs rigging to protect herself, Kinu grabbed on to the limbs and threw the Smasher down to the sea. The Smasher impacted the sea surface but before she can recover Kinu dived down toward the creature with her katana pointed at it, she stabbed the creature so hard in the head that the kinetic force is enough to cause huge water splash on the area.

"Kinu here, ship girls eliminated" Kinu said to Amagi on the radio.

"Excellent. Yuubari, Kako, how were the escorts?" Amagi asked both of them on the radio.

"We're still fighting them Amagi-san!" Yuubari said to Amagi on the radio.

"Unit one here! We are pinned down near the south western wall by plasma cannons! We need fire support!" Leader of unit one said out loud on the radio.

"Stand by unit one. Akagi, help them out" Amagi said to Akagi.

"Understood! You stubborn Sirens shall fall!" Akagi said out loud.

Akagi launched her bombers and the planes immediately headed for the plasma cannons that pinned down the marines on south western walls, Akagi planned to directly bomb the emplacement but the Siren troopers realized that her bombers will cause severe damage to their cannons that they shifted fire upwards toward her planes. Akagi dispersed the planes from formation and expertly directed her planes to bomb several key target in the current sector, she managed to obliterate an entire Siren trooper squad with one HE bomb from her plane and then unload the rest at the defensive plasma cannon emplacement. The marines realized that the cannon that pinned them down to their cover are no longer firing, they quickly form up and started their direct assault with guns blazing.

"Nice work! We are moving! Thanks for the help, girls!" Unit one leader said to the ship girls on the radio.

"Unit four, we got a situation" Commander Meguro said to Amagi on the radio.

"What is it, shikikan?" Amagi asked Meguro on the radio.

"Our main base is under attack by large Siren forces. I need you to leave some ship girls to continue providing support for the operation while you and few others return here to provide support for the main base" Meguro informed to Amagi regarding the situation on the radio.

"Understood. Listen everyone, change of plans. Akagi, Kaga, you're going with me. Hiryuu, keep providing support for the assault forces, Yuubari, Kako, you two support her. Kawakaze, Kinu, make sure none will disturb them" Amagi said to everyone on the radio.

"""""Hai!""""" The ship girls responded.

Amagi, Akagi and Kaga immediately head back to their base, it's fifteen minutes away from the area they're on with their top speed. Along the way, Akagi couldn't help but think that The Sirens really predicted them to recapture the FOB. When the bulk of Sakura Empire forces alongside the ship girls are away from the headquarters The Sirens immediately strike it while it's vulnerable…The timing that the Siren choose is very convenient, it's as if this is their goal this entire time.

"Nee-sama?" Kaga asked Akagi who moved while deep in thought.

"Their timing is too perfect" Akagi commented on the situation.

"Astute, Akagi. Yes, this must be Siren's real attack and their real intention in capturing our FOB" Amagi said to Akagi.

Amagi also believed that from the timing The Siren choose then their real objective is to assault their local headquarters, if that's the case then they have been played by them…Amagi started to assume many things, how many did The Sirens brought to pound their headquarters? Who's in charge of the attack? Where did their forces come from? Portals? So many hypothesis but Amagi suppose she will find out soon enough. They arrived to their headquarters and the three of them gasped, their headquarters is under heavy fire and burning from the constant bombardment by Siren ship girls, the soldiers and other personnel struggled to control the situation and fight Sirens forces at the same time. Amidst all of that, the three of them recognized The Siren that stood still watching the entire thing unfold from the beach area. The Siren used sailor clothes with spats, her white hair tied in high ponytail and her bright yellow eyes displayed joy and madness at the sight in front of her.

"Purifier!" Kaga called out the name of The Siren.

"Oho? Ah it's been awhile! Haven't seen you three for months!" Purifier said out loud as she turned her head around toward them three and she grinned.

"Enough talk!" Kaga said out loud.

Kaga immediately charged at Purifier who's more than happy to be her opponent, Kaga threw several of her paper planes which turned into Zero fighters that immediately opened fire at Purifier. However the crazy Siren managed to avoid dozens of bullets being fired at her with relative ease, Purified summoned her riggings from underneath the sea surface and rode on top of it. Purifier fired several pulse laser at Kaga who jumped off and flew toward Purifier with flying punch at her, Purifier grinned wickedly when she caught Kaga's punch from landing on her face which caused Kaga to widen her eyes.

"Awww, Kaga, I just wanted to chat" Purifier said to Kaga while she grinned.

"By massacring the humans on this base?!" Kaga asked Purifier with outraged tone.

"Hey, they're weaklings. Don't you really value power? You have tremendous power, why did you stick with them?" Purifier said to Kaga while she grinned.

"Oh shut up!" Kaga said out loud as she launched a kick toward Purifier.

Purifier eyes went half closed as she grabbed Kaga's left feet, Kaga once again was left shocked at how powerful Purifier actually is despite being smaller than her. Purifier just swung Kaga toward the beach area where she hit the water surface, then beach sand before she hit a coconut tree that finally stopped her momentum…Akagi immediately moved toward Kaga to check for her injuries, Kaga winced when Akagi picked her up.

"Oops" Purifier said out loud while she smirked.

"Kaga!" Akagi asked Kaga as she shook her.

"Nee-sama…" Kaga said to Akagi while she winced.

"Don't just attack recklessly, we need a plan to beat her" Akagi said to Kaga while she frowned.

"Come on! That all you can do?! You certainly have gone weak, Kaga!" Purifier taunted Kaga while she grinned.

BOOM!

Purifier was thrown back as a battleship grade round impacted the rigging, she fell down into the water. Purifier swam back up with half closed eyes, she really didn't take Amagi as an aggressive woman but it would turn out she won't hesitate to fire at those who she considered to be worthy of her bullet. Amagi stared at Purifier while she scowled and narrowed her gaze that's filled with hostility at Purifier…

"She's right. You are noisy" Amagi said to Purifier.

"Now that's more like it!" Purifier said out loud while she grinned and get back on her rigging.

"Amagi-san! We successfully recaptured our forward base!" Hiryuu said to Amagi on the radio.

"Good, head back to the main base immediately and provide support!" Amagi said to Hiryuu on the radio.

"Understood!" Hiryuu said to Amagi on the radio.

"Wow, taking the three of you at once should be really challenging! But don't worry, until everyone on this base are dead, I have time to play around with you three!" Purifier said out loud as she retreated back to the shallow water.

Purifier snapped her finger and several portals showed up that spawned various Siren ship girls which were joined by those that's already with Purifier before, Amagi grimaced at the sight. They're going to face that many ship girls? Kaga and Akagi rejoined Amagi as they prepared themselves to face around two dozen Siren ship girls, if they're going to fight them they will need strategize because they're severely outnumbered and outgunned. Akagi clicked her tongue, they really have to face something troublesome…The mass produced Siren ships around them also continued the bombardment as the Siren ship girls are going to engage them three, well the sooner Hiryuu and the other could get to their position the better.

"Nee-sama, we have to take her down as soon as possible" Akagi said to Amagi while she frowned.

"Easier said than done, she has retreated to the rear lines. We have to go through that many ship girls to reach her" Amagi said to Akagi.

"We could always skirt around them?" Kaga said to Amagi.

"That would do well. Let's do this" Amagi said to Kaga.

Amagi nodded her head as a signal to begin, swiftly Akagi took the right side while Kaga took the left. They glided to split Siren's ship girls in front of them, but it looks like not all of them took the bait as five of them alongside Purifier herself still remain in the middle. Amagi glided straight toward them and Siren ship girls immediately opened fire…Amagi saw that there's three Chaser and two Navigator that protected Purifier, she will need to timed her shots and reload carefully.

"Hoho, what are you three planning to do!?" Purifier asked out loud while she smiled widely.

Supposedly, Amagi's rigging means she has eight shots to face six Sirens and that mean she only have two chance to miss…The Chasers immediately opened fire and Amagi deftly avoided the shells, but along the way Amagi reconsidered her plan. She get close to the Chasers who also moved in to take her on in close quarter combat, Amagi is a battle cruiser so she's quite nimble for a heavy ship and that's why she managed to pass through three Chasers. The two Navigators behind them moved in to protect Purifier but Amagi got no time to deal with them, she fired two AP rounds straight to the center of the body mass and the rounds successfully killed the two of them which leaves Purifier open to attack. Amagi immediately locked on her and fired all of her remaining loaded rounds straight into Purifier's rigging and wrecked it almost instantaneously before exploding. Purifier jumped off from her rig and she looked pissed, Amagi herself immediately reloaded her cannons in preparations to engage Purifier directly.

"Hey bitch! You wrecked my rig!" Purifier shouted at Amagi with tone full of anger.

"You call that heap of trash a rig?" Amagi asked out loud while she sneered.

"That's it! I'm done playing games, I'll kill you for real!" Purifier shouted as she chased Amagi.

"Then come and get me!" Amagi said to Purifier as she made her escape.

Purifier furiously chased Amagi around as she baited her toward the beach area, why did she brought her there? Well, Amagi noted that their base defensive emplacement are still active and she could use fire support to pin Purifier down until she's ready to fire a salvo at her. Purifier doesn't have weaponry she could use effectively without her rigging so she opted to fight Amagi straight on with her limbs, catching up to Amagi is quite hard since she managed to dodge all of her attack. Purifier decided that she don't have time for anymore bullshit, she dashed forward and managed to caught Amagi off guard and immediately launched a powerful kick that sent Amagi flying straight to the sandy beach area.

"NEE-SAMA!" Akagi shouted with horror latched on her face.

"Well, despite possessing a fragile body you took that hit quite well aren't you? Fufufufufu" Purifier said out loud before she giggled.

Akagi rushed toward Purifier in dazzling speed while leaving the rest of the Siren ship girls for Kaga to kill, Amagi's human body isn't that durable to withstand a direct melee attack and Akagi feared that blow to her back could snap her spine. Akagi rushed forward in blind fury and try to land a solid blow to Purifier but the Siren detected her first and grabbed her by her right hand, Purifier threw her upwards before she also kicked the fox in the stomach which send her flying then landed near Amagi's position.

"Too bad, fox!" Purifier said out loud while she grinned.

"Akagi nee-sama!" Kaga who just finished wiping off the Siren ship girls immediately went to attack Purifier.

Kaga launched multiple aircraft that's headed for Purifier immediately, the aircraft fired off their machineguns and launched multiple rockets which none hit the mark as Purifier dived in under the sea. Kaga stopped her advance when she failed to locate Purifier, that changed however because Purifier suddenly appeared out from underneath her and gave Kaga a devastating uppercut which launched her upwards. Purifier grabbed Kaga's right leg before she thrown her back toward the beach area not far from Akagi who winced in pain and Amagi who weakly stared at what's happening, the three of them isn't exactly proficient in direct melee combat and they could only watch as Purifier approached them with disappointed scowl.

"…You three really disappoints me! You three used to be more formidable than this! What happened huh? Lost the fire? Lost the will or even your purpose in life? Bah! How am I supposed to enjoy killing you three when you're this weak?!" Purifier asked out loud to the three of them.

"Fuck off" Akagi said at Purifier while she scowled.

"Ouch, foul words! I think your big sister doesn't appreciate that, Akagi. And you, since you destroyed my rigging I will finish you off first with my own bare hands" Purifier said to Akagi and Amagi.

Purifier walked slowly toward Amagi whose still in pain to properly move, but she managed to stand up to anticipate Purifier's attack. The Siren cocked her eyebrows in wonder but she shrugged as she went to grab Amagi by the neck, Amagi successfully hold Purifier's right hand with her own and launched a hard left hook at Purifier who shrugged off the blow like it's nothing. Purifier grinned as she slapped Amagi's right hand away and grabbed her neck, she brought Amagi off the ground by holding her straight in the neck.

"Tch, weak" Purifier commented while she smirked.

"No…No! Don't you dare!" Akagi shouted at Purifier with horrified face.

"Ah, Akagi, look at that desperate face of yours! Man, maybe chocking you slowly would make her expression more entertaining, Amagi" Purifier said out loud with menacing smile on her face.

BANG!

The deafening gunshot sounded really apparent despite the chaos around them, that's because the shot came very close from their position. Purifier dropped Amagi to the ground with widened eyes, she felt something trickling down of her left temple and noticed it's her own yellow blood. Akagi noticed that Purifier's left temple just got hit by a bullet, but that didn't kill her! How strong is she?! However that's not what caught her attention the most, Akagi turned around to see someone pointing their gun straight at Purifier. That someone is a black haired one eyed giant dressed in Azur Lane Navy Officer Uniform carrying a snub nosed colt python revolver, Akagi widened her eyes because she didn't even expect someone from within Azur Lane to be here! But Amagi immediately knew who he is, the man is none other than William Blaze himself.

"Oi…that hurt you bastard!" Purifier shouted at William while she scowled.

"In normal circumstances, a .357 magnum round like that straight to the head should kill anyone. But looks like you need special care" William said out loud as he pulled the revolver hammer back.

"You? A mere human dare to step up against me? Now this is interesting! Many of your kind ran in fear when I show up!" Purifier shouted at William while she grinned.

"Unfortunate eh? I'm not scared of you" William said to Purifier while he scowled and squeezed the trigger.

BANG!

William fired off another shot at Purifier's head but this time she dodged the bullet easily, the Siren grinned as she stared at William. In all of her experience, majority of the so called humans ran when they saw her. Those who stood their ground never really did so because they're either dead or they will try to escape her might, their so called heroes too…she killed many of them by herself. Those that could face her toe to toe is fellow ship girls, what makes this man different than the others? Sure he might possess big body, but did he think that would be enough to face someone like her?

"Oh fine since you insist, I'll play along with you!" Purifier said to William while she grinned.

"Good. Hope you can dance lady!" William declared with confident smirk on his face.

Purifier felt annoyed at this man's lack of fear, or did he do all that to mask his own fear? Well, she will found out soon enough. The Siren noted that Amagi is too weak to move, Akagi still stuck on her previous position, Kaga seems to be unconscious and there's only sandy beach with a burning headquarters behind him. Perfect, she can take him on and perhaps rip his head off with her own bare hands. Purifier charged forward in full sprint, William fired another shot but this time it's to her own leg. The bullet didn't do enough to damage her but it caused her to stumble from the kinetic force alone, William used the chance to side stepped as Purifier went past him…into Takao who waited with her hands on her sheathed katana behind William.

"What the-" Purifier said out loud.

"Swift death unto evil!" Takao yelled as she drawn out and swung her katana, but she missed because Purifier jumped above her and rolled on the sand.

"Decoy tactics? So that's why you're so confident! I should've known that you have ship girls with you!" Purifier said to William while she gritted her teeth.

William's hunkering body managed to hide Takao really well behind him, no one noticed her because William took most of everyone's attention. Purifier stood up and was about to attack Takao when she noticed that she's not the only ship girl that came with William, behind them both there's Atago, Zuikaku and Shoukaku who approached the downed ship girls on the sand…Hmm, Purifier thought that these guys must be a reinforcement who they predicted will reinforce these sorry lot that valiantly defend this isle.

"…Atago?" Akagi asked out loud as Atago approached her.

"Sorry for being late, we headed here as fast as we could" Atago said to Akagi while she smiled.

"Amagi-san, hold still. You'll be fine" Shoukaku said to Amagi while she smiled.

"Can you hear me, Kaga-senpai?" Zuikaku asked Kaga who were still unconscious.

"Tch, I should've known…Oi, interested in fighting me directly without the ship girl protection? You look buffed, pretty sure you could take me on in a duel for a human!" Purifier asked William while she sneered.

"Oh I am. But, I'm still a sane man so I have to reject the offer. Let's get her, Takao" William said out loud as he reloaded his revolver.

"Hai, shikikan-dono!" Takao said to William as she swung her katana diagonally.

"Tch! Boys, get them!" Purifier said out loud.

Suddenly, eight Brawlers shows up from the under the waters which took William and Takao by surprise. Atago immediately joined in with William and Takao as the three of them prepared themselves to fight, they need to eliminate these creatures quickly or Purifier might use the chance to do whatever plan she had in mind. William opened the skirmish by shooting one Brawler straight in the head and killing it, Takao and Atago immediately charged at the group with katana drawn. Atago passed through one brawler from the right side while she swung her katana and the brawler was split in two the moment she blew past it, Atago quickly set her stance as a Brawler tried to grab her but it failed as Atago used her sword to stab it in the center of the chest. Takao swung her sword diagonally downwards and sliced the Brawler in two from its left shoulder all the way to its right lower stomach, she held her sword high before she brought it down upon another Brawler vertically and she cleanly chopped it off into two.

That leaves three remaining Brawler, they didn't hesitated as they blindly charged at the three of them. William quickly aimed and shot two Brawler in their ankle, the two Brawler stumbled and lowered themselves as the result. Takao and Atago only blitzed forward with their katana and in split seconds they decapitated the head of the two Brawler, the remaining Brawler managed to blow past them however and headed straight for William. The man huffed as he engaged the Brawler in close quarter, it tried to grab William but he deftly deflected its hands, jammed his revolver in the Brawler's gaping mouth and fired his last round straight to its brain which resulted with the Brawler fell down dead while bleeding from its mouth.

Purifier now realized that the man isn't all talk, perhaps this one could very well back up his bravado. Now that she looked at him, she's reminded regarding the fact that Observer Alpha talked about the 'anomaly' on this world. It's about the commander of the ship girls, who fight in the frontlines…not that 'the others' didn't did so, they also fight in the front but this one is has quiet…different approach. There's only several of them across all 'possibilities' and those who did so…they're extremely tough to kill. In this one, Alpha has identified one and Purifier widened her eyes when she realized that she faced the same one that Alpha talked.

"Ah! Now I remember you! Observer Alpha talked about you!" Purifier said out loud to William.

"My reputation precedes me it seems" William commented as he reloaded his revolver.

"So you're that commander on Terania. Well well well, now things have become even more interesting that you're here…Alpha was right!" Purifier said to William while she grinned.

If that's the case, then Purifier knew better than to directly engaged and killed him. Don't want to get her head taken off by Observer Alpha and swing around in front of everyone, again…She explicitly tell her to not kill him on purpose, just yet. But if he was killed by their common soldiers earlier then perhaps this man in front of them didn't really fit their prediction. Regardless, Purifier knew better than to mess up the entire grand plan despite her recklessness and craziness. Purifier looked back and saw a portal was opened, looks like Alpha realized what's happening and subtly told her to retreat.

"Oh, that's my cue! Call me okay~? Here's my number!" Purifier said out loud while she grinned.

BOOM!

Purifier threw some kind of flashbang grenade high in the air that temporarily blinded and deafened the others around them, when their senses returned Purifier was no longer in the area as she must have escaped through that portal. William clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction, whoever she was he knew that she must be some kind of leader within Sirens forces.

"…Those Sirens really have twisted sense of humour" William commented with half closed eye.

"They're Sirens, what do you expect?" Atago said to William while she frowned.

"Fair point" William said to Atago.

He looked back to the three ship girls that were injured from the fight with Purifier, William had a feeling that Purifier's stance regarding fighting is quite different than Observer Alpha…Akagi, Kaga and Amagi, the ship girls told him to immediately help these girls when they're about to land on the island so William complied with their request. As soon as they landed, he and the girls 'borrowed' a military jeep and quickly headed for Amagi, Akagi and Kaga's location…The rest is history. William looked at the three beautiful girls and noted that they will need proper medical attention, but he's sure that the base will be full of casualties…Perhaps they need to get the medics here? That way, they could receive priority care.

"Let's get a medical care for the three of them. Shoukaku, I trust you could find few medics for them on this base?" William asked Shoukaku.

"I'm sure they'll be busy tending to the wounded but sure shikikan-sama, I shall do my best" Shoukaku said to William.

"We expected this, but damn the damage really exceed our prediction…Zuikaku, I need your recon plane to scour the area. Please assess the damage from above" William said to Zuikaku.

"Wakatta, shikikan" Zuikaku said to William.

"Excuse me but…Who are you?" Akagi asked William while she leaned on Zuikaku.

"…I'm with ALASUC, Azur Lane Anti Siren Unit Command that tagged along with the second wave of reinforcement that came from the mainland…As for my name? Call me Commander Blaze, I'm here to put an end to these Sirens" William said to Akagi as he sheathed his revolver.

* * *

…**Ladies and gentleman this is Author Dasmara speaking, we're going to be in the east for a while so sit back and be ready for some heavy combat. Yeah, I apologize if there's error on this one because I have few important things to do and I didn't have the time to proofread this so feel free to let me know…Thanks for the review, follow and favorite readers! We're breaking 200 followers for the story! Can't do this without the support from you readers, much appreciated, mwuah! **

**Okay so, we're going to focus on the battle with Crimson Axis side for a while, I already have the next chapters on progress but I don't know when I could post it so please stay tuned for that. Oh and, I thank you guys for reading my little opinion regarding Azur Lane The Animation! It's nice to know how everyone else thought about it!**

**DungeonMaster: Thanks for the thoughts. I agree, fan service is important but if that was the aim from the start I think there's a lot of way they could show it. The choices are many and I couldn't say which one will fit but I think something like Slow Ahead that's going to be animated will make a great promotional material and fulfill the fan service aspect too.**

**Until next time dear readers!**

**\- Dasmara**


	21. Operation ICARUS

William walked quickly with serious face plastered on, he bypassed dozens of personnel in the busy hallways of Furushima's local headquarters. His current destination is the headquarters' command center where he will be required to check in with the local commander before he could proceed with his own mission, he found the command center and proceed to enter it without bothering to knock first. That resulted with the entire room occupants to looked straight at him in wonder, confusion or even downright annoyance and there's only one person inside that waved his hand's up and motion William to come toward his position…A medium heighted man with slanted green eyes, spiky light brown hair and no-nonsense facial expression. Without a doubt, he's the local commander and the one in charge of Sakura Empire forces on this isle.

"Commander Blaze, the name is Meguro Aoyama and I'm the one in charge of this isle's complex" The smaller man said to William with a poker face.

"Well met, commander" William said to Meguro while he nodded his head.

"Do you mind getting to work immediately?" Meguro asked William.

"No, not at all" William said to Meguro.

"Splendid. Situation is dire, even with the reinforcement that successfully arrived here we took several crippling hits to our military strength and economy. I'll brief you on our situation…This is the Furushima isle and our current position…and this is Siren's occupied zones. As you can see, we are backed in the corner and we need to…" Meguro suddenly fell on his knees.

Because of that, William and several other operators near him immediately went to help the man out. Meguro stood up and put his right hand up to indicate that he's fine now, William remained unconvinced however because when he got close enough he could see that Meguro looked exhausted with how black his eye bags were. When was the last time he sleep?

"Commander? You alright?" William asked Meguro while he frowned.

"Sorry…I haven't slept for two days, this is taxing me quite a bit" Meguro said to William.

"A bit? You looked exhausted mate. You should rest" William said to Meguro with cocked eyebrows.

"I'll finish the briefing for you first…With us being backed into the corner we need to be decisive, as you can see attrition fight would only end with us being wiped off clean when Siren occupied seventy percent of this isle. We are severely outnumbered and outgunned, we desperately need a game changer…Supposedly, that's where you and the girls come in" Meguro said to William.

"…Our main objective is to raze those two base but there's just too many risks along the way, what about that facility near that base?" William asked Meguro.

"It's our FOB, we just retake it from The Sirens an hour ago. But we don't plan to stay long, we're there just to retake our supplies and ordnances. It is too risky to mount an assault from that location when Sirens could just steamrolled everything since it's so close to their bases…" Meguro explained to William.

"I agree…Do you already have a plan to attack them?" William asked Meguro.

"Right now? No…we just got hit and damage assessment took priority, better lick our wounds while we can. However, one of the ship girls might already have something" Meguro said to William while he frowned.

"I see" William said to Meguro as he folded his arms.

Once again William looked at the holographic map projection of the isle, the situation isn't looking good in the slightest for them…Basically, Siren forces occupied seventy percent of the isle and locked down many Sakura Empire's facilities. Now they only have their headquarters, their last defensive line littered with pillboxes alongside coastal guns, their main research facility and a military airport. The shipyards, the factory and almost all of their FOBs are under Siren occupation or destroyed…Even with the reinforcement, doing attrition battle is like asking Siren to behead them but by skinning their neck layer by layer. Meguro was right, they would need to strike decisively.

"According to the order I received from Kabakura-san, you're free to do what you thought to be necessary to make sure those bases are destroyed. I don't mean to be an asshole after you come all the way here but, the ship girl's reinforcement you brought won't be enough to do the job, commander" Meguro said to William while he frowned.

"I know…they're the vanguards, we have more en route to this location" William said to Meguro.

"That's relieving…Commander Blaze, the ship girls are yours to command. I'm not exactly pleased to just hand over my specialized unit to someone I barely know…But, orders are orders" Meguro said to William while he shrugged.

"Appreciate it. I'll take care of the girls with my utmost" William said to Meguro with serious face.

"Thank you. Now excuse me, I might need to take a breather…Good luck commander" Meguro said to William.

Meguro passed William and tapped his shoulder once, William watched as Meguro exited the command center then turned his head toward the holographic map. William sighed as he begun to study the layouts and important information regarding the situation, if they're going to take the fight to them then William would need to find a weakness within Siren's forces on this area…But that's a wishful thinking at best, since when does Siren deploy a forces that have huge noticeable weakness? Many of their units are balanced in performance aspect!

"Well…we are in deep shite" William muttered to himself.

"Ara?" Someone said from behind William.

The man immediately spun around to see the one who stood behind him, that person is Amagi herself. William took a while to recognize the girl in front of him, Asian features, beautiful as heck, with pair of fox ears and numerous brown fluffy tails behind her. She's definitely a ship girl that stationed here in the defense of the isle and the one he kind of saved earlier this morning, now that he got the time to think about it would she be fine walking around after receiving a severe blow?

"Hmm? Ah, you're that ship girl back then. How are your injuries?" William asked Amagi while he smiled a bit.

"Yes, I'm quite fine now thank you for your concern. Battlecruiser Amagi, reporting in" Amagi said to William while she bowed at him.

"At ease Ms. Amagi. Commander Meguro is currently resting if you're looking for him, he haven't been asleep for two days he said" William said to Amagi.

"I know about it shikikan-sama, he briefed me before he went to his quarters after all. I'm here to see you" Amagi said to William.

"Ah, alright…Is there something you need?" William asked Amagi.

"I was wondering if we could talk regarding our next move. Meguro shikikan leave us in your care, after all" Amagi said to William while she smiled a bit.

"Yes…then, can you brief me on the ship girl's capabilities? Those who were with you. After that, we could talk about the situation" William asked Amagi while he sat on one of the spare chair within the room.

Amagi too proceed to sit down beside William as she explained the capability of the ship girl's with her, in detail. It didn't event took five minutes until William recognized the new girl's capabilities well, Akagi and Kaga are the carriers known for their quick deployment coupled with savage airstrikes, Hiryuu is quite resilient in a fight, Yuubari is their tech experts in a sense, Kako is their jack of all trades, Kawakaze and Kinu are close quarter battle specialist with their katanas while Amagi herself is the strategist among them…William thought that twelve ship girls is sufficient to take them on for now, but to assault the two base he would need reinforcement from ALASUC.

"…So now in total we have twelve ship girls, we are the only resources you could muster without asking for Meguro shikikan's permission" Amagi said to William with serious expression.

"Why do I sense you already have a plan in mind?" William asked Amagi as he folded his arms.

"Correctly guessed, I do have a plan ready. We just got hit, anyone would think we'll sort out our business first and do some damage control. So, the Sirens should lax their guard a bit since they successfully raid us and that means we could launch our own offensive which should be unexpected…But then again, this is Sirens that we're facing so there's always a possibility they've thought about this. With that in mind, we need to hit them straight in their solar plexus then rush all the way to their heart" Amagi explained to William.

"…I'm afraid you lost me there" William said to Amagi with half closed eye.

"We should strike here first, shikikan-sama" Amagi said to William as she pointed at a spot in the map.

"Their staging area?" William asked out loud as he stared at the map.

"Yes, from there we keep hitting them all the way until their secondary base right here. Among the two base, this one is the farthest and quite isolated so targeting them should be relatively easy. However, the base stored around two third of Siren's forces on this area so if our timing is off they could just swarmed us and then take us down. But should we succeeded, the southern part of the isle would be clear for us to move around" Amagi explained to William.

…This could work! Really, this is a longshot plan in their current situation but if they could act fast enough then this counterattack would deal severe blow to the Sirens on the isle. The problem? Massive opposition that stood between them and victory, limited forces despite the arrival of reinforcement and Siren's dastardly unpredictability. But, this is a solid plan considering they have twelve ship girls that are ready to execute the plan…Add with the additional Sakura Empire and Ironblood reinforcement on the way from the base, they might just have enough strength to tackle the two Siren base in one fell swoop.

"Ms. Amagi, I already have reinforcement on the way here. Shall I coordinate with them regarding the time and deployment?" William asked Amagi while he rubbed his chin.

"I think that would be a wise decision" Amagi said to William.

"Alright…I must say, you work fast" William said to Amagi while he smiled.

"They appoint me as a strategy advisor, shikikan-sama. It is my duty and specialty" Amagi said to William as she smiled back.

"Good to be working with you then, Ms. Amagi…If we're going to do this, then let's make sure we thought up about everything" William said to Amagi.

.

…William walked to and entered his personal room that was given to him by Meguro, it's on the same building as the ship girl's room but his was the closest to the entrance. He took a bit admiring the oriental styled room, tatami floors, sliding doors, indoor kitchen, toilet alongside a bathtub and shower unit…Oh boy, shower! William took off his clothes, put it on top of the table in the living room and then noted his bandaged left leg. The wound that was caused by a Siren trooper? It's already starting to heal, but the flesh is still 'growing' back and its best not to get it exposed to the world just yet. William though a bit and saw a first aid kit encased near the TV…perfect. William went to the kitchen and found a plastic wrap, he took it and wrapped his lower left leg to avoid getting it wet. Just like that, he head into the shower and blasted himself with the cold streams of water. William sighed in contentment at the refreshing sensation. Suddenly, he heard the door to his room was opened…Who's that?

"Pardon my intrusion" A feminine voice ranged out loud.

"Who's there?" William asked out loud without getting out from the shower.

"I am Akagi, the pride of the peerless First Carrier Division of Sakura Empire. Pleased to meet you, shikikan-sama" So it's Akagi huh?

"I see. The name's William Blaze, I'm still showering so please wait a bit" William said out loud.

"Certainly" Akagi said to William.

Akagi choose to sit as she waited for William to finish with his shower, she noticed that William left his clothes on top of the living room drawer…Oh my, does that mean he's buck naked with all his glory while being slammed by millions drop of water right now? Akagi fanned herself a bit, her imagination went wild a bit into the gutter and the last thing she want to happen right now is for her being horny. She heard the sound of water stopped running and someone came out of the bathroom, needless to say Akagi's cheek went red…William stood in front of her, a hulking giant ripped with muscles, without clothes save for the towel covering his groin, his black raven hair is dripping wet, his body still glistening due to the water he showered in few seconds ago and he stood confidently in front of Akagi.

"…Like what you see, huh?" William asked Akagi while he smirked.

"Um. Yes" Akagi honestly answered while she smiled bashfully.

William only snorted in amusement at her honesty, he put on his clothes while indirectly still putting on a show for Akagi who shamelessly watched him…After he dressed up nicely with his officer blazer, William rolled up his left pants side for a bit and took the first aid kit. He also took out a vial filled with Regel from his blazer pocket, William poured the vial filled with crystal blue liquid a bit to his hand before he slowly rubbed his wound with it. Yeah, he need to do this at least once a day to keep stimulating the growth of his flesh and covered up his wound with bandage. Akagi looked at William's lower left leg and she frowned to see that William was injured recently, from a plasma weapon nonetheless.

"Shikikan-sama, that wound of yours…" Akagi said to William.

"Nah, don't worry about this…more importantly how is your wound, Ms. Akagi?" William asked Akagi.

"It's nothing but a brief soreness, shikikan-sama. I'm pretty much fine, thank you for being concerned about me" Akagi said to William while she smiled.

"Good to hear…Is there anything you need?" William asked Akagi.

"Yes. I want to thank you personally shikikan-sama, for saving us in the nick of time back then" Akagi said to William while she smiled widely.

"You're welcome" William nodded his head while he smiled.

"Now, why don't we spend some time with each other? I want to know you, how about a couple of drinks?" Akagi asked William while she smiled.

"I'd love to" William simply answered.

Akagi stood up, went to the kitchen, opened the fridge, she took out a bottle of sake, two glass and a box of chocolate then put it on the table in front of William. The man smiled as Akagi poured some alcohol to both glass and William took it, he could always appreciate a drink. William held it up front, Akagi responded by bumping the glass with his as a toast and then sipped on the alcohol. William didn't hesitate to gulp an entire glass down, he then took one of the chocolate and eat it. Both William and Akagi spend some time with each other, just drinking sake, ate some chocolate while talking with one another…

"…By the way, who is that Siren? She seemed to be quite powerful but different than Observer Alpha" William asked Akagi curiously.

"Oh, you knew Observer Alpha, shikikan-sama?" Akagi asked William back.

"I have…brief encounter with her, she doesn't seemed to be the type to fight" William said to Akagi while frowned.

"That is correct, the one you encounter back then is called Purifier. She's more aggressive than Alpha and more proficient in the art of combat, she's a deadly foe to face directly" Akagi said to William then she sipped on her drink.

Purifier? More aggressive than Observer Alpha? If Alpha who's according to Akagi is 'mild' then William couldn't imagine what Purifier can do if she's as strong as Alpha and didn't hesitate to kill anyone…He just made an enemy against someone dangerous and he would certainly lose against her if she managed to get a grip on his neck, things just get better and better. William ate another piece of chocolate to distract him from overthinking the whole aspect with Purifier, he need to focus more on the bigger picture for now.

"I figure, I won't want to face her directly too…Ms. Akagi-" William said to Akagi.

"Akagi is fine shikikan-sama, you don't have to be so formal" Akagi said to William.

"Fine. What do you think of this battle with them?" William asked Akagi while he smiled.

"…They could've wipe us all out in one attack if they want to, but they didn't do that. Killing us all, seems not to be their main objective. They surely have a plan in mind, but we don't know what yet" Akagi answer honestly.

"…I see…Thank you for your insight, Akagi" William said to Akagi while he smiled.

"You're welcome, shikikan-sama" Akagi said to William.

William reached for his phone and started texting Bismarck while he talked with Akagi, he couldn't help but to think Akagi is quite outgoing because she always have a topic to talk to and she's quite curious about him. William didn't put too much thought on it, maybe Akagi is just sociable person who's interested to get to know someone that will be her commander on this battle…After he received a reply from Bismarck, William and Akagi walked toward the headquarters building to find Amagi and the other ship girls on standby within the briefing room. William and Amagi have formulated a plan to attack but it's a very risky one, though this bold plan is not perfect it's the best they could come up with right now.

"Alright, sorry for being late…My name is William Blaze, the commander of Azur Lane Anti Siren Unit Command. Your General of the Army Kabakura and your Commander Meguro have given me the authority and permission to command you, so I hope we can get along and work together…Everyone we're going on the offensive, we will strike those Sirens while they think we're reconsolidating. For that, Ms. Amagi here already form a plan to cause series of raids to distract and weaken Sirens forces before our full scale assault…Ms. Amagi?" William asked Amagi to explain the details.

"Thank you, shikikan-sama…There are four primary targets for this operation, the first would be their staging area which is the closest target to our headquarters. The second is their supply base followed by the third target which is their defensive line on this island cluster which protect, their secondary base on this island…We're following tight schedule for this one and we need to do all this, within one day" Amagi explained out loud to everyone on the room.

"One day?!" Hiryuu asked out loud.

"That means a nonstop sortie!" Takao said out loud.

"That's reckless Amagi-san!" Shoukaku said to Amagi while she frowned a bit.

Oh Amagi knew, of course she knew how reckless this is but frankly speaking she saw no other viable option. They need to seize the initiative back from the Sirens and surely waiting for them to attack again is not the answer, neither are doing suicidal charge at them or doing attrition battle. The only thing they could do now is to attack the Siren systematically to 'weaken' them, wither their combat capability bit by bit before launching a full scale assault on their base. The only one who can do that? Ship girls. They are able to operate on small numbers and deliver devastation in the same level as an entire fleet m,

"Yes, I know a nonstop sortie is quite reckless. We need to strike back at them as soon as possible while they believed that we're still recovering, this will be tough and we will sortie between targets with different fleet composition each time. The rest that don't participate during sortie will rest and make sure our headquarters would have defenders in case Sirens decide to attack us again. For this operation, we won't have any support from the regular division…Ship girls would be the primary unit that participate in this operation. With that being said, take a look at these aerial reconnaissance pictures. These are the images of the target, study the layouts, memorize them and designate their important infrastructure to be priority target. This operation shall be known as, Operation Icarus. We're diving deep into enemy lines, destroy whatever we can and participate in the main assault...Shikikan-sama?" Amagi asked William after she's done explaining.

"Thank you for explaining the plan, Ms. Amagi…We will execute the mission in one hour so prepare everything you need or require. Also, to those of you who didn't know, I generally fight in the frontlines as well so I will personally participate in the operation" William said out loud to everyone, those who didn't know about this looked at each other in confusion.

"Shikikan-sama, aren't you injured after your last fight?" Shoukaku asked William.

"Yeah, but don't worry Shoukaku. This doesn't involved a lot of running" William said to Shoukaku while he smiled.

"It doesn't?" Shoukaku asked William with cocked eyebrows.

"I will be fighting onboard a fighter jet" William said to Shoukaku.

"I see…" Shoukaku said to William as she pulled out her phone.

"Okay, put that phone down! She doesn't need to know about this!" William immediately said to Shoukaku, it's obvious who she intended to call.

"Hahahahaha, I'm messing with you shikikan-sama. Don't worry, this will be our little secret. Besides, it is much safer than being directly on the ground" Shoukaku said to William after she giggled merrily.

"…Any question regarding the mission? No? Okay…Then ready yourselves, we have one hour to prepare. Dismissed" William said out loud to everyone.

…That was close, William almost had heart attack and his adrenaline was pumped for a bit. After he made sure everyone understood, William nodded his head as he excused himself from the room. He immediately set out to see Commander Meguro, hope the guy won't strangle him when he wakes him up just to request permission to use one of his jet…The ship girls that were left in the room talked to one another regarding the mission, Hiryuu rubbed her chin in her thoughts regarding their new commander.

"That shikikan is quite peculiar isn't he?" Hiryuu asked out loud.

"Few commanders participate directly in the fight in this modern era and with good reason, why didn't he do the same?" Akagi also asked out loud.

"I don't know the exact reasoning as well, Akagi-san. But he's a frontline soldier before he become our shikikan, I guess that's just how he leads" Atago said to Akagi while she smiled.

"Indeed. There are those that could lead from behind the desk and those who could lead directly in the front, but gambling his life away directly in the battlefield…I can understand if he's a ship girl, but he's a normal man in the war against Sirens" Amagi said to Atago.

"Yeah, we know the feeling! We worry for his safety because most of the time he participate directly he almost always ended up visiting the infirmary later, bombs, bullets and even plasma, there's always something that harmed him during sortie" Zuikaku said out loud while she smiled and shrugged.

"Then why did you girls let-" Akagi asked Zuikaku.

"Why we let him do that? First off, it's his decision. Second, you'll be surprised at how capable he is in combat Akagi-senpai. Third, his presence in the battlefield provided us with moral and fire support…You will understand what I mean, when you fight alongside him later" Shoukaku said to Akagi while she smiled confidently.

"…I guess we'll be the judge of that, Shoukaku" Amagi said to Shoukaku.

"Um, sorry to interrupt, but allow me to check your riggings everyone. Let's make sure it's in top notch condition and fully loaded, it's going to be a long fight" Yuubari suddenly said out loud.

.

"…YOU WHAT?!" Meguro yelled at William with shocked face.

"You don't need to yell so loud…" William said to Meguro while he cringed.

"You wake me up for that?! Kami, you're as insane as those video recording shows!" Meguro said to William as he stood up from his bed.

"You watched it?" William asked Meguro.

"Mandatory, all of us had to. Morale boosting stuff they said…" Meguro said to William then muttered the last part.

Meguro exited his room and William followed closely behind him, William didn't know where Meguro headed but it would seems he's headed for the control center and in the end William was right in his assumption. Meguro immediately talked to an operator there in Japanese which left William bewildered because holy hell he don't understand much of their words, but he did picked out few such as 'what?', 'no' and 'this man' with the last being Meguro pointed his index finger at William with unamused face…The operator in front of Meguro shrugged and the man sighed while he facepalmed, Meguro took a bit to compose himself before he looked at William.

"Look, if you got shot down then we couldn't possibly recover you. If you're shot down inside a Siren's base, you're on your own! Do you understand that!?" Meguro asked William with serious face.

"Tell me something I don't know, Commander Meguro. From the moment I speak with you, I know the risk for this plan and I'm prepared for it" William said to Meguro firmly.

"…I can't spare any flight for your escort, I need them to be ready for any interception. The risk is too big, are you sure?" Meguro asked William.

"You don't have to, the carrier ship girls will do…All I need, is your permission to use one of your jets alongside ammo and fuel for it" William said to Meguro firmly.

"...Fine…you'll have them. Just, try to get it back in one piece would you?" Meguro asked William while he deeply frowned.

"Will do, thank you" William said to Meguro while he nodded his head.

"…Go with the lieutenant, he will show you the way to the hangar" Meguro said to William while he pointed to the operator who nodded his head and left the room.

"Sure" William said to Meguro as he followed the operator.

"…Reckless piece of shit" Meguro said out loud when William was out of earshot.

…The lieutenant led him to the airport, it was ten minutes' walk from the command center and that proved just how vast the base actually was. The lieutenant approached a group of men wearing engineer uniforms while playing cards on the edge of one hangar, the lieutenant called them out. The group of engineers saw the lieutenant but they act dismissively, the group and him bickered or some kind at each other for a while before the lieutenant pointed his finger at William…That got the group to stopped talking, they stared at William for a bit with confused expression before one of them said something to the lieutenant which resulted in him nodding and then left the area. The man who last spoke to the lieutenant stood up and stared at William, he seems to be the leader or something…

"Are you the pilot?" The man asked William.

"Yes, I'm here to inspect the jet that I will use" William said to the man.

"Okay. Chief engineer, just call me chief for now…follow me" The chief said to William before he walked.

The chief led William into the next hangar where there's group of fighter jets were lined up in neat row inside the hangar, the planes are consisted of F-15, F-16 and F-35. The chief walked and pointed one F-15 then pointed an F-35 to William. That means that's the two plane that they could give to him and it's up to the man to choose what he wanted to ride…The mission is most likely ground support and some air combat so Strike Fighter or Multirole aircraft would be ideal which narrowed it down to an F-15 or F-35. Now it comes to ammunition management, the F-15 could be loaded with so much more bombs and missiles compared to F-35 but that plane wins when it comes to technological advancement…William have heard that the F-35 could be equipped with special riggings to give it more hard points but that will surely take some time. Then, the familiarity…William approached the parked F-15, Eagle Union's main line of mass produced fighter…

"We only have three jets that we could spare for your operation, the rest are already in possession or on repairs" The chief said to William.

"This one will do" William said to the chief.

"…You like that one?" The chief asked William with hands on his hips.

"Hell yeah I am" William said to the chief while he nodded his head.

"You don't like the F-35? It's more advanced you know? The computer system, the HUD…" The chief asked William with unsure tone.

"I'm looking for raw firepower right now, besides I'm more familiar with this one" William said to the chief.

"I see, you have a good eye though. This one is the single seater version of the F15 Strike Eagle, the previous pilot of this craft ride it proudly and I'm sure it won't disappoint you in the air…We'll prepare it immediately, any preferred loadout?" The chief asked William.

"Ground support" William immediately said to the chief.

"How about your IFF tag?" The chief asked William again.

"Knight will do as IFF tag" William immediately answered the chief.

"Alright, we'll get it done…Oi yarodomo! Shigoto ga arrunda, isoge! (_Oi bastards! We got work to do, hurry up!_)" The chief said to William then yelled at a group of engineer within the hangar…

"How long did you need?" William asked the chief.

"To prep this baby? We got a lot of work to do, give us half an hour" The chief said to William.

William nodded his head in acknowledgement before he left the hangar to return toward his provided room, he need to prepare himself for the mission. To be honest, it's been a while since he flew a fixed wing aircraft like that and he's afraid that he might be a little rusty. But he dismissed the thoughts away, the last thing he need right now is doubt. William took out a cigarette from its package inside his pocket, he took out the lighter to light up the cigarette and smoked. He felt someone walked behind him and he looked back only to saw a snow white short haired girl wearing white kimono like clothes…

"Oh, you must be Kaga" William said to the girl.

"Yes" Kaga said to William.

"Going somewhere?" William asked Kaga.

"I'm heading for my room" Kaga simply said to William.

"Okay" William said to Kaga as he stepped aside.

Kaga stared at William straight in the eye before she walked past him without glancing at him, she kept walking and then stopped just few steps away from William who stared at her in wonder with cigarette still burning on his mouth. He raised his eyebrows in wonder on why did Kaga stopped walking? Kaga turned around and stared at William as if she's inspecting him from head to toe, the young woman suddenly smirked at William.

"…Shikikan, may I ask you something?" Kaga asked William while she smirked.

"Sure" William said to Kaga.

"How long have you been fighting in the front?" Kaga asked William.

"I graduated from military academy by twenty one, so four years in total" William said to Kaga.

"Four years hmm" Kaga said out loud.

Yeah, William graduated from high school when he's around eighteen years old and he immediately joined the military academy where he spend the next four years in specialized curriculum under the guidance of the best of the best in the Royal Navy…Intelligence Officer introduced him to the world of espionage, Military Generals and Admirals taught him in military strategy alongside how to command troops, scientist and engineers gave him course regarding their field of knowledge that might benefit in his duty, various instructors taught him how to operate machinery of war, Elite Veteran SAS Operators taught him in the art of warfare to shape him into the best combatant the world would ever see…That paid off well, he might not be a valedictorian because that would be Lena but it was proven when he and Lena were handpicked by Azur Lane military that he got what it takes to be the best of the best. Kaga suddenly produced a paper shaped plane that the Sakura Empire carrier often carried and threw it toward William's head, the man noticed the paper being thrown at him immediately moved his head and the paper plane stuck on the wooden wall behind him…

"Whoa…" William said out loud as he was amazed by the throw.

"…Those kind of reflex, either you're a natural, trained hard or your experience make up for it. I can tell you've been in lots of combat situation…Either way, you'll do" Kaga said to William.

"Do? For what?" William asked Kaga with confusion on his face.

"If you're going to be a pilot that will participate with us, I have to make sure you're cut out for it" Kaga said to William.

"…You're testing me" William narrowed his gaze at Kaga while he said his conclusion.

"I am. The weak will die when they are thrown in the field of battle, only those that are strong who will survive" Kaga said to William.

"Strong and lucky" William said to Kaga as he took the paper plane from the wall.

"Heh…Luck? Do you believe in luck, shikikan?" Kaga asked William with narrowed eyes.

"To be honest, yeah I do" William said to Kaga as he handed the paper plane back to her.

"I see…" Kaga said and took the paper from William.

Kaga stared at William a bit longer before she wordlessly nodded her head, turned around and walked toward her room. William snorted and suck on his cigarette but there's no smoke filling his mouth, William cocked his eyebrows as he stared at his cigarette and noticed that the burning part was cut by Kaga's paper plane. She's good, either that was a complete accident or she specifically did it to warn him not to smoke? Bah, he's getting too deep into it, she probably means nothing. William took out his lighter, he reignited his cigarette.

"…Strange girl…" William muttered as he walked to his room.

.

Finally it's time to execute the operation, the first group that will go is led by Amagi herself. Their target would be Siren's staging area near their headquarters which needs to be demolished at least ten minutes since the attack begin, to produce the shock effect they would have to raze their targets as soon as possible. Some doubt whether the Sirens could feel shock when huge amount of their forces are neutralized as soon as possible, they don't seems to feel any kind of pressure when they suffer catastrophic defeat in the past few battles against humanity. Nevertheless, its worth to try and investigate how Siren will react when the prey they just injured an hour ago came back to strike them.

"We'll be heading out first" Amagi said to William.

"Roger that…Ms. Amagi, make sure everyone could return safe and unharmed" William saidt o Amagi.

"That's a pretty tall order shikikan-sama, but I'm up for the challenge…Good luck" Amagi said to William while she smiled.

Operation Icarus have been briefed to everyone that will participate in the operation, a bold lightning counterattack that could determine the fate of this battle on Furushima isle. Meguro agreed to Amagi's bold plan but he will only send his forces in when the staging area and the supply base are destroyed, that way they could break through their defensive line and bombard one of the Siren's base with hail marry of giggles and fun provided by bullets, bombs and missiles…Not going to lie, lot of things could go wrong during the execution of this plan but…well, sometimes it's better fail while trying than sitting on your ass waiting to get killed. After seeing the group off by the docks William turned around and walked off followed by Shoukaku from behind, she enthusiastically walked to his side and snatched the pilot helmet that William carried.

"Shoukaku?" William asked Shoukaku in confused tone.

"Please allow me to accompany you to your plane" Shoukaku said to William while she smiled.

"Sure. Let's go" William said to Shoukaku while he shrugged.

William already worn the dark green flight suit that was given by the lieutenant that previously went with him to the hangar, he will immediately board the fighter jet and catch up to the ship girls. William glanced to his left side to look at Shoukaku who walked beside him while smiling and holding the helmet with both of her hands, the man noticed something peculiar about her and her interaction with the other ship girls on this island…

"…I see you didn't talk much to either Akagi or Kaga" William said to Shoukaku.

"So you did noticed" Shoukaku said to William as she stared at him.

"Is something wrong?" William asked Shoukaku.

"I don't have the best relation with them. Those senpai of ours, they make everything harder for Zuikaku and I in the past…and they still have the nerve to grow even stronger, so why were they got beaten up so bad by Purifier before?" Shoukaku said to William while she smiled.

"...Okay, clearly you don't have high opinion for them" William said to Shoukaku without looking at her.

…Hmmm, William thought that he should look into this further once they settled this entire mess with the Sirens. They reached the hangar area and immediately went to the previous hangar that contained aircrafts, the chief engineer that was responsible for William's jet saw him coming and approached the giant while he smiled widely. Behind him is a single F-15 painted in forestland camouflage fully loaded with weaponry on its hard points, several technicians are doing final checks on it while the chief approached William.

"Oh hey there! The plane is ready for you. F-15 Strike Eagle Single Seater Version, imported straight from Eagle Union…Armed with your standard cannons, joint strike missiles, unguided bombs and two rocket pods. Fueled to the brim, serviced with the newest spare parts and we even make the canopy shine so you can see well despite your…you know, eye patch" The chief said to William while he smiled.

"…She looked lovely. Thanks for your hard work" William said to the chief while he grinned.

"No problem sir. We'll be here on standby, if you need fuel and ammo we'll get it done" The chief said to William.

"Right, I will certainly need it…It seems I will be going now" William said out loud.

William climbed aboard the F-15 and seated himself on the cockpit, he looked at the instrument panels, the flight stick, the speed lever, the pedals and try to familiarized himself again with the cockpit. After remembering what William could remember regarding his experience with fighter craft, he turned on the jet engine and heard the familiar hum coming from behind. Shoukaku followed William by standing on top of the ladder used to climb aboard the F-15, she wordlessly put the pilot helmet on William's head and clipped it on while she smiled softly.

"Thank you" William said to Shoukaku while he smiled.

"No problem. Now when you're up there, please be very careful" Shoukaku said to William while she smiled.

"I'll keep that in mind" William said to Shoukaku as he nodded his head.

"And look here" Shoukaku said to William as she pulled out her phone and took a picture of him.

"Hey, what the?!" William said to Shoukaku.

"Ufufufufu, that should serve well as memento" Shoukaku said to William after she giggled.

"If you want a picture you could just ask you know?" William said to Shoukaku with half closed eye.

"It's not a picture that I want" Shoukaku said to William while she smirked.

What did she want then huh? William failed to anticipate when Shoukaku leaned in closer, she pressed her tender pink lips over his and that completely took him by surprise as his mind shut down for good few seconds. Unfortunately before he could enjoy the sensation or even kiss her back Shoukaku pulled away with faint blush on her cheeks while she smiled widely, William stared at her for a bit before he heard some commotion around them and he realized Shoukaku just kissed him in public with the chief engineer and his technician still around!

"…I heard from a certain maid, when you gave a good luck kiss to your shikikan he will return safe and sound. So good luck out there shikikan-sama~…Oh and, please don't smoke so much" Shoukaku said to William then she winked and jump off the ladder.

"…Belfast, what have you been telling those girls?" William muttered to himself.

But that get him excited and roaring to go into combat against the Sirens to be honest, he's calm and filled with confidence so William guessed that kiss works wonder. He wasted no more time in checking out all the instruments, gear and his system to make sure everything works in order, no harm in checking manually even though the technicians gave it a green light before. The F-15 is good to go, it's time to take it into the air and prevail in combat…William gave a thumbs up to the chief who also gave him one in reply, William then waved at Shoukaku and she returned the gesture while smiling. The man stared ahead at the open runway and put on his oxygen mask, he decided to contact the tower.

"Tower this is Knight, I'm ready for taxi, over" William contacted the control tower.

"Knight, this is Furushima Facility Control Tower. Runway one is available for you, you're cleared for takeoff, over" The tower personnel responded to William.

"Solid copy tower, Knight is moving to runway. Over and out" William said to the personnel on the control tower.

Shoukaku watched as the F-15 William rode on moved slowly to the runway, she then decided to leave when the plane is on the runway and prepared to take off. William took a moment to stare at his surroundings before he smirked, brought down his helmet visor, he pushed the acceleration lever and the plane speed up gradually until he reached take off speed where he pulled the flight stick upwards and the F15 flew off the runway…William grinned widely as he moved the plane in the air, the thrill of flying in high speed came rushing at him and goddamn he liked it! Prinz was right about him being a daredevil on occasions, he really do love to experience this kind of thrill…William saw the ship girls formation down below and he immediately lowered his altitude, the ship girls were shocked a bit when they suddenly heard a roaring jet engine following closely from behind with low speed.

"Look, its shikikan!" Atago said out loud on the radio, the girls looked back to see an F15 flying behind them.

"…How are you doing ladies?" William asked them on the radio.

"Pretty good, how about you shikikan?" Atago asked William back on the radio.

"Just like always when I fly, I love it!" William said out loud on the radio.

"It looks like shikikan-sama do know how to operate a fighter jet" Amagi exclaimed out loud.

"I remember that he claimed to be trained to ride all kind of vehicles" Takao said to Amagi while she smiled.

William kept following them from behind on close distance all the way to their designated target which is the Siren staging area located on an island, not too large when William looked over the satellite observation photo but damn they are sure packed to the brim with Siren's asset. Perfect, bombs would make short work of them but they need to prioritize target to make this whole operation easier…First off, William need their air capability crippled because it's not only going to make the sky safer for him but the less of those jets could harass the ship girls the better. Then, they have to take out any defensive emplacement on the staging area and followed by their mass produced ship. All that while the ship girls divided their attention to deal with any Siren ship girls that will engage them, this will be tough…

"…Alright ladies, we're approaching the staging area. I can see our target from here" William said to the ship girls on the radio.

"Your orders, shikikan?" Kaga asked William on the radio.

"Simple. Raze your targets to the ground, sunk any that decide to engage you and be ready when I call out targets, understood?" William asked the ship girls on the radio.

""""""Hai!"""""" The ship girls responded on the radio.

"Fighter escorts for you, shikikan-sama" Akagi said to William on the radio as she sent four Zero fighters on William's side.

"Thanks, Akagi…Alright, Ms. Amagi. Shell their parked jets to reduce their air combat capability" William said to Amagi on the radio.

"Understood. Let's do this as planned" Amagi said to William on the radio.

Amagi set aim for the parked jets on the open field, she's in charge of the opening salvo so she better hit as many target as she could with a single barrage. Amagi fired her cannons, the HE shells flew high and hit the parked jets and destroyed it. Multiple craters formed on the place that Amagi strike, well they managed to kick the hornet nest so they better expect the retaliation will come immediately. Five seconds after the shell hit the ground, multiple Siren ship girls jumped off from the island and landed on the water. They headed straight for the ship girl's position and they didn't look happy, William noted that there's at least two dozen Explorers, several Smasher and three Conductor…Shit, Atago and Takao had to combat that many?!

"Their ship girls are coming out of their staging area! Be ready to engage them!" William said to the ship girls on the radio.

"Hai shikikan-dono! Atago, follow my lead!" Takao said out loud as she unsheathed her katana.

"Wakatta, nee-sama!" Atago did the same and followed Takao closely.

Suddenly, alarm blared all over William's cockpit and his eyes widened. The alarm indicated that he's in the process of being locked for missile! William quickly looked around but he didn't noticed any Siren jets in the air, that until he looked ahead into the clouds when he saw four missiles flying at high speed toward him and the man yanked the flight stick hard to dive down. Motherfucker! They came out of nowhere! William quickly pull up and went inside the dense clouds, the missile's heat tracking system failed to keep up and William managed to escaped four missiles at once without using flares…But he can't rest easy yet because another missile barrage was fired at him, except this time he saw the jets that fired those missiles. Akagi's fighter escort accelerated and immediately engaged the Siren jets while William escaped from the missile lock, one jet glued to his tail and fired another missile at William.

"Come the fuck on, how many missiles you got?!" William muttered while he gritted his teeth.

Deciding he had enough, William deployed flares countermeasure then slowed down his F-15 which caused the Siren jet to miss and overshot. William was now in position to engage the Siren jets and he didn't even hesitate to pull the trigger for the cannon, hot rounds immediately pounded the Siren jet's hull and after sustained fire it burst up in flames before losing stability then exploded midair. William checked the radar and realized that Akagi's fighters managed to down the rest…he sighed in relief, that's a close one.

"…I need to train with jets more…" William muttered to himself.

"They're getting too close, nee-sama!" Kaga's voice could be heard from the radio.

"I know, move to the right and keep them in range" Amagi said to Kaga on the radio.

It looks like the girls has troubles in facing so many ship girls at once, William returned to the ship girl's position and noticed a large bulk of them chased after Amagi, Akagi and Kaga as they strived to keep their distances while harming them usually known as 'Kiting' strategy. William set the jets armament to his rocket launcher and fly to the left side of the advancing Siren ship girls, he lowered his speed for a bit just to give him enough time to adjust his position before William pulled the trigger. Rockets were launched from the two pod underneath his wings and barraged the Siren ship girls on the spot that caused them to stop advancing as they focused their AA fire at William who quickly pulled up and hide in the clouds, Amagi realized that the Siren ship girls were distracted immediately shoot her cannons at them followed by Akagi and Kaga launching their bombers toward their adversary. It didn't take long to down all of them after that, turns out even Sirens could get distracted huh?

"Shikikan-sama, thank you for the help" Amagi said to William on the radio.

"You're welcome Ms. Amagi" William responded to Amagi on the radio.

"Shikikan-dono, their staging area is still active! We've managed to sink all of their mass produced ship but their ground asset are mostly intact!" Takao said to William on the radio.

"I see. Ladies, launch your bombers and let's blow the entire island" William said out loud on the radio.

"Bombers fleet is in the air shikikan-sama, please keep them safe while they go for their bombing run!" Akagi said to William on the radio.

"Got it" William said to Akagi on the radio.

Akagi and Kaga deployed around forty dive bombers to finish off that Siren staging area, William turned his fighter and followed closely from behind the formation. He checked the system and realized he still got a lot to waste on the enemy, William checked his radar and managed to spot an enemy formation to the north-west…Bah, he will need to engage them alongside Akagi and Kaga deployed fighter escorts. It looks like the plane formation is consisted of seven aircraft, they outnumbered the enemy.

"Fighter formation bearing 320, we're moving in" William said out loud on the radio.

William and a handful of Zeroes accelerated toward the Siren jets formation, William locked one of the jets and launched a missile strike which managed to strike one of the jets. The others didn't take too kindly of that as they immediately focused their attention on William, to be fair though he's the only human who ride jets on this battlefield so he stood out like a sore thumb. The Siren jets chased him around and constantly harassed him with machine gun rounds, however they're also being chased by the Zeroes that followed William to intercept them…Great, he only need to stay alive long enough until the jets are destroyed. William turned around quickly and sharply to avoid the Siren jets and he succeeded, the Siren jets were then gunned down one by one by the ship girl's fighter escorts.

"They're down…Alright, time to unload everything" William said out loud.

Okay, William flew on top of Siren's structure and just proceed to drop his entire payload of bombs straight on top of it. He looked down and the bomb managed to destroy two buildings and knocked several Spider Tanks out with couple of large explosions, not too shabby for his first bombing run since the training course…The other dive bombers then put the killing blow by destroying the rest of the base and the dozens explosions produced a thick smoke and dust clouds…What remains down there were charred buildings, scraps, ground splattered in yellow blood and dying Sirens. William huffed as he turned his jet around to head toward the headquarters, he's going to refuel and rearm for the next strike.

"Staging area destroyed!" Takao said out loud on the radio.

"For something as a staging area, surprisingly they're quite easy to destroy…" Amagi said out loud in wonder on the radio.

"Maybe they didn't expect us to strike them back after they just raided our headquarters?" Akagi asked Amagi.

"Perhaps…But with this, we'll lose the element of surprise. Our next strike will have to be executed in lightning speed if we want to maintain momentum" Amagi said to Akagi.

"Agreed. Don't worry, our second attack fleet is already on their way. I'll be heading back first to refuel and rearm ladies, stay safe out here" William said out loud on the radio.

"You too shikikan-sama" Amagi said to William on the radio while she smiled.

William pushed the lever forward and engaged the F-15's afterburner, he's flying back to headquarters in Mach Two speed to rearm and refuel as quickly as possible. The ship girls watched from below as the jet disappeared into the horizon, Amagi then turned her stare toward the demolished Siren staging area…They might have succeeded but something is off. Supposedly, a staging area like this would have large Siren presence and they won't be ready for combat immediately. Even though that's the case and they reacted according to how Amagi predicted them would be when they came in then started killing them, she couldn't helped but to think that all of this was too easy for some reason.

…It felt like the Sirens didn't even try to defend their position. Then, there's that matter where their fighters specifically went after William himself…She saw how it happened from the surface of the sea, and she have a theory for why did that happened. But, she thought it would be better to keep it to herself until she could get more evidence…

"…It looks like Zuikaku was right. He's certainly capable in combat while he led from the front" Amagi suddenly said on the radio.

"Are you worry about his safety, Amagi nee-sama?" Akagi asked Amagi while she smiled.

"Not really, even when you're inside the safest military base on Earth Sirens could still get you…But, did you notice that dive with rocket barrage just to distract the ship girls attacking us? He is reckless, what are the chances he will get shot down by flying straight toward a Siren ship girl like that? Did he discard any thoughts regarding his safety?" Amagi asked out loud on the radio.

"And that, is something we haven't found the cure yet…Maybe you can help with that, Amagi-san?" Atago asked Amagi on the radio.

"We'll see…" Amagi simply responded on the radio.

.

Zuikaku yawned as she followed Shoukaku and Hiryuu from behind, she should've get some shut eye while she can when Amagi and the others went to attack the staging area so now she felt sleepy…Oh well, that might change when bombs, shells or even laser pulses started to rain on her because adrenaline is one way to get your system up and running on overdrive. Zuikaku stared forward again and noticed that they have arrived at their target, Siren supply base. The base was used by the Sirens to store up their supplies, whatever those are inside containers alongside some buildings that may serve as storage and pyramid like building that humanity sure to be power plants.

The base has several trapezium like towers surrounding the perimeter, they are Siren's defensive coastal guns that could fire concentrated plasma bolt with enough power to split a mass produced human carriers into two. They are vulnerable against airstrike, unfortunately each corner of their top sides are installed with Siren's AA guns that fired plasma bolts…If anyone think for a second that the slower plasma bolts are less deadly than their other pulse laser projectiles, then surely they haven't witnessed the hail of fuckfest those guns could deliver with their absurd rate of fire…fortunately, their range is shorter at around two kilometers than the pulse laser one which could reach four and half kilometers before their magnetic field that encased the laser dissipated and the laser's power will weakened fast.

"Supply base spotted" Shoukaku said out loud.

"Alright, Shoukaku, Zuikaku, stick to the plan. We'll raze everything" Hiryuu said to Shoukaku and Zuikaku.

"Got it" "Sure" Zuikaku and Shoukaku responded.

The three of them deployed their entire squadron of bombers in the air, the key tactics to face these Siren tower's defensive emplacement is to fly up high and dive down with aircraft or bombard whatever they were protecting from long range with battleships. In this case, they will obliterate anything behind those towers from up high…Around sixty bombers flew toward the supply base, the towers immediately lit up their AA guns at the fleet of bombers who took evasive action while simultaneously dived in to release their payload. Bombs free falling to their target and covered up the entire supply base in explosions, some repeatedly hit their large pyramid like structure believed to be their main power generator and the building exploded in a bright blue flash of light when the damage it took exceeded their durability.

"Yes, take that!" Hiryuu said out loud while she grinned.

"That must be their main generator!" Shoukaku said out loud.

"Whoa…" Zuikaku said out loud in amazement.

"Mass produced ships incoming! They're battleships!" Kako reported on the radio.

"Kawakaze, Kinu, skirt around and sink them! Kako, provide overwatch and support both of them with your guns!"

"""Ryoukai!""" Kawakaze, Kinu and Kako said out loud on the radio.

The two cruiser and one destroyer moved to intercept the mass produced battleships, maybe they are mass produced models but their guns raw firepower could still blast a ship girl to oblivion if the rounds hit them. The first salvo was fired by the battleships but their position that were far away from the ship girls enabled them to dodged their salvo with relative ease, Kawakaze accelerated even faster than Kinu and Kako as she prepared her torpedo tube. Kawakaze passed through two battleship by passing between them, at the same time she launched her torpedoes on both direction which immediately breached their side's hull.

Kako saw that the rest of the battleship are trying to target Kawakaze so she fired her guns equipped with HE rounds to set few of them on fire, after that she get on close on a battleship she launched an entire torpedo salvo straight at it. The large explosion on the battleship's port side was followed by the massive flooding of sea water that entered the ship's hull, Kako finished it off by burning the battleship as it sinks to the sea…Kinu noted that she had to take down the battleship even faster so she boldly jumped high in the air fully knowing the battleship's main guns couldn't aim that fast and up high, Kinu took out two of her torpedoes and hurled them and on the ship's deck. The torpedoes penetrated deep into the battleship's internal parts before Kinu fired off her guns straight on the hole it created, the HE shells lit up the torpedoes explosive charges and the result was a massive detonation from within the Siren's battleship hull that torn it into two.

"Wow, nice going there Kinu!" Hiryuu said to Kinu on the radio.

"Thanks! Next!" Kinu said out loud on the radio.

"…Shikikan took a while" Zuikaku said out loud on the radio.

"I'm sure he'll be here soon, Zuikaku. Besides, we didn't have any trouble with the supply base" Shoukaku said to Zuikaku.

"Yeah…Huh?! Aerial torpedoes!" Zuikaku suddenly shouted.

Two Siren jets appeared from behind battleship's formation and then launched a torpedo each before pulling up, the torpedoes were aimed straight at Shoukaku and Zuikaku who narrowly dodged them. Both of them immediately launched their fighter aircraft and chased the Siren jets around, the two jets proved to be quite elusive as it returned to their carriers that deployed them and quickly swatted Shoukaku and Zuikaku's fighter jet off of the skies which forced the two crane to pull their planes back.

"They have a carrier?! Let's swarm it and bomb it to oblivion!" Zuikaku said to Shoukaku.

"Don't worry, I'll do it. You two keep the pressure on that supply base!" Hiryuu said to Zuikaku and Shoukaku.

"Fine. Zuikaku, let's go!" Shoukaku said to Zuikaku.

"Kinu! That defense tower is still active! Get out of there!" Kako said to Kinu on the radio.

"Shit! Oi, Shoukaku-san, Zuikaku-san, we need air support!" Kinu said to Shoukaku and Zuikaku on the radio.

"We're sending out our second wave of bombers Kinu-san! Please hold on!" Shoukaku said to Kinu on the radio.

Both Shoukaku and Zuikaku sent out their bombers fleet and they witnessed Kinu moving around in random pattern to avoid large projectiles of plasma being hurled at her, if that thing hits her then safe to say she's toasted, literally. Zuikaku sent out two dive bombers to destroy the tower but the AA guns around it provide a wall of plasma bolt that shot down her two bombers in seconds, Zuikaku sighed as she tried more radical plan. She flew her dive bomber up high, dive down in ninety degrees angel as she released the bomb above the tower. The bomb successfully hit the tower but it remains functional, so Zuikaku proceed to ram the damn thing with kamikaze maneuver which completely wrecked the tower and that allowed Kinu to retreat safely.

"That's a close one, thanks Zuikaku-san" Kinu said to Zuikaku on the radio.

"Anytime" Zuikaku said to Kinu on the radio while she smiled.

"I detected something on the radar. It's shikikan!" Hiryuu said out loud on the radio.

"Shikikan-sama? Can you hear me!?" Shoukaku asked William on the radio.

"Loud and clear Shoukaku, looks like you ladies started without me" William responded to Shoukaku on the radio.

"We're almost finished with the supply base, shikikan-sama" Shoukaku said to William on the radio.

"Already?" William asked Shoukaku on the radio, his tone filled with surprise and confusion.

"Yes? The Sirens didn't put up much of a fight" Shoukaku said to William on the radio.

…Really? When you thought about it something like a 'supply base' should be well guarded because if they lose their supplies then it could impede their capability, any war in history demonstrated such importance to logistic and supply chain. So, why the fuck didn't the Siren guard their supplies better? Do they have other site on the northern part of the isle? Do they stretched themselves too thin? Either way, William knew something is off because supposedly they'll get pounded by dozens of Siren ships or ship girls right about now…

"…Alright, just finish up and get ready to immediately hit the defensive line. Commander Meguro's forces will move shortly. I'll stick around in high altitude and keep an eye out for targets" William said to the ship girls on the radio.

"Understood shikikan, be careful, they got a carrier somewhere and it keeps launching jets" Hiryuu said to William on the radio.

"Got it, thanks for the heads up Ms. Hiryuu" William said to Hiryuu on the radio.

"Shikikan, do you require escorts?" Zuikaku asked William on the radio as she deployed two Zeroes.

"That would be nice Zuikaku, thanks" William said to Zuikaku on the radio.

After two more bombing runs from Zuikaku and Shoukaku, the supply base was left in complete ruin. William checked his loadout reading and noticed that he only used his cannon for a bit, he could go straight to hit Siren's defensive line. The third phase would be a combined assault with Meguro's regular forces, he only has one fleet left consisted of four landing ships, five frigates, three destroyers and one battleship…William noted few blips appeared on radar and registered as friendly, he looked behind and saw a squadron of fighter jets approached then formed up around him. The one beside him is an F-35 painted with forestland camouflage, this squadron are consisted of the remaining planes he saw back on the hangar.

"Knight, this is Gaia Lead. We were told by Commander Meguro to join up on the defensive line assault" The pilot beside his plane said to William on the radio.

"He only sent one squadron?" William asked Gaia Lead on the radio.

"Well…we're the only fixed wing flyers left on this isle, majority of us were shot down yesterday when we were being pushed back" Gaia Lead said to William with somber tone on the radio.

"I see…Good luck to you Gaia Squadron, we'll help as much as we could" William said to Gaia lead on the radio while he nodded his head.

"Thanks. But I believe it would be us who's helping you and the ship girls, we'll secure the sky so you could destroy those defensive emplacements" Gaia Lead said to William on the radio.

"Sound plan…Let's do this" William said to Gaia Lead on the radio.

…After Gaia Squadron formed up with William and they also joined with the ship girls, the group immediately moved toward Siren's primary defensive line which has towers and gun emplacement which they have to destroy in order to grant safe passage for Meguro's regular forces which already en-route. William received word from Amagi that they already went ahead of Meguro's forces and should arrive within two minutes, they have narrow time limit to break through the line but what William see in front of him caused the man to doubt they could get this combat done soon. The defensive line were littered by various towers even on a seaborne platform, if they want to break through from this side they will have to destroy at least four towers…

"Damn…this would be a tough fight" William muttered to himself.

"Shikikan-sama, we will arrive momentarily" Amagi said to William on the radio.

"Understood" William said to Amagi on the radio.

"Knight, two squadron of those Siren jets. We're outnumbered and we need to head to the battlefield quickly so it's time to show what you can do in aerial dogfight" Gaia Lead said to William on the radio.

"Roger that Gaia Lead…Bogey's on the HUD, engaging!" William said out loud on the radio.

Two squadron versus one squadron with one wild card, both side immediately fired their missiles as they started their close range dogfight against one another. William immediately glued to one Siren jet's tail, it tries to shake William off while he persistently followed it with occasional cannon fire. William locked the jet and launched a missile at it, however the attack failed as the jet barrel rolled to the right side while unleashing flare which made William's missile to miss. He clicked his tongue in frustration while he looked to the side, only to see an F-35 launched a missile at a Siren jet from behind and shot down the one that approached from the front with cannon fire…

"You lads are making this looks easy!" William said out loud on the radio.

"Heh, we've been doing this ever since graduation! Not to brag but we got some experiences under our belt!" Gaia Lead said to William on the radio.

No shit! William resolved to train with fighter jet more because he realized compared to these guys he's a dead beat. Although, that didn't stopped him from getting in close with another Siren jet and furiously fired his cannon at it. The rounds chipped the jet's plating before it destroyed the internal parts, the Siren jet fell down while burning and out of control. William heard a warning from his plane console that he was being locked, so he accelerated with afterburner while he went straight up and broke off from the dogfight mess. William could see that one of the Siren jets followed him up, he decelerated all the way until his jet stalled and nosedived back to Earth.

Now that William and the Siren jet are faced to faced, William locked the jet for missile strike while he fired his cannon. The Siren jet didn't shown any sign of backing off despite being hit by several cannon rounds, William didn't hesitate to launched a missile at it which destroyed the jet. William passed beside the burning wreckage to rejoin the dogfight, however Gaia Squadron already shot down most of the Siren jets leaving three which started to retreat behind Siren's defensive line. Great, they managed to win this aerial skirmish without losing anyone. Things couldn't get better than-

"I got a reading…Shit, check your radar Knight!" Gaia Lead said to William on the radio.

"…What the fuck?! Sirens, lots of them!" One member of Gaia Squadron said out loud on the radio.

"Ladies, hustle up. Sirens are reinforcing this defensive line!" William said out loud to the ship girls on the radio.

The radar was filled with dots behind Siren's defensive line, when William lowered his altitude he could clearly see multiple portals opened and Siren ship girls came out of those portals. There's only around thirty of them if William didn't miscounted, they didn't scared him. What really scared him? There's ten portals that was opened on the sky and poured out so many Siren jets that William lost count on how many of them, by estimation there should be around one hundred of them. He won't lie, William was rarely scared but the sight was enough to caused William to freeze a bit before he heard his radio blared to life.

"We have arrived shikikan-sama! We're joining in combat immediately!" Amagi said to William on the radio.

"Same here shikikan-sama, we are ready…Kami, there's so many of them!" Shoukaku said out loud on the radio.

"L-Ladies, fighter screens! We need some help over here!" William immediately said to the ship girls on the radio.

"""""Roger. Fighters launched!""""" All ship girl carriers said out loud on the radio.

Akagi, Kaga, Hiryuu, Shoukaku and Hiryuu launched all of their available fighters in the air and took position behind William alongside Gaia Squadron…The clash was inevitable, massive dogfight begun over the sky of Furushima. In the middle of the clusterfuck, William and Gaia Squadron found out that their job just become hell of a lot easier to do because almost all of the Siren jets were busy with the ship girl's fighter craft which allowed them to easily tailed and shoot down any Siren jets…William opted to break off from the dogfight however because he still have the ship girls to command, he couldn't neglect them just so he could get few kill high up in the air. He want to fight beside them, to use the jet he rode to help the girls when they need it…

"Yeah! Man, having the ship girl's fighters on our side is sure relieving!" Gaia Lead said out loud on the radio.

"Don't count on them too much though, they're still less advanced than our jets!" William said to Gaia Lead on the radio.

…Amagi narrowed her eyes as she came to a realization, now she knows why their staging area and supply base were so easy to destroy. They purposely held back their own forces which was deployed right now to combat them when they gathered conveniently on one spot near their defensive line, they meant to crush humanity's forces in one fell swoop. But what made them so confident that sneaky plan of theirs will work out in their favor? Amagi didn't know but she know one thing, she would not let Sakura Empire forces and the ship girls to go along with Siren's trap. With that in mind, she quickly form a tactics to quickly destroy the Siren towers.

"Akagi" Amagi called Akagi.

"Hai, nee-sama?" Akagi asked Amagi.

"I want those towers brought to the ground. Focus your bombers on them, I'll deal with their mass produced ships" Amagi said to Akagi.

"Wakarimashita!" Akagi said to Amagi as she launched her bombers.

"Kaga, help me out with those Explorers please" Amagi said to Kaga.

"Hai nee-sama!" Kaga said to Amagi as she launched her torpedo bombers.

Advancing Siren ship girls and towers that prepared to engage them if they get too close? Their only option for now is to rely on the backline ships. Akagi relentlessly bombed a tower despite the heavy AA fire toward her squadron of bombers, the repeated bombing hit the large plasma cannon which after tenth hit exploded in a huge blue flash before it crumbled. Amagi carefully aimed her cannons toward another tower before she relentlessly pounded it with AP shells, after her fourth salvo the tower broke down and disabled. Shoukaku and Zuikaku was about to launch their attack when several Siren ship girls blitzed toward them, their group had to move and rendezvous with Amagi and the others so they could combine their strength.

"Hiryuu here, I spotted formations of ship girls just behind the defensive line. We are being chased around, so let's rendezvous Amagi-san" Hiryuu said to Amagi on the radio.

"Yes, let's meet at the designated point" Amagi said on the radio.

"What are they doing there, Ms. Hiryuu?" William asked Hiryuu on the radio.

"They didn't move at all, they just stood still shikikan…As if, observing the battle" Hiryuu said to William on the radio.

"Don't give them any chance to learn our strategy or anything, harass them Ms. Hiryuu!" William said to Hiryuu on the radio.

"Hai! What the-" Hiryuu said to William on the radio.

BOOM!

An explosion thrown Hiryuu off the sea surface as Zuikaku, Shoukaku, Kinu, Kako and Kawakaze could only watched in utter shock and horror. Hiryuu landed on the water while she screamed in pain, Kinu, Kako and Kawakaze immediately formed a defensive perimeter facing Siren's territory while Shoukaku and Zuikaku went to see Hiryuu. She got burn marks on her right side of the face, her riggings cracked which also scorched and some part of her clothes on the right side was torn.

"Hiryuu-senpai!" Zuikaku said out loud.

"That…hurtttttt!" Hiryuu said out loud while she gritted her teeth as she stood up.

"What happened?!" William asked out loud on the radio.

"I'm…under attack!" Hiryuu said to William on the radio.

"Can you see who attack you?!" William asked Hiryuu on the radio.

"No-" Hiryuu said to William on the radio.

"INCOMING!" Kinu suddenly shouted.

BOOM!

Another purple explosion hit Hiryuu and send her away again from her position, this time Shoukaku and Zuikaku managed to reach Hiryuu's position as she fell onto the water again. This explosion shattered her riggings in half and she's surely can't fight anymore, Hiryuu gritted her teeth in pain as Shoukaku and Zuikaku held her to inspect the damage…Hiryuu earned a bed rest with how she looked right now, she's barely conscious as the heat, shockwave and kinetic impact alone should've killed a normal human.

"Again! They're targeting our backlines!" Zuikaku said out loud on the radio.

"Oh kami, her body and her riggings!" Shoukaku said out loud while she grimaced.

"Ms. Hiryuu, pull back! Ms. Yuubari, have a look at her riggings and see what battlefield repair you could do!" William said to the ship girls on the radio.

"Hai, shikikan!" Only Yuubari who responded…William got a bad feeling about this.

"ANOTHER ONE!" Kinu shouted on the radio.

BOOM!

Kinu saw a purple flash which caused her to instantly shout out loud and she managed to see what was attacking Hiryuu, a purplish large plasma bolt flew at almost light speed and went pass her which also narrowly hit her head. Shoukaku and Zuikaku stood in front of Hiryuu to shield her, the explosion sent both of them flying back away from Hiryuu. But unlike Hiryuu, both of them went unconscious due to the powerful hit. Kinu immediately took charge of the situation, if no one acted now then all of them could die getting sniped by unknown weapon!

"No no no! Get Shoukaku-san and Zuikaku-san, we're going to Amagi-san location!" Kinu said to Kako and Kawakaze who immediately moved to secure them.

"Damnit! If…If I go down here…I'll take them…with me as many as…I can! FINAL COUNT-" Hiryuu managed to stand up shakily as she prepared to launch all of her planes.

"You're reckless beyond belief, come with me!" Akagi suddenly said beside Hiryuu.

Akagi grabbed Hiryuu, Kawakaze grabbed Shoukaku and Kako grabbed Zuikaku. They immediately moved to avoid getting targeted by whatever it is from behind Siren defensive line again, Kinu lead the group to take cover behind a tiny island where Amagi and the others already waited for them by the beach. Kawakaze and Kako jumped off the water while carrying the unconscious Shoukaku and Zuikaku, the ran all the way until they reached the tree lines off the beach and put the crane sisters down…Both Shoukaku and Zuikaku suffered the same fate as Hiryuu, some part of their bodies, clothes and riggings are scorched…Akagi who's carrying Hiryuu and Kinu were the last one to arrive on the tiny island, she immediately carried Hiryuu to the tree lines where the ship girls temporarily gathered to reconsolidate.

"A-Akagi-senpai?" Hiryuu asked Akagi.

"Stay still, Hiryuu. Nee-sama, I have secured her" Akagi said to Amagi.

"Excellent. Yuubari-chan, please get on it. I'll report to shikikan-sama" Amagi said to Yuubari.

"Hai. Stay still Hiryuu-san" Yuubari said to Hiryuu.

Yuubari ran a throughout check on her, she's not a medic by any means but at least she could perform rigging repairs for a bit. The other ship girls helped the three wounded carriers to give some first aid and make sure there's no complications from their wounds, Hiryuu winced when Kako adjusted her right hand so she could inspect it while Yuubari checked on Hiryuu's rigging. Kaga was concentrating in operating her planes to scour the area and make sure the Siren didn't bull rush them while they recollect themselves, Akagi stared at her juniors…she frowned that all of her juniors here had to suffer such wounds.

"…Thanks senpai, sorry to trouble…you" Hiryuu said to Akagi then she winced in pain.

"No need. I'm just being a good senpai, Hiryuu…Besides, Souryuu would be very sad if you die" Akagi said to Hiryuu while she smiled.

"Yeah…you're right, senpai" Hiryuu said to Akagi while she smiled weakly.

"…How about Shoukaku and Zuikaku?" Akagi asked out loud.

"They're still unconscious, Akagi-san" Takao said to Akagi as she tended Shoukaku.

"…Alright, please stabilize them" Akagi said to Takao while she frowned a bit.

…William had heard of the situation from Amagi and he felt dread assaulting him, what was attacking them? Supposedly, they stood quite some distance from the defensive line at around thirty kilometers away! What kind of weapon that Siren used to be able to snipe ship girls that caused three of their carriers to be out of action? Shoukaku…William gripped on his flight stick tightly, she gave him a good luck kiss and now she's the one who was injured? Did she transferred all of her luck to him? He's getting too deep into it…William was sure that the Sirens would've targeted any of the backlines anyway even if it wasn't Shoukaku…

Well, if William want to get the girls out of this mess and save them he better take matter into his own hands. He remembered that there's a Siren ship girls formation behind the defensive line…William dived down from above the clouds toward the ship girls, his HUD managed to read the aircraft's sensor detailed result on the ship girls formation down below and there's five ship girls there. Two Navigator and three Peace Breaker…

"I see…The one that attacks Hiryuu are Siren ship girls, must be the Peace Breaker class" William said out loud on the radio.

"No wonder, I heard their cannons are monstrous but to think they could hit a ship girl that stood over thirty kilometers away…" Akagi said out loud on the radio.

"Yeah, those girls raw firepower are insane" Atago said out loud on the radio.

"We need to take her down or we can't provide support for the assault, shikikan-sama" Amagi said to William on the radio.

"Well, in order to do that you would need to get pass through that defensive line to reach their formation, but if we don't bring down those two remaining towers soon enough our ships would take massive damage and this entire operation is doomed to failure…I have a plan. We'll go by sending attack plane, the question is who would send them out? Akagi or Ms. Kaga?" William explained on the radio.

"I volunteer" Kaga suddenly said on the radio.

"Are you sure, Ms. Kaga?" William asked Kaga to confirm her decision on the radio,

"Almost every plane I have is ready for second deployment, what are your orders, shikikan?" Kaga asked William on the radio.

"We don't have a lot of time so we can't circle around the active towers. That means you have to fly high and hide inside the clouds while tracking my position, Ms. Kaga. Sneak past the towers and immediately dive toward the ship girl that I will attack, can you do that?" William asked Kaga on the radio.

"No problem whatsoever, shikikan" Kaga said to William on the radio.

"Good. As soon as the tower's destroyed, I want our vanguards to immediately storm inside their perimeter and engaged the remaining Siren ship girls on sight" William said out loud to the ship girls on the radio.

"Understood" Amagi answered on the radio.

Akagi and Amagi stared at Kaga who prepared her rigging, she only nodded her head in full confidence as she summoned her dive bombers up in the air. The fleet of bombers immediately went up high and hid inside the clouds, they're going to William's position at maximum speed…the aerial large aerial dogfight has stopped as majority of Siren jets were shot down, Gaia Squadron also retreated from the frontline to refuel and rearm before they will escort Meguro's forces that's just arrived on the battlefield. The entire fleet slowed down when spotters on board saw that two of the towers are still active…

"Commander Blaze! My fleet has arrived and but the defensive lines are still active! What the hell is going on!?" Meguro asked William on the radio.

"Some setbacks happened commander, tell your fleet to hold their position for a bit!" William said to Meguro on the radio.

"…Fine, just bring them down as quickly as you could. We brought something for the base's assault so we can't afford to lose our transport ships" Meguro said to William on the radio.

"Got it. Let us handle this threat now" William said to Meguro on the radio.

"Shikikan, I'm right behind you" Kaga said to William on the radio.

William checked the radar and saw large formation of friendly blips behind his plane, Kaga has arrived. William flew under the cover of the clouds while Kaga followed closely behind, he's resolved to take those Siren ship girls down whatever the cost. He yanked the flight stick and made the his F-15 dived toward the Earth while readying bombs, the ship girls immediately noticed him and started firing their pulse laser AA guns toward William. He realized that one hit to the body and his plane would explode to smithereens, only one good hit…But he gritted his teeth as he kept diving toward the ship girls, losing his shit now would gain him nothing!

"…I got a feeling that I'm going to regret this later. Damn I hate those pulse lasers!" William muttered to himself.

The adrenaline pump around his system, his reflex heightened and his perception of time slowed down. He aligned his reticle toward one of the Peace Breaker, his finger ready on the trigger to release the bomb. But a pulse laser bolt flew too close to the cockpit and briefly startled him, William however shook his head so he could regained his focus. He accelerated and squeezed the trigger at the same time as he yanked the flight stick backwards and he felt his gut squeezed as the F-15 pulled up its nose and the G force put a strain on his body, the jet flew past the Peace Breakers and they all dodged the dropped bombs by moving to the side…William looked back and he clicked his tongue, he really need to practice doing that.

"…Now I know how those Sirens felt when the ship girls dodged their bombs" William muttered to himself.

However that doesn't mean the attack already failed, Kaga and dozens of dive bombers swarmed the Peace Breakers and they didn't hesitate to drops all of their bombs simultaneously. The three Peace Breakers were hit by multiple AP bombs that managed to crushed two of them before being obliterated by the resulting explosions, the last Peace Breaker did get hit by the bombs but she still managed to stand up despite her injured state. But that came with a price, majority of Kaga's dive bombers were shot down by the Navigators.

"Nice hit Ms. Kaga!" William said to Kaga on the radio.

"My planes are downed. You have to finish that one off by yourself, shikikan" Kaga said to William on the radio.

"I have no choices huh?" William said out loud.

William doubled back as he changed his armament into his joint strike missile, he still has four of them and he intended to make full use of it. Flying in low height as the two Navigator lit up their AA guns once more, but William couldn't care less about those two as his primary target is not them and it's limping as it tried to get away from him. The sensor locked on to the Peace Breaker and William squeezed the trigger, two missiles were launched and hit Peace Breaker straight in the face and torso as William flew above her.

"In your face, bitch!" William cussed when he saw the explosion.

"Shikikan, did you succeed in killing her?" Kaga asked William on the radio.

"Anything that could survive two joint strike missile to the face is something I don't want to fight, I'll double back to confirm" William said to Kaga on the radio.

"I hope that she did die" Akagi said out loud on the radio.

"Phew…fortunately, she's dead" William said to the ship girls on the radio, he only saw the Peace Breaker slowly sunk to the bottom of the seas.

"Towers destroyed, we punched a hole in their lines!" Amagi said to William on the radio.

"Kinu, Kako, Kawakaze, Takao, Atago! Move in!" William ordered the ship girls to begin their assault.

"""""Ryoukai!""""" Kinu, Kako, Kawakaze, Takao and Atago said to William on the radio.

"Commander Meguro, we managed to make a hole on the south western and southern part of the defensive line. We will clear the remaining Sirens now, you may want to advance steadily" William said to Meguro on the radio.

"Then we will do just that. Advancing now commander" Meguro said to William on the radio.

The ship girls redeployed to the battle and headed straight for the two Navigators who opted to flee and rejoin the others way back from the defensive line, this Siren ship girls fleet has at least thirty of them and the vanguards are moving to engage them. Outnumbered? For sure, but their raw skill will make up for it. As long as they keep moving and kill those Sirens one by one then they can come out on top, it will be hard with three of their carriers were downed and they had to rely solely on Amagi as backline support. Just as Meguro's fleet passed through the defensive lines, dozens of portals appeared all around them and Siren ship girls alongside their mass produced ships came out of it. One of them is Purifier herself, she's back on action while grinning and while riding a brand new rigging.

"What the hell?! Portals!" Meguro said out loud on the radio.

"…It's a massive scale ambush…this entire operation is a giant trap?!" William asked out loud on the radio.

"Bah! You humans are so predictable sometimes! I thought you'll do better than this!" Purifier said to them on the radio.

"She must be Purifier…" William muttered to himself.

"We outnumbered and outgunned you in every possible way! Surrender now and you might be spared, we aren't merciless you know?" Purifier said to Meguro on the radio.

"Tell that to ten thousand humans you've killed yesterday, Siren! Men, women and children that lives on this isle! Mercy my ass!" Meguro shouted at Purifier on the radio, rage apparent on his tone.

"Awww, I'm weawy sowwy?" Purifier said to Meguro on the radio.

"You'll die here today, monster!" Meguro declared to Purifier on the radio.

"Ara, don't you know? Killing me, is something almost impossible to do! Mwahahahahaha!" Purifier said to Meguro on the radio before she laughed maniacally.

"Ms. Amagi, what's the situation?" William asked Amagi on the radio.

"We are completely surrounded shikikan-sama, our only way out is to punch another hole between their forces. Unless we disable our rigging and swim underneath the water surface to escape, but I doubt that would be effective" Amagi said to William on the radio.

"Damnit…Think of something Will, anything…" William muttered to himself.

…THIS! This trap was apparent from the moment they strike their staging area and supply base but none of them caught wind of it, the Sirens must've realized that they planned to attack them from the start and waited for the right moment to kill all of them in one stroke. Basics of combat! If the attack is going too well, you're walking into an ambush! How could William forget? Only the scale is different because in the end they still walk into an ambush! Okay, William discarded his regret aside for now as he concentrated to help their entire forces that was trapped by the Siren's encirclement…William only have four bombs left, two join strike missile left alongside cannons but that is surely not enough to face that many. He's out of options…

"…Guten tag kommandant, it seems you require some help" Someone said to William on the radio.

"Huh? Bismarck?!" William asked out loud as she recognized her voice on the radio.

* * *

_(Bismarck by Sabaton starts playing)_

* * *

William picked up new radar contacts to the east, twenty new friendly contacts…The Ironblood fleet has arrived in arrow formation with Bismarck herself leading from the front, she didn't even hesitate to brought the entire Kriegsmarine ship girls on the base with her in preparation for the battle. Bismarck noted that their allies are surrounded by the Sirens ship girls and mass produced ships, so it's up to the Ironbloods in order to free them and turn this battle back on their favor. An F-15 fighter jet approached them from the front and fly low enough beside Bismarck and she could see William himself staring at her, Bismarck was glad that their kommandant isn't trapped inside the encirclement…That means, she and the others have nothing to hold back for.

"I'm sorry for being late. The Ironbloods have arrived, kommandant" Bismarck said to William on the radio as she nodded at him.

"Nonsense! You're earlier than I thought! Bismarck, you are clear to engage all Siren on sight! No mercy! Kill all of them on sight!" William said to Bismarck on radio.

"Jawohl kommandant! Everyone, prepare for combat! Today, we will rule the waves! Glory for Ironblood!" Bismarck said out loud to the ship girls.

""""""""""Sieg heil!"""""""""" Ironblood ship girls replied in unison to Bismarck.

The ship girls formation consisted of twenty ship girls divided themselves into smaller arrowhead formation as they spread out to prevent themselves bunching up, the Sirens apparently realized that the Ironbloods have arrived and they're sending in thirty ship girls to intercept them. Well that's not fair, for them that is! Tirpitz glided toward Bismarck's side as she noted the Siren ship girls line formation, fifty kilometers and closing in.

"We're facing dozens of them at once, schwester!" Tirpitz said to Bismarck who calmly keep staring at the Sirens.

"Don't let numbers discourage you Tirpitz, maybe we're outnumbered but we aren't outgunned in the slightest" Bismarck said to Tirpitz calmly.

"All guns are aimed and ready, Lord Bismarck. Waiting for orders!" Prinz reported to Bismarck from her left side.

"On my signal!" Bismarck said out loud.

The distance between the two opposing forces are closing in fast, they're twenty kilometers away from each other now and in the next two minute they'll be at each other's face. But before that happened, the Ironblood fleet will get their first shot in. William accelerated his fighter jet toward their formation, he intended to provide distraction for the Sirens. As expected Siren ship girls immediately lit up their AA guns to hit him, but William nimbly moved in random pattern to avoid their projectiles before he flew upwards. Realizing that they are close enough now and a little distracted, they're too late to act because what William just did bought enough time for the whole Ironblood ship girls fleet to aim toward the Sirens.

"FEUERN!" Bismarck shouted mightily.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Bismarck opened the battle with full salvo from her guns, as the flagship of the navy and the Pride of Ironblood it's customary for her to get the first kill. That salvo was followed by the other ship girls who followed her by firing their own salvo at the approaching Siren ship girls, the Sirens was caught off guard as one Smasher class got torn apart by Bismarck first salvo of AP rounds and her sisters soon followed by Ironblood's hellish rain of lead. Before the Sirens could even fire in retaliation, Ironblood cruisers and destroyers pinned them down by firing rapidly at them. Bismarck and the other battleships soon done with their reload and they wasted zero seconds as they fired again at the remaining targets, thirty Siren ship girls were left as dead husk in the water in less than one minute since the combat started.

"Onwards! Don't give them time to react and counterattack! Graf, deploy your wings! Prinz, lead the vanguard's assault!" Bismarck quickly ordered her subordinates.

"Jawohl. Let's begin our symphony of destruction" "As you wish…Vanguards! Open fire! Follow me!" Graf Zeppelin and Prinz said in response.

"Wolfpack here, we're going for the assault Lord Bismarck!" U-556 surfaced beside Bismarck and said to her.

"Take care down there, 556. Launch torpedoes and keep moving" Bismarck said to U-556 while she nodded her head.

"Got it! Let's go everyone!" U-556 said to the other submarines as they dived.

"Our attack is working schwester, those Siren formations on the south and the west are moving to attack us…There's so many of them" Tirpitz said to Bismarck.

"Then I hope you're ready for some close quarter combat, Tirpitz. We'll take them, head on" Bismarck said to Tirpitz while she smiled a bit.

"Jawohl, schwester!" Tirpitz said to Bismarck.

Graf's fighters and bombers approached the approaching Siren ship girls and mass produced ships, they unloaded all of their ammo toward the mass produced ships since they are bigger and easier to target. The bombs crippled the mass produced ships while the Siren ship girls were forced to engage Ironblood ship girls in close quarter. Graf Spee accelerated forward and clawed through two Explorer simultaneously, she then approached and threw one Chaser upwards where she was gunned down full of holes by Deutschland who's on standby behind Graf Spee with her dual pistol. But despite their effort, many Siren ship girls managed to pass through them and headed straight for Bismarck and the other battleships along with Graf Zeppelin.

"They're in range!" Scharnhorst said out loud.

"In range? They're too close!" Gneisenau said to Scharnhorst.

"No, they're right on where we want them to be…Checkmate!" Tirpitz said out loud.

Tirpitz fired off her main guns toward the approaching Scavengers and Chasers, few of them were gunned down in large explosions caused by HE shells Tipritz used. She also launched torpedoes toward the approaching Siren ship girls, two of them received direct torpedo hit while few jumped off to hit Bismarck herself in point blank range. Bismarck herself only calmly watched those few Chasers, when they got too close Bismarck make sure her guns already pointed toward each of them where none of them could dodge.

"Wahrheit!" Bismarck shouted as she fired her main guns.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

* * *

_From the mist a shape, a ship is taking form! And the silence of the sea is about to drift into a storm!_

_Sign of power! Show of force! Raise the riggings battleship plotting its course!_

_Pride of a nation! A beast made of steel! Bismarck in motion!_

_Queen of the ocean she was made to rule the waves across the seven seas!_

_To lead the war machine! To rule the waves and lead the Kriegsmarine!_

_The terror of the seas! The Bismarck and the Kriegsmarine!_

_._

_Two dozen KANSEN and fifty thousand tons of rigs!_

_Set the course for mirror seas with the Siren on their heels!_

_Firepower! Firefight! Battlestations, keep the target steady in sight!_

_Into formation, the hunt has begun! Death and damnation!_

_The fleet is coming she was made to rule the waves across the seven seas!_

_To lead the war machine! To rule the waves and lead the Kriegsmarine!_

_The terror of the seas! The Bismarck and the Kriegsmarine!_

_._

_At the bottom of the ocean, the depth of the abyss._

_They are bound by Iron and Blood!_

_The flagship of the navy, the terror of the seas!_

_Her guns have gone silent for now!_

_._

_Pride of a nation! A beast made of steel! Bismarck in motion!_

_Queen of the ocean she was made to rule the waves across the seven seas!_

_To lead the war machine! To rule the waves and lead the Kriegsmarine!_

_The terror of the seas! The Bismarck and the Kriegsmarine!_

_To lead the war machine! Rule the waves and lead the Kriegsmarine!_

_The terror of the seas! The Bismarck and the Kriegsmarine!_

_To lead the war machine! Rule the waves and lead the Kriegsmarine!_

_The terror of the seas! The Bismarck and the Kriegsmarine!_

* * *

…**You just can't have Bismarck and Ironblood in action without the obligatory song Bismarck by Sabaton! Wait, are those the correct lyrics? No of course not, some changes were made to fit the Azur Lane verse. That doesn't mean I own the songs alright, I'm just a fan hahahaha (**_**Try to read the last part with the song on, maybe that will give you different experience**_**)…Oh boy, who would've thought The Ironbloods fleet would come charging to the rescue with Bismarck herself in the lead. Now, the tide is turning with the arrivals of ALASUC main force, Siren forces are in deep shit! Thanks for the review, follow and favorite dear readers! **

**See you next time!**

**\- Dasmara**


	22. Stand by for knightfall!

He only ever heard it from the stories and after action reports but William found himself in awe, seeing the mighty Ironblood fleet in action under Bismarck lead was a sight to behold. They managed to calmly eat through Siren ship girls like they were nothing, powerful, fearsome and their advanced riggings provided huge advantage in combat against Sirens. William noted that they managed to cause Sirens to break their encirclement and focused on the newly arrived Ironblood fleet, which means Meguro's regular fleet path was cleared.

"Reinforcement has arrived, I repeat, reinforcement has arrived! Keep your pacing Commander Meguro, we'll handle the Sirens!" William said to Meguro on the radio.

"Outstanding! We're moving now!" Meguro said to William on the radio.

"Bismarck, send few ladies to escort the fleet" William said to Bismarck on the radio.

"Ja kommandant. Nimi, take few others with you and go escort that fleet" Bismarck said to Z23.

"Jawohl!" Z23 saluted at Bismarck as she responded.

Z23 contacted Z1 and Z25 for assistance, the three of them then immediately headed for Meguro's regular fleet which already begun moving again…Occasionally, the regular fleet would exchange weapon fire toward the Sirens mass produced ships in front of them which slowly retreated toward their base. Human regular ships are obviously less advanced and less armored than Sirens but they do have one significant advantage, their maneuverability. They managed to catch up with the retreating Siren ships when they noticed that some part of their fleet had gone missing, Meguro realized that the Sirens must've circled the small islands around them to flank and encircle their fleet again. His fear proven to be true when they saw several Siren mass produced ships coming from behind them after their maneuver was complete.

"They're splitting up, they will hit us from the rear!" Meguro said out loud on the radio.

"I wouldn't worry about that" Bismarck calmly responded to Meguro on the radio.

"Let every ship do her utmost! FIRE!" Someone shouted on the radio.

Multiple battleship shell tore through the hull of the Siren cruisers behind the regular fleet, several smaller HE shells hit and burn the rotting hull before several dive bombers swoop down and released their AP bombs straight toward the ship's center. Within ten seconds five Siren Cruiser were slowly sinking while burning, William stared from the cockpit of his jet in wonder who just did that? Then he slowly looked at the formation behind the Siren ships, he smiled widely when he saw Mikasa in front of numerous Sakura Empire ship girls.

"Mikasa! Am I glad to see you!" William called her out on the radio while he grinned.

"Bismarck-sama suggested that we approach them from the west in flanking maneuver, shikikan-sama. Sakura Empire Task Force is under your command!" Mikasa said to William on the radio.

"Push them back from attacking our regular fleet and then join the assault on the nearby Siren's base!" William said to Mikasa on the radio.

"Wakarismashita! You heard him! Souryuu, fighter cover! Hiei, Kirishima, Haruna! Shell those approaching Smashers! Myoukou, lead the cruisers and destroyers around their left flank! Sink them all!" Mikasa said out loud on the radio.

Alright, all of their reinforcement has arrived and ready to pound those Sirens to the bottom of the sea. William felt confidence rushing back at him as he accelerated the jet that he rode toward the Siren's base so he could scout the area and called out targets, the fleet took a while but they eventually managed to reach their designated position to launch their attack on Siren's secondary base. The name might be 'secondary' but it was clear that their base is a large installation filled with hundreds of ship girls, dozens mass produced ships and its perimeter littered with defensive emplacement. William narrowed his gaze when he realized that flattening this base to the ground might be harder than he thought it will be, fortunately Meguro said to leave that matter to him.

"…That's it, that's their secondary base. Prepare to launch our Tomahawk Missile!" Meguro said out loud on the radio.

Tomahawk Missile, of course. Any modern mass produced small warships on this world compensated their cannons firepower with missiles, one of them is the infamously lethal Tomahawk Missile which any Frigate or Destroyer ship commander ordered to fire whenever they had to fight directly against something larger than Siren battleship or as ground support…The Siren ship girls realized that they have reached their controlled waters and they stopped retreating as they spread themselves out with weapons pointed at the approaching Sakura Empire and Ironblood forces, Purifier reappeared from behind the ship girl's formation as she prepared to fight the combined forces off.

"That's her, that's Purifier! Kill her! Concentrate all of our firepower at that demon!" Meguro said out loud on the radio.

William watched as every ship in Meguro's regular fleet fired all of their weaponry toward Purifier, cannon salvos, missiles and even torpedoes were focused on her that William was sure that Purifier won't be able to survive all of that. The projectiles rained upon Purifier's position, but even after all of that she's still alive and it turns out she managed to dodge most of the attack. Only several cannon shells managed to hit their mark and that only scratched the riggings, there's also some part of her clothes that were burnt but that's it…that's all the damage an entire fleet could give?! Purifier stared at the approaching Sakura Empire and Ironblood forces while she scowled, those humans are really persistent.

"Dear Purifier, I thought you say you could handle this?" Observer Alpha suddenly said to Purifier on the communicator.

"Shut your mouth! All of this happened because you're being too lenient!" Purifier said to Observer Alpha on the communicator.

"But that was a necessity. You know we need more data…Is he there?" Observer Alpha said to Purifier on the communicator.

"What do you think?!" Purifier said to Observer Alpha on the communicator while she stared at the approaching enemy.

"I see…Start the experiment phase two" Observer Alpha said to Purifier on the communicator.

"Ha? What gives you the idea that you could order me around you bitch?!" Purifier said to Observer Alpha on the communicator with angry tone.

"Because I'm the one that will took your head off and spin it in front of everyone, again. Now, do as I say" Observer Alpha said to Purifier on the communicator.

"Tch! Fine!" Purifier said to Observer Alpha on the communicator.

…Purifier hate that woman so much sometimes, but well she have no choice but to comply. Purifier stared upwards at the F-15 that William rode, her objective is quite simple and that is to down him…Sirens have marked Commander William Blaze as something anomalous, among all the commanders they fought he's the first to fight against them on the frontline from the start. Purifier was given order to do 'experimentation' on him but for that to happen she had to down him first from the sky…William noticed that Purifier didn't make any move even after all of that, he wondered on what was she really planning…

"Oi commander! Come down here!" Purifier said to William on the radio.

"Won't happen lady!" William said to Purifier on the radio.

"Bah! You humans always had to make everything complicated huh?!" Purifier said to William on the radio.

Well if William didn't want to come down and meet her himself then that leaves her no choice but to shoot him down, Purifier moved her Hammerhead Shark like rigging and proceed to aimed at William's F-15 with a yellow holographic screen displayed on her right eye. When Purifier got a lock on him she fired her main gun, huge yellow plasma beam shot through the air and almost hit William's F-15 left wing. The beam weapon energy surge caused a turbulence which resulted with William's jet to rattle as he stared down at the origin of the beam with widened eye, did Purifier just seriously try to kill him with her main cannon?!

"THE FUCK?!" William shouted as he was surprised.

"That's Purifier's main cannon!" Bismarck said to William on the radio.

"Shikikan-sama! Get out of there! She's targeting you directly!" Akagi said to William on the radio.

"Eugen, Hipper, protect Herr Kommandant! Divert that woman's attention!" Bismarck said to Prinz and Hipper.

""Jawohl!"" Prinz and Hipper said to Bismarck.

Prinz and Hipper immediately broke from formation as both of them went to charge at the Purifier directly, their commander is in immediate danger if they didn't act. Hipper saw how big was that beam that Purifier shot at William and she knew it will shot any aircraft down in one shot, she had to make sure Purifier wouldn't get another chance to shoot that cannon of hers' or this time William could actually get shot down. Bismarck choose them both for two simple reason, they're both hard hitters in close quarter combat and both had shielding so they are pretty much well rounded to face any adversary. As they glided to Purifier's position both of them could saw that the other Siren ship girls were busy engaging the other ship girls, which means they could fight without much problem.

"Her main cannon is dangerous Eugen, we should stick together" Hipper said to Prinz.

"My, wouldn't you be even more pessimistic if she had to compare our breast if we stick together?" Prinz asked Hipper while she smirked a bit.

"Do you really have to use that as an excuse you devil?!" Hipper angrily shouted at Prinz then she gritted her teeth.

"Ufufufufu…Either way, we need to divert her attention away from each other" Prinz giggled before she said to Hipper.

"…Fine, let's do it your way" Hipper said to Prinz then she sighed.

Prinz and Hipper accelerated forward Purifier at maximum speed, they will aim to take her down from close quarter despite past experience shown that Purifier was quite good at close quarter combat. Purifier noticed the two approaching heavy cruiser then set her fighting stance and her rigs started to charge its main cannon, Prinz nodded at Hipper who quickly fired her main guns and AA guns to the water around Purifier which created multiple explosions that formed water splashes screen which blinded Purifier temporarily. Prinz switched her approach direction to the left side while launching torpedoes at Purifier, the torpedoes almost missed their mark but one did connected on target in which the explosion managed to stunned Purifier. Hipper dashed forward, spotted the stunned and confused Purifier on top of her rigging before she launched a powerful right hook straight at her face which sent her flying back.

"Eugen!" Hipper said to Prinz.

The flying Purifier didn't have time to respond when Prinz used her right rigging to decked her back toward the surface of the sea, Purifier fell and hit the surface of the sea where she's immediately gunned by Prinz from above as she hovered on top of Purifier. Prinz relentlessly fired all of her guns for ten second straight when she's hit by a feeling that not all of her shells connected with Purifier so she stopped firing, her prediction came true when she could no longer see Purifier. Water splash sound was heard from slightly behind by Prinz who immediately drop down to the surface of the sea and side stepped to the left, which caused her to dodged Purifier's laser beam that she fired in nick of time.

"Tch, she's craftier than she lets on!" Prinz clicked her tongue as she rejoined with Hipper.

"Nice try! My turn!" Purifier said out loud while she grinned.

"Schwester!" Prinz nodded her head at Hipper.

"Ja!" Hipper said to Prinz as she nodded too.

Purifier fired her main gun again at Hipper and Prinz who huddled close to one another before they projected their energy shielding in front of them, the beam hit the energy shield and caused a blinding yellow flash that's noticeable kilometers away from the location. The beam then caused a massive explosion that engulfed both Prinz and Hipper inside the water splash and smoke, Purifier grinned as she killed two of them in one shot.

"Heh, how about that!? Now you…Eh?" Purifier said while she grinned before she did a double back.

Well, she only thought she killed the two of them because Hipper is still standing. She charged forward while unleashing three torpedoes at Purifier who simply jumped while she also charged toward Hipper, Purifier launched a drop kick at Hipper who crossed her arms in front of her and she managed to block Purifier's powerful kick. She's not finished however as Purifier dropped to the surface, dashed forward and started to launch multiple jabs and hooks at Hipper who kept her defenses up while she occasionally dodged Purifier's attack. Hipper saw a gap on Purifier's attack pattern, after she deflect Purifier's left hook Hipper dashed and chocked on Purifier's neck which Purifier responded by grabbing on Hipper's arms…Despite being chocked, Purifier didn't shown any anxiety or sign of suffocation.

"…Don't you think that torpedo attack is too obvious, you flat!?" Purifier asked Hipper while she grinned.

"Don't you think that was a very obvious distraction, you bitch!? Get her Eugen!" Hipper said out loud.

Hipper yanked her hands away from Purifier's neck which caused her arms to outstretched while at the same time Prinz's riggings surfaced from the water, the rig latched on Purifier's arms before the riggings bite Purifier's arms and then yanked her away from her current location. Prinz surfaced from beneath the water in drenched state, her riggings opened their mouth and two lower human arms fell to the surface of the sea…Purifier managed to stood up as she looked on her nonexistent lower arms and the stumps were leaking yellow blood profusely, she clicked her tongue as her riggings surfaced beneath her feet, two drones appeared from it and shoot their cannon at Purifier's remaining arms. The plasma cauterized the wound and temporarily prevent her from bleeding out, Purifier groaned a bit before she returned her attention at the two Ironblood's heavy cruiser…

"Heh…you two gave me some difficulty, it's been fun really. But this ends now, say your prayers!" Purifier said out loud as her main cannon started charging.

"Fine…I pray for a mighty heavenly angel to come down from heavens in the name of god to smite the unbeliever in front of me~!" Prinz playfully prayed by crossing her fingers while Hipper stared at her as if Prinz went crazy or something.

"…Okay, good one, that was amusing. Bye bye now!" Purifier said to Prinz while she grinned maliciously.

"Oh wait, I forgot to mention one tiny thing. The angel is made of metal!" Prinz said to Purifier as she winked.

"Metal? What kind of angel was tha-" Purifier asked out loud.

BOOOOMMMM!

An F-15 Fighter Jet rammed Purifier directly at the speed of Mach Two, destroying her riggings, shutting off her drones and possibly crushed her body with the sheer weight alongside kinetic force alone. Hipper widened her eyes while Prinz smirked at the sight, Prinz look upwards only to see the pilot of the F-15 dropped down slowly to the sea with the parachute opened wide. The pilot landed on the sea and both of them approached the downed pilot who swam back up after untangling his parachute, the pilot is none other than William Blaze who chuckled to himself when he realized that his extremely stupid plan actually works and he's still alive…Prinz immediately lifted him off the water with her rigging, William steadied himself on it before Hipper approached him.

"That was reckless, you dummkopf! What if the ejection mechanic failed to work, HUH?!" Hipper said to William as she hit his left arm.

"Ouch! Hehehehehe, if that were the case though, I would've dropped all of the bombs before pulling up. Nice to see your beautiful dishonest face didn't get scorched, Hipper!" Despite the painful punch, William still grinned and said to Hipper.

"Shut up!" Hipper pouted as she crossed her arms and looked sideways.

"You're not concerned about me~?" Prinz cutely asked while s\he switched to shouldered William now.

"Oh, nice to see you're unhurt too Prinz" William said to Prinz while he smiled.

"Hmph…Still, vielen dank, kommandant" Prinz said to William before she pecked him right on the lips.

"…Happy to help" William said to Prinz while he grinned.

"Blaze?! Respond damnit! Your blip is gone from radar!" Meguro suddenly shouted on the radio.

"Don't worry! I rammed the jet at Purifier. But I managed to get out safely, she's been dealt with!" William said to Meguro on the radio.

"For now, she'll come back soon. She seems to have multiple bodies in store" Prinz said to William while she frowned, experience is a hell of a teacher.

"Really?! Damnit!" William cussed as he deeply frowned.

"You reckless fuck! Hah…we got a clear shot at their base. We're launching Tomahawks now!" Meguro said to William on the radio.

"Copy that, I'll just stay here and maybe record the explosion" William said to Meguro on the radio while he smiled.

"Do what you want then…You owe me a fighter jet by the way!" Meguro said to William on the radio.

"Heh…I'll see what I can do about it!" William said to Meguro on the radio while he cringed.

…Souryuu would pinch his ears off later when she knew he had to use some of their budget to buy a replacement jet for Meguro, that shit is expensive. William saw four Tomahawk missile flying straight at Siren's base and he smiled, as an infantry during direct action combat he always felt at ease whenever Lena or someone on command sent a Tomahawk Missile at their objective which usually means mission accomplished for him. He was spoiled by Johnson months ago during their talk that today's Tomahawk Warhead have been significantly modified to yield even powerful blast than the ones in the past as response to Siren's open aggression at humanity.

"Look, one of that would be enough to blast a quarter of our base" William said to Prinz and Hipper as he pointed at the flying Tomahawk Missiles.

"Hmmm, do we have countermeasure in case one ever fly to our base?" Hipper asked William with a hand on her chin.

"Ah…now that I thought about it-" William said to Hipper with half closed eye.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Four massive explosion erupted in the direction of the Siren's second base, William huffed in satisfaction to know that their remaining task is to go in and mop the rest of them that managed to survive those devastating missile strike…When the blinding explosions light fade off William will order the ship girls to join formation and head off for clean sweep, but that never happened because when the light died out there's a massive yellow colored energy wall surrounding the base. William widened his eye in horror when he saw that their base wasn't damaged in the slightest! Their missile strike was intercepted by that shield?!

"…I say that would make an excellent defense for that missile strike, ja?" Prinz said out loud while she frowned a bit.

"Blaze! What happened!? We got confirmation of missile impact but it didn't even reach our intended target!" Meguro said to William on the radio.

"Sirens deployed some kind of energy shielding field! Missiles struck the shield! No damage to Siren's base! Repeat! No damage to Siren's base!" William said to Meguro while he grimaced at the sight.

"Goddamnit! Huh? Sirens are mobilizing their defense forces! They're heading straight for us!" Meguro said to William on the radio.

"Looks like we've kicked a hornet's nest. We wouldn't last doing consecutive fight like this! Let's retreat for now!" William said to Meguro on the radio.

"Agreed! All units, RTB! We're pulling back!" Meguro said out loud on the radio.

"Kommandant? Why? We have more than enough strength to destroy that base!" Hipper asked William while she frowned.

"Let's not tempt fate for anymore today. We rest and we return to the fight later, hastiness won't do us good Hipper…there's still tomorrow on this case" William said to Hipper.

"Ja, I had to agree with kommandant, schwester. We better reconsolidate, we lost our momentum with that failed missile strike" Prinz said to Hipper.

"…Alright, then let's head back" Hipper said to Prinz and William as she nodded her head.

.

…They managed to pull out safely from the frontline while leaving some rear guard who only took light casualties to make sure Sirens didn't chase after them, they returned to the base while cursing that energy barrier because all of that effort were wasted. Soldiers, munitions, fuel, all spent in the effort to bring down that secondary base and all they manage to bring back to their headquarters are casualties…William stood inside a specialized medical room that is meant to take care of the ship girls, two woman laid down on the bed in front of him.

Shoukaku and Zuikaku survived with severe burn damage and concussion, that's what knocked them out and the medics and doctors have done their absolute best to make sure their wounds were treated. Hiryuu had to undergo intense medical operation due to suffering third degree burns in major part of her body, she was kept on the other room for intense Regel Therapy to restore her burnt muscle and skin. Souryuu have been accompanying her ever since they return to the base, he decided to let her off the hook from any mission temporarily until Hiryuu's condition improved…or if she choose to. A female doctor approached William who still worn his flight suit as he stared at Shoukaku and Zuikaku, she tapped his shoulder to get his attention.

"…How are they?" William asked the doctor in low tone.

"The girls are stable for now, the damage to their body will heal in due time but for their rigging…I can't say much. It is clear that Zuikaku-san and Shoukaku-san wouldn't be able to participate in any fight for the next few days, Hiryuu-san might even be for a month. Ship girls do naturally have quicker recovery rate than an average human, they could fully heal minor cuts in two days completely and it won't leave a single scar behind…No matter what happened, given enough time, they will retain their original beauty…Hah, I'm so jealous of that ability" The doctor explained to William.

"Ditto on that" William said out loud as he nodded his head.

"…I already prescribed them medications to heal the burn wounds, we also received a crate of Regel from the helicopter so that will greatly help with our supplies. You can rest easy, commander" The doctor said to William in assurance.

"Thanks doc" William said as he stared at the doctor.

"Just doing my job. I'll be on standby here, they're in good hands" The doctor said to William while she nodded her head.

The doctor left him alone as she head over toward her desk to jolt few notes down, William approached the girls and stared each at their face. He caressed Zuikaku's left cheek that caused her to squirm but then fell at ease again, maybe she's dreaming or something…William turned toward Shoukaku and he had to frown even deeper, her wounds are more severe than Zuikaku because she's in front of her when that concentrated energy bolt hit them both. William leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her forehead before he turned around and leave the room, he hoped that will somehow return the luck that was given to him…she clearly needed it more than him.

William approached the command center of the headquarters, he opened the door and head straight for a meeting place where he could already saw Meguro looking up at the map of the isle. Meguro turned around and noticed William who stared at him before he sat down on a chair, he took a plastic cup from the table and a pot, pour pure black coffee inside it before he placed it in front of William. The man took the cup and drank the liquid in one big gulp, bitter, just like how they felt right now with this failed operation.

"…What the hell is that thing?" Meguro suddenly asked out loud.

"…Yuubari concluded that the large energy shield wall was projected straight from a building in the center of their base, it formed perfect circle around the base and it could be their last resort or something. Those tomahawk missile strike were wasted for nothing" William said to Meguro regarding what Yuubari said to him about the shield wall.

"The way I see it, it didn't get wasted for nothing. Now we know that shield? Is fucking durable enough to withstand FOUR tomahawk missile strike…We're running out of options here Blaze, logistically and strategically…" Meguro said to William as he leaned on the table, frustration is apparent on his face…

"…What are our remaining options?" William asked Meguro in low tone.

"Well for now, I believe we only got two. Either we somehow take that shield out and launched the rest of our tomahawk missiles at it to destroy the base then took the other base down in combined assault by ship girls…or we could chip their defenses bit by bit and then it's only a matter of time before we got steamrolled by those Sirens" Meguro said to William while he frowned.

"Somehow took the shield out huh…Would EMP weapon worked on it?" William asked out loud before he sighed.

Yes, naturally something like that must've been powered with a generator which could be knocked out with EMP blast…if they aren't EMP proofed. Take down the generator that powered the shield and maybe even their defensive emplacements, then they could always shelled the entire base into Stone Age with continuous fire. But this plan could only work if their assumption regarding that generator is proven true, then there's the issue regarding the suitable weaponry for an attack like that. Something that could generate a powerful EMP blast? They don't have something capable taking out an entire base yet, their best bet regarding the issue is to use nuclear detonation within the upper atmosphere of their location. But even that, despite the seemingly easy solution has huge risk too…literally.

"…Don't know, even if it could we don't have something that could generate a powerful EMP blast to bring down a building that's surely to be big. We could use a nuclear missile but do that here, detonate it on the atmosphere for powerful EMP blast but not even our base would be safe from the effect due to the wide radius. If that's our only way out, we're officially fucked" Meguro said to William.

"Well…it's worth a shot. But let's rest for now, we could figure something out tomorrow when we're not exhausted" William said to Meguro as he stood up from his seat.

"After today's event where you crashed an F-15 at a Siren? Can I assume that you will somehow participate in any mad plan if we manage to procure an EMP weapon of such caliber or even a Weapon of Mass Destruction?" Meguro said to William who's about to leave the room.

"Depends on the situation" William said to Meguro without looking at him.

"I see…Blaze, aggression and recklessness are two different things. I'm sure you know the difference so I'm sure I won't have to lecture you about it" Meguro said to William with calm tone.

"…Dully noted" William nodded his head before he exited the command center.

With heavy sigh William left the command center building, he walked toward the busy courtyard of the headquarters where people and vehicle busy passing through it. William saw that the ships on Meguro's fleet are still unloading casualties from their previous engagement, many of the crew suffered burns or downright loss of limbs and William occasionally saw dead crewmen being carried and gathered on special place near the corner of the courtyard…he stopped walking to allow few crewmen to walk past him while carrying their injured comrades on their shoulder, they ran straight for the overcrowded infirmary.

William walked all the way back to their temporary housing, but he didn't enter the building as he went toward the right side. He found a small ledge a bit farther from the building that overlooked the entire HQ there, William sat on the edge, took out his cigarette, light it up and he smoked while he stared at the busy HQ…Damnit, he know not everything could go according to plan but it still sucks when it happened. They could be enjoying dinner right now, drinking some alcohol, bask themselves on their victory or something. But instead, they wasted their night sorting out casualties, repairing their equipment and vehicles, administrating medical help and even constructing additional rudimentary defenses to help in case Sirens did stop by…The cigar burnt out so William threw it away, he sighed melancholically as he recounted what happened today.

He's about to lit up another one when he heard someone walked up behind him, William stared back and he saw a blonde woman who walked and sat beside him without uttering a single word. William cocked his eyebrows in wonder but found his eye narrowed when Bismarck reached for something behind her, she took out a flask and handed it to William who shrugged and took it. He tasted the liquid inside, he's pretty sure that whatever it is the drink has strong alcohol in it.

"How can I help you, Bismarck?" William said to Bismarck as he returned her flask.

"…I thought you could use a company, Herr Kommandant" Bismarck said to William as she took back the flash and drunk from it, hey that's indirect kiss!

"Originally I planned on being miserable by myself. But, since you're here…sure" William said to Bismarck as he smiled somberly.

How did Bismarck find him? It wasn't a simple coincidence, she tailed him all the way from the courtyard. She actually want to speak to him about something but she was told by Amagi that William have been secluding himself from the others ever since his return, he seems occupied. Bismarck immediately knew what's been occupying his mind that really bothered him so much that the usual William Blaze who would debrief everyone involved after a fight to secluded himself away on the medical room for hours, he felt accountable and responsible for what happened today…to some extent.

"…What happened to the three carriers wasn't your fault, kommandant" Bismarck decided to test the waters.

"Considering that I could've reacted sooner, it is my fault" …So, Bismarck found her assumption was right.

"Tell me, how did you expect to react against an attack that came from what basically a fog of war under half a minute?" Bismarck asked William.

"I rode an F-15 for fuck sake! I have the means!" William answered Bismarck with firm tone.

"Can you then pin point their position immediately?" Bismarck immediately asked William while she frowned.

Could he? There's just no way he could immediately find those Peace Breakers when Hiryuu just got sniped for the first time, he's two kilometers above the sea surface back then. Even if he could find them what would be his next step of action? Call out targets? Most of the ship girls are out of range and not even Amagi could shoot accurately at something thirty kilometers away, carriers? Their planes would took a while before they could reach their target. Going in himself? One fighter jet against the entire fleet of Siren ship girls? He might as well book a ticket for the afterlife if they concentrated their AA guns at him, he's no Ace Combat protagonist for fuck sake…the answer from all those conclusion are.

"No" William said to Bismarck, there was nothing he could do.

"Then there's still a possibility that the result would be the same, regardless of the situation…Sometimes, things beyond our immediate control happened. Best we could do? Is to manage it properly so we could save as many as we could and to make do as best as possible despite what happened…In this case, we still have more preferable outcome because those three could've died, were if not for the quick action of their sisters and yours in identifying the threat…Try to look into the more positive aspect, kommandant. You're not a bad commander by any means" Bismarck said to William as she put a hand on his broad right shoulder.

"…Really?" William stared at Bismarck with widened right eye.

"Ja…You stared at me as if I've just grown a second head. Is it that weird for me to compliment someone?" Bismarck asked William while she frowned a bit.

"No…it's just, that's the first time I've heard you compliments me...It's getting late, you better get some sleep" William said to Bismarck.

"Don't worry, I've used to stay awake for days during combat" Bismarck said to William confidently.

"That won't do you good. If Sirens attack us we need everyone to be on their prime, even you" William said to Bismarck with serious gaze.

"…If you insist, kommandant" Bismarck said to William as she stood up.

"Where's your room?" William asked Bismarck.

"Right next to yours by the entrance" Bismarck said to William.

"Come on, I'll walk you there" William said to Bismarck.

"…Why do you insist that I should rest, kommandant?" Bismarck asked William.

"Like I said before, we need everyone on their prime for tomorrow. Every downtime you could get during a battle is a luxury you shouldn't waste..." William said to Bismarck.

"Wise…I'll take on that escort service to my room then" Bismarck said to William.

Bismarck offered her right hand at William who stared at it for a bit before he took it and stand up, he walked with her toward their dorm hand in hand. It was a short walk, less than five minutes since its close enough. They entered the building and both of them immediately went toward Bismarck's room, unlike the others the fleet representative, the ship girls that originally stationed here and William himself was given a private room. The others stayed on the other bedroom, still on the same building but one room has four bunk bed for them to sleep, the privileges that the leaders have.

"Danke kommandant, for taking me back" Bismarck said to William while she smiled a bit.

"You're welcome. Rest well, Bismarck…and also thanks for making me see reason, I feel better now" William said to Bismarck with serious face.

"Think nothing of it kommandant, if you ever feel you need a friend to talk to…I'll be there" Bismarck said to William.

"…I appreciate it…Good night, Bismarck" William said to Bismarck while he smiled.

"To you as well, Kommandant William" Bismarck said to William as she also smiled back.

Bismarck closed the door to her room while William's smile turned into grin, he was glad that Bismarck started to open up bit by bit. William stood in front of her door for a bit before he turned around, only to meet Prinz who leaned on the door to his room, arms folded and wide smirk plastered on her lips. She watched how the two of them walked together from the right side of the building hand in hand, she made sure that she's on the right distance to tailgate both of them before she watched their conversation from the side because she knew William have keen sense of hearing…

"What?" William asked Prinz while he narrowed his gaze.

"Oh nothing, just wondering what were the two of you doing~?" Prinz asked William back while she smiled smugly.

"Nothing, we're just talking" William said to Prinz.

"Really? I thought it's a strange to talk on the secluded right side of the building in darkness, you sure you didn't do anything else?" Prinz asked William while she smirked.

"Like what?" William asked Prinz with cocked eyebrows.

"Hmmm, maybe you both talked while you pinned her to the wall? She faced you as you slowly bumped her stern from the rear to cause as little noise as possible? The two of you talked in low, hush tone while struggled not to moan in delight as your wiener slowly goes in and out of her-" Prinz said to William while she smirked.

"Okay! We didn't do anything like that!" William said to Prinz while he gritted his teeth, his mind shown him lewd images that he liked but really don't need to have right now!

"Did you know that strong rebuttal usually means whatever accusation I just said are true?" Prinz asked William while she grinned now.

"We did not do such things!" Bismarck suddenly yelled.

Bismarck's room door was thrown open and the woman stared out at Prinz with clear blush on her face while the accuser only giggled heavily as she leaned on the wall, William's body jerked a bit in surprise because who would've thought Bismarck would opened back her door just to said that out loud. He looked around to notice that currently there's only the three of them on the corridor of this building which is good, he didn't need any onlookers.

"Maybe, if you still want to talk to him you shouldn't just stood there behind the door. You could've invite him in too" Prinz said to Bismarck while she winked.

"How did you-. Wait, you knew?" Bismarck asked Prinz in serious tone.

"Of course, you noticed me tailing both of you and you wondered what I will talk about with the kommandant. Sometimes, you're too predictable in social manners, Bismarck~" Prinz said to Bismarck with a teasing tone, the subject of the tease only get even redder because she found it to be true.

"Alright, enough, we don't need her to turn into lobster right now hehe…What do you have for me, Prinz?" William asked Prinz while he smiled a bit.

"Akashi requested me to call you, she need you in the lab of this island" Prinz said to William as she went into her serious mode.

"Lab…what is she doing there?" William asked out loud.

"I don't know, but it's something important. Best get going now" Prinz said to William.

"Lead the way Prinz, time to see what she's up to this time" William said to Prinz.

.

The laboratory was located on the other side of the Headquarters, a bit to the center of the island. It's an underground complex that served as Wisdom Cube research facility alongside the prototype testing for Sakura Empire new weapons, William sure as hell he want a Gundam if Sakura Empire produced one…Okay, wishful thinking aside, Prinz and him had to go through several security screening before they are permitted to go inside the inner complex where Akashi and Yuubari already waited for him. They're inside a large room with various equipment and a large metal box in the center of the room, William wasn't sure why he's called here but he guessed he's about to find out.

"Ah shikikan, welcome nyaa!" Akashi said to William while she smiled.

"What do you need me for, Akashi?" William asked Akashi as he looked around.

"First of all, promise me that you won't get mad" Akashi said to William.

"…I have a bad feeling about this, what did you do this time?" William turned and glared sharply at her.

"Nyaa! Scary! Don't eat me!" Akashi shrunk with blue face immediately.

"Kommandant, you ought to listen to her first. Whether you want to 'eat' her or not after that, your call~" Prinz said to William while she smiled smugly.

…Prinz do make the sentence eat sounded very sexual and William can't say he's appreciative for jokes right now, Akashi caused few troubles in the past but at least its within their base so containing it is pretty easy. But this is Sakura Empire frontline laboratory! If she decided to experiment and it goes wrong, the damage could be catastrophic! William however choose to give Akashi the time to explain what did she do this time, he actually trusted her when it comes to something serious as she could deliver results and he can't really see how will she make practical jokes when they're on the frontline…

"…Fine. So, what did you do?" William asked Akashi.

"We managed to finish your Albion Battle Armor in time, shikikan" Akashi said to William.

"That was quick!" William looked at Akashi with widened eye.

"Ja, how did you manage to finish an entire battle armor in just…under a month?" Prinz asked Akashi while she folded her arms.

"The key is this facility, Prinz-san. This facility has the technology necessary to get the attuned Wisdom Cube for the Albion, once we got the cube? All we have to do is to put it into the armor and then programmed it to work" Akashi explained to Prinz.

"You mean you brought Albion? Here?" William asked Akashi.

"Hai, of course! Take a look!" Akashi said to William as she pointed her thumbs behind her.

Yuubari pressed few buttons on the tablet she held and the metallic box behind her opened and it revealed a full body armor that William immediately recognized as Albion Battle Armor from the design that Akashi was given to, it's cobalt colored painted armor with turquoise visor. The chest plate looks thick enough, the abdomen are coated in some kind of flexible armor joints, the shoulder pads looked wide, there's bicep protector, elbow guard, wrist armor, oh my crotch armor, thigh armor, knee protector and lower leg armor as well the armored boots and all of them were connected with the matte black under suit. William walked around it to inspect every detail the armor has, the longer he stared at the Albion Armor in front of him the wider his smile that it turned into full blown grin by the time he was done.

"What do you think, shikikan?" Yuubari asked William while she smiled.

"…Bloody hell…it looks gorgeous, an outstanding work. I can't see why I would be mad about this" William said out loud while he grinned.

"So that's the content of the box you insist to carry here" Prinz said out loud as she rubbed her chin.

"And it's about to get even better shikikan, you are going to test it. I assume you have some time to kill nyaa?" Akashi asked William.

"Yes! With pleasure!" William answered excitedly.

William didn't hesitate to untangle his clothes all the way until his boxer remained…Putting on the under suit took some effort because it's goddamn tight! And even after that, William had to spend some time getting used to the under suit tightness and he moved around to get a feel to it. He stopped when he realized that Prinz, Akashi and Yuubari stared at him specifically at something beneath him. William looked down and noticed there's a large bulge on his crotch area and his cheeks flushed in an instant when he realized that the under suit even outlined his penis and testicles, he immediately adjusted the suit so it won't really show out his nether regions.

"…This suit is very tight" William commented out loud.

"Vacuum sealed shikikan, of course it would be tight enough to fit your body. It might be worthy to note that this suit alone could resist a direct hit from an assault rifle rounds nyaa" Akashi said to William.

"5.56 or 7.62?" William asked Akashi.

"Hmm, 7.62mm. But that isn't an excuse to go charging straight against bullet hell, Hood-sama would have my butt" Akashi said to William while she frowned.

"Noted" William said to Akashi while he cringed.

"Right, let's put on the armor now nyaa" Akashi said to William.

Both Akashi and Yuubari worked as Prinz discreetly recorded the whole event with her phone, the armor parts were fitted on William's body who had to stand still as they put the torso armor. Akashi and Yuubari each put on the armor for the arms, shoulder pads and finally the crotch armor. Both Yuubari and Akashi took some effort and finally put on all of the armor pieces, Yuubari then proceed to sealed and synced the armor with the under suit which caused William to suddenly kneeled down with face in pure shock, pain and agony.

"Ngghhhh…." William groaned loudly as he felt his soul leaving his body.

"Shikikan?!" Akashi asked out loud in worry.

"The…crotch…armor" William squeaked out few words.

"Is it too tight?" Yuubari asked out loud as she made few adjustment to William's crotch part.

"Oh…Oh god…That was horrible" William finally able to breathe again after his crotch armor loosened up a bit.

"I see you didn't like ball busting…I will cross that out of the list" Prinz casually said to William while she smirked a bit.

"What list?!" William asked Prinz with widened eye full in horror at the implication.

"Now, put on the helmet nyaa" Akashi handed William the final part of the armor.

The helmet was on William's hand, he stared at the reflective polarized turquoise visor and saw his face staring back at him. He turned the helmet around before he put it on his head, the helmet immediately muffled the sound around him and he could heard his own breathing sounds. The view was of course narrower than wearing motorcycle helmet but it's more enclosed and it sealed automatically to the under suit, William then looked around as he try to get a feel for being in full armor. The visor is polarized but he could still see everything in normal color, he then stared at Prinz who approached him.

"How do you feel?" Prinz stood in front of William as she asked him.

"…It's claustrophobic in a sense…and hot" William said to Prinz in muffled voice.

"Hmm, we haven't activated the armor yet so the temperature conditioning and other auxiliary function is still offline" Yuubari said to William as she typed few things on the tablet.

"The wisdom cube are already inside?" William asked out loud.

"If we hadn't then we would certainly wouldn't call you here, we called because we know it works. Armor booting up now, Wisdom Cube synchronized, energy readings looks good, starting up the armor operating system now" Yuubari said to William as she turned on the armor OS.

"Okay, I'm bringing the HUD online now shikikan. I trust you played enough FPS games to know the function of the HUDs, for your situation I purposely brought the HUD to the right side…I'm unlocking the hydraulic system now. Try to move around nyaa" Akashi said to William

William watched as the armor OS booted up, he saw the HUD went online and his body felt at ease when the temperature conditioning function turned on. William tried to move around but it felt heavy, as heavy as one expect when they're equipped with one hundred kilograms worth of reinforced titanium alloy, Kevlar weave layer underneath the plating and specialized ballistic foam layer to reduce the kinetic impact so the wearer could take more punishment while still gunning and killing anyone they're in combat with. He could still walk but at this rate he won't even get out from this room without tiring himself out, William stared at Yuubari and Akashi who observed his movement before they returned to the tablet that Yuubari's hold.

"There seems to be a bit delay in the hydraulic system, it doesn't respond quite accurately to the movement impulse and inertia" Yuubari said out loud.

"No wonder it felt quite heavy moving around in this!" William commented as he stopped moving.

"Hai, we're adjusting the system" Akashi said to William.

All of a sudden William almost fell to the floor because his body just got lighter so suddenly, as if he didn't wear an armor. He took a while to get a feel on the armor now before he unconsciously grinned, William walked few steps before he broke into a sudden sprint and stopped few steps before the exit. He turned around and try to be as frisky as possible, running into walls where he run up toward it and used it as a foothold to perform an aerial flip then landed. William tried to roll around the floor in the armor, getting up with it and dived to the floor before he deemed the result satisfactory as it doesn't hinder his mobility in the slightest and even making his body felt lighter overall.

"…It feels natural now" William commented while he grinned.

"Okay…all readings checks out, let's test it immediately" Akashi said to William while she grinned.

"Test it?" William asked with confused gaze directed at her.

"We've prepared a training module currently in used by Sakura Empire troops to practice their hand to hand combat, might not be much of a real threat because they're not programmed to kill anyone but they could still dish out painful hits nyaa" Akashi said to William.

"And you want me to fight it, fine" William said to Akashi.

A humanoid robotic construct appeared from the other door on the room, the robot immediately set up fighting stance when it stood in front of William…the man cracked his fingers as he also set his fighting stance, but he didn't wait for his opponent to attack first as William dashed forward before sending a high kick which didn't only knocked back the robot but also unhinged it's head away from its body into the walls…

"Did…did I just took its head off?!" William asked out loud in disbelieve.

"With a single hit nonetheless. Maybe you can finally convince Hood to let you do field work" Prinz said to William while she nodded her head.

"Maybe…this is bloody awesome, Akashi! Can I use this in the field soon!?" William asked Akashi excitedly.

"Sure but I couldn't give you clearance until we completed the additional testing, you might want to get used to the armor before taking it out to the field nyaa" Akashi said to William while she grinned.

"Fair point…Right, let's begin" William said to Akashi.

…He might make a mistake by doing that armor testing right after he just returned, he's now tired, filthy and hungry. William took a long warm bath and soothed his tired muscles before he changed into a more comfortable clothes, in this case though there's only that traditional inn garb and William shrugged as he put it on himself. He grimaced however when he saw the fair amount of lower leg the garb shown because of his height have really made the garb only covered all the way to his knees, but he thought that it's better than going naked around…who knows when Prinz decided to have ideas and started taking pictures from the window outside. He then heard the door to his room was knocked and he went to answer it, William opened the door to see Amagi herself stood in front of him…

"…Ms. Amagi?" William asked Amagi.

"Do you have a moment, shikikan-sama?" Amagi asked William.

"Sure. Anything I can help you with?" William asked Amagi again.

"Can we talk?" Amagi asked William again.

"Alright. Come in" William said to Amagi as he moved from the door to let her through.

As Amagi passed him William caught the scent of her perfume and it thrown him off a bit because it smells sweet yet mixed with something else that get William in somehow exciting mood, what did she spray on herself? Aphrodisiac? Nah, he thought too much once again. William realized that standing in the doorway wasn't his plan for tonight William closed the sliding door only to find Amagi stared at him from the place where she sit, William stared back at her when he realized that Amagi was inspecting him as if she's expecting a reaction or anything…William decided that he had to stop making hasty conclusions as he opened the fridge, he took out a bottle of sake and two glass before he put it on the table in front of Amagi.

"Do you drink, Ms. Amagi?" William asked Amagi while he smiled.

"Hai. And shikikan-sama, please, just call me Amagi" Amagi said to William as she smiled softly.

"If you say so, Amagi…Well, I'm getting quite hungry. Do you want something to eat too?" William asked Amagi as he rummaged the fridge again.

"That would be troubling you shikikan-sama, even though I already troubled you by coming this late" Amagi said to William, despite her smiled her eyes stared at William in calculative manner.

"Nonsense. I'm willing to lend an ear to the ship girls under my command even this late" William said to Amagi.

"Does the time when you sleeps also counts?" Amagi asked William while she smiled.

"With the exception of that, I love my sleep and not even beautiful lady like you could change that fact" William said to Amagi as he turned his head around for a bit to stare at her and smiled.

"Ufufufufu, I'll be sure to remember that" Amagi giggled then said to William.

"…Where are the other ingredients?" William muttered to himself while he still rummaged through the content of the fridge.

"Do you need some help, shikikan-sama?" Amagi asked William.

"Don't worry, you're my guest. Sit back and wait a bit, I need to polish my cooking skills too since it's been awhile" William said to Amagi as he took out all the necessary ingredients.

"Been a while?" Amagi asked as she stared at William's back.

"Well ever since I arrived and become the commander for ALASUC I found myself being served with magnificent dishes everyday by the ladies, I didn't cook because of that" William said to Amagi while he shrugged.

…A grown man like him surely could cook right? Well, he didn't burnt water yet so William thought he have some decent skills in the art of culinary. He took out few slabs of salmon meat, some vegetables, some eggs and he even started to cook the rice with the rice cooker. He started to prepare the necessity for a soup, prepared the seasonings, the frying pan in which he pour some cooking oil and heat up in low heat. William then took out a kitchen knife, twirled it on his right hand twice before he started chopping off the vegetables with extreme precision and skill. When the vegetables were chopped, he mixed it with the soup while he switched to fry the salmon. The frying pan sizzled when he put the meats on it, William carefully measure the color of the salmon as he cracked few eggs open in a bowl, add some seasoning before mixing it up while he watched the salmon cooking up.

"…How about your time before you become the commander, do you ever cook?" Amagi suddenly asked William again.

"…I cooked…occasionally" William answered with a hint of nervousness on his tone.

"At least you have some experience, I'm sure your cooking won't taste too bad" Amagi said to William as she smiled…

"Not 'Too bad' eh? That's some confidence, but we'll see" William said to Amagi while he cringed

"…Based on what you were doing…Do you know how to cook eastern styled dish, shikikan-sama?" Amagi asked William after she observed what he were doing from where she sat.

"I don't have much menu selection, but I do know few and the ingredients here are suitable just fine" William said to Amagi while he smiled.

Setting up the plates, William put the cooked salmon on it, stirred the soup for a while then cooked the eggs. The eggs are lot more easier to cook and he got some fair share of experience with it, he still don't know how to make the rolled ones like he usually sees in manga or anime that's why he just make some scrambled egg. The eggs were done, he put it on the other plate, took two bowls and pour the soup on it, served it on the table where Amagi sat, took two additional bowl which he filled with rice with different portion since he eat a whole lot more, took two set of chopsticks, returned to the table and set everything up…Amagi nodded her head in approval, he manage to set up the table in less than a minute so she's impressed.

"Voila! Not too shabby, isn't it?" William asked Amagi while he grinned.

"You displayed quite some skill when you cook but we can't know for sure about the taste yet…Hmm, the eggs are bit deformed, the salmon looked a little overdone, this is a western styled soup instead of the miso soup and the rice…are cooked nicely" Amagi said to William, she didn't pull out any punches in her opinion…

"Yikes…what I do well the most is the knifework huh?" William asked Amagi while he cringed.

"Hai, the salmon are cut in neat shape. But don't worry, this will do. You've done quite well for someone who haven't cooked a while" Amagi said to William while she smiled.

"In that case, please dig in" William said to Amagi.

"Itadakimasu" Amagi clasped her hands as she prayed.

Both of them started to eat with William taking the chopstick to his hand, when in Rome do as the Romans do. William started to eat the salmon with the rice, he found the meat did overcooked a bit but he's fine with the taste. The scrambled egg tasted nice, just like the ones he made in the past. The soup broth lacked some kick on it…he wonder why he didn't taste it before, the tiredness really got to him it seems. The vegetables are passable he guess and the rice were done quite well…Yeah, overall a satisfying meal but he have a lot to improve. William snuck a glance at Amagi who ate calmly but she managed to clean her bowl of rice and she smiled as she stared at William, hope that's a good sign William hoped as he put down his own empty bowl.

"…Well?" William asked Amagi.

"Hmmm…I will give this passing mark" Amagi said to William while she smiled.

"Nice to know" William said out loud then sighed in relief.

"You're quite skilled in handling food and cooking utensils" Amagi noted as she stared at William.

"…It's because of my summer intern job at a restaurant when I was sixteen. The chef there taught me quite a bit" William confessed at Amagi.

…It was when he just started high school during summer vacation and before he met Lena, William heard that a new game console will be released alongside its premier game which is a sequel to a most awaited sci-fi shooter game that year beside that dystopian futuristic shooter. He's happy to know the series didn't died but he want to scream when reality hit him that he got no money to buy it, that's when he got a brilliant idea to get a job…Father? Busy being in the fight. Mother? Busy with her research. Sister? Well, she's pretty much capable handling herself for a middle schooler. That's why he got the job without anyone knowing, he got accepted and started as dishwasher.

Slowly but surely though, he managed to socialized and fit in with the people that were working on the restaurant. The young chef took a liking to him and taught him knife work, how to cook some simple dish and even how to set up the table for the guest. They put him on the registry and as a waiter after a while, that really improved his social skills because he's not that good in handling people before he interned. He got the money, he got the console, he got the skills and overall it's a good thing for him…he kept working there until he graduated from high school when he decided to join the military, that was some good times…simpler times.

"He's not Gordon Ramsay, right?" Amagi asked William while she smiled.

"I would've lost count on how many he will say the word 'fuck' 'donkey' or even 'bellend' to me because I screw up during my intern, a lot. He would also insulted me to no end if he saw my work just now…" William said out loud.

"Ufufufufufufu…" "Hehehehehe…" Both Amagi and William laughed at the idea…

"…So, what did you want to talk about, Amagi?" William asked Amagi as he started to clean up the table.

"I have lots of things I want to talk about, but I'll start with this one…Why did you fight in the front?" Amagi asked William as she helped him.

"Good question…You know, I was a frontline soldier before becoming a commander" William said to Amagi as he washed the dirty plates and bowls.

"That much I know, what I don't know is your true motivation…you're not a ship girl, you can't float on water, you don't have ship riggings nor the endurance of a ship girl. Then why?" Amagi asked William.

…Not the first time anyone or even himself asked that question, why? If he want to earn the ship girls respect there are lot other ways to do so but William guessed he only know how to prove himself by being useful in a combat. But he did that already, he proved himself as a capable commander and an effective combatant who can handle himself when Sirens encroached in close quarter at them. Why did he insisted that he fight in the front? He then remembered something that Benjamin McAllen, Lena's little brother once said to him before Operation Dradetheus regarding what he believed…maybe this will help him answer this question.

"…Every single man or woman, in the right place on the wrong time can make all the differences in the world…As a commander of the ship girls, staying back inside a Combat Information Center would only do so much compared to being actually in the front, direct assessment of the situation backed by information from the control center would do well to provide Intel needed to make a judgment in the field of battle. I experience that directly as a frontline soldier and it proved to still be effective even when I became a commander…however, the enemy this time is quite different. These creatures encroached the waters around the earth, they possessed outstanding futuristic technology and frankly speaking they got what it takes to conquer earth ten times over. Who are those Sirens? What do they want with us? Why did they just suddenly attacked us for no reason without demands even though they can speak? These are very confusing indeed…" William said out loud as he washed the dish.

"I see, so you want to learn more about them? To learn about the enemy?" Amagi asked William.

"Yes but there's something else, something deep inside that told me…that I have to do my part, as a human who have his homeworld under sieged by the Sirens. I was trained to be a soldier, with the necessary skill set and knowledge. It felt like to be a waste if I didn't use it to the best of my abilities and I find that fighting in the front might be my best bet…I'm not that good in grand strategy, my knowledge on management is very basic, diplomacy is not my strong suit and all I am good at is wielding a gun and killing someone. That's why I'm very grateful that my many secretaries are very capable on their duty, they helped me immensely with base management" William continued as he finished washing the dish and sat with Amagi.

Mother Earth will need every last human she could get who's willing to stand up in her defense, every man and woman who's capable should stood to protect their only home within the vastness of this universe. William have no idea how long this war will continue, how long until they could return to peaceful times but he knew it won't be anytime soon. He's originally a soldier that was trained to protect his home and that's his purpose, now that purpose has transformed into the wider spectrum from a single country into the whole planet and it's his duty to protect this only home for the human race. However, as a soldier he's not that knowledgeable regarding other things which is why he's very grateful that the girls are very capable in their secretary job.

"…Sorry, I'm rambling right? Heh…" William said to Amagi while he smiled bitterly.

"Now I understand you, shikikan-sama…I see the reason why you fight in the frontline. Tactically, you did something foolish for a modern day commander where Siren fight with fire and forget weaponry. Philosophically? Those that led from the front is called leader, someone that lead others in the frontline, experiencing the same thing as those under their command and you surely fit the bill…Strategically? You are the prime example of the prowess and courage of human race, your action alone could inspire the others to stand and fight instead of falling into despair…Do you know what kind of people like you called by the high command? Asset. Do you know what ordinary people called someone like you? Hero" Amagi said to William with serious face.

"Hero? Well, I don't think myself as such. I've did lots of horrible things, Amagi" William said to Amagi while he frowned.

"The definition of hero itself is diverse, shikikan-sama. Take the heroes that you've heard, let's take Robin Hood for the example. To the nobles, he's a menace who stole their riches. To the ordinary people, he's regarded as a hero in their eyes…Now, stealing is an evil thing to do but he's still regarded as a hero…Being a hero, doesn't always mean you are a saint. Sometimes, they're just people who did what's necessary and all of that depends on perspective" Amagi said to William while she smiled a bit.

…Putting it like that, it makes a goddamn sense. Heroes and villains are just matter of perspective, The Sirens might have their own heroes too as well as Azur Lane and Crimson Axis. Heroic deeds? Let's say Siren's objective is to wipe out an entire base of Azur Lane unit, the one Siren soldier who single handedly managed to do that will be regarded as heroes. It works the opposite way when humanity is tasked to destroy a Siren's base, the one who managed to do it will instantly gained legendary status among humans…just like his action for the past two major battle that happened between them, now there's a possibility the name William Blaze is known across the world as a daredevil bastard who didn't hesitate to fight a Siren in close quarter. Quite a reputation if he could say so, William didn't plan to be a hero but if his task require him to be one…

"…You know what Amagi? If you're going to join ALASUC after all of this, I'd like you to be one of my secretaries" William said to Amagi with serious face.

"Ara ara, that was quite sudden shikikan-sama. Might I ask your reason for picking me?" Amagi asked William with surprised tone as she held her right cheek.

"I've been searching for a strategist and someone who could make tactical judgment despite the chaos of battle, I've seen that you are capable in doing both and frankly speaking I want you on the unit" William said to Amagi with serious face.

"Is that so…So, you only saw me as a strategist and a talent you want to use?" Amagi asked William.

"…Right now? I'm afraid my answer is yes" …He'll be ruthlessly honest, yes that's his answer.

"Ufufufufu, of course. I would call you a liar if you say otherwise, shikikan-sama…we only known each other for a day, of course that's how you will see me...Very well then, I will consider your offer after this" Amagi seems satisfied as she answered William.

.

It's already nine in the morning by the time William came to, he woke up tucked inside the futon that he didn't remember set up last night. He know the exact reason why as he saw the table he sat with Amagi last night where there's three empty bottle of sake that stood prettily, William groaned when headache assaulted him so early in the form known as hangover…He stood up while staved off his hangover like a champ and with the aid of aspirin, washed up nicely and equipped his officer uniform before he opened the door to his room. William looked around and noticed that the ship girls must've awakened earlier than him, he subtly made his way toward the headquarters command center where Commander Meguro and Amagi already waited for him…

"Pleasant night, commander?" Meguro asked William while he raised his eyebrows.

"Oh yes it is, how's yours?" William asked Meguro back.

"I would've slept until noon if not for the lieutenant waking me up, fortunately it's good news. 8th Carrier Group have been diverted from their patrol route and they're heading here" Meguro informed William.

"How long until Sakura Empire 8th Carrier Group arrives?" William asked Meguro.

"Two days…Well, now that your reinforcement has arrived we might stood a chance at defending this base for two days, Commander Blaze" Meguro said to William as he shown a projection on the hologram projector.

8th Sakura Empire Carrier Group is comprised of four aircraft carriers, three fast battleships, five cruisers, four destroyers and several landing ships…William thought that he didn't really understand why would Sakura Empire hold this front at all cost, sure it's a research place and strategic position but they're throwing in so much manpower and resources into this battle. He knew Sakura Empire is still recovering from the Great War few years back so expending their manpower and resources in this one battle seemed to be quite foolish thing to do, is there something about this isle that he didn't know about?

"Assuming they won't steamroll us, they should've learnt from their previous attack" William said to Meguro.

"Right, that's why I said 'might'…It seems they didn't take too kindly that we destroyed their staging area and supply base, they have begun to move some of their forces toward this area. Satellite reconnaissance shown that these groups are too small to be a unified assault force, they must be harassment unit to make sure our patrol behaves" Meguro said to William as he displayed the local map and unit positioning on the hologram projector.

"…Any plans, commander?" William asked Meguro as he folded his arms.

"And that's the bad news. For today I already sent one squad of Special Operation Unit to undertake a recon mission on this island, this…was a residential area and a location of our experimental lab that we are forced to abandon when Sirens begun their assault. I send them in to make sure that the tested nuclear arsenal were still there" Meguro said to William with serious face.

"Sakura Empire used this place to develop nuclear bombs?" William asked out loud in surprised tone.

…Of course, now some things started to make sense. If this place served as nuclear bomb development and testing facility of course the government wouldn't want to lose it, any nuclear arsenal that they could get their hands on would be an edge they could use sometime in the future. Why let people settled here though? Aren't that dangerous? But William got another and more immediate question, tested nuclear arsenal? Where did they test those things? And if it's tested, that means it's ready for use too…So in a sense, it's a tested nuclear weapon that could be deployed anytime and the reason why Meguro send in a team to recover it. He planned to use that nuclear arsenal in this battle against the Sirens, William had to admit that they're quite desperate for powerful weapon to knock the shield out but-

"…We do possess some and the storage is on that island…I was under the order to preserve it until the situation demanded it, like what we're experiencing now. Approximately twenty minutes ago we lost all contact with the squad on the facility, the loss is so sudden that we still don't know whether it's simple communication blackout or Sirens managed to find and killed them. Are you up for the task? You could went in and the ship girls could provide some cover around the area" Meguro asked William as he stared directly at his eye.

"…Amagi, what do you think?" William glanced to the side and asked Amagi.

"It's certainly preferable if we undertook this mission, shikikan-sama. Our chance of success would be higher than our conventional soldiers, we also need to prevent diverting too many manpower from the headquarters"

"Agreed…Admittedly, getting the nuclear arsenal is a top priority. Besides, I've got something I want to test out" William said to Meguro.

"Then it's settled. Armory is yours, good luck" Meguro said to William while nodded his head.

Both William and Amagi walked out of the headquarters command center, Amagi thought that she could finally see how well William fight the Sirens on the ground as infantry…William however contemplated a lot of things with the example being who to bring alongside him? It's clear that the girls won't let him go in to search for the missing squad by himself after they escorted him to the area of operation, if that's the case he would want close quarter specialist which means Sakura Empire ship girls will help him nicely. He would also need a level headed strategist that could take charge of the situation and someone who could lead them in the heat of battle, which means…

"…Have you thought about who will accompany you on this mission?" Amagi asked William.

"You, Mikasa, Akagi, Takao, Atago and Kawakaze" William immediately said to Amagi.

"Ara, you're quite prepared…I shall gather them, shikikan-sama" Amagi said to William while she smiled.

"Thanks. I have something to talk about with Akashi" William said to Amagi as he nodded his head.

Both of them parted ways with Amagi gather up those that William mentioned before while he walked back toward his room to get few things he might need, William untangled his blazer as he switched to the shirt he wore underneath it. William then exited his room where he heard a light gasp coming from his right, he looked only to see Bismarck who just got out from her room dressed as usual…William nodded his head as an idea came up inside his head, she might be able to do it.

"Bismarck" William called her name.

"Kommandant William?" Bismarck asked William.

"I need you to do something…Set up aerial reconnaissance with Graf Zeppelin and try to find a vantage point closest to yesterday Siren's base, a high ground or something. Then, I want you to run a lightning raid at that base. Try to provoke that shield into activating" William said to Bismarck.

"Understood. What are you planning?" Bismarck didn't hesitate to respond to that tall order…

"I want to test some theory…Do that, make sure their shield are activated, find out it's coverage and test all of our ammo at it. Record everything and when you have enough data or things get too dangerous, pull out. Clear?" William asked Bismarck.

"I understand, this shall give us something to work with…Are you heading for the front?" Bismarck asked William while she folded her arms.

"Yeah I am. Good luck, Bismarck" William said to Bismarck as he smiled confidently.

"To you as well, kommandant. May victory is in our side" Bismarck said to William as she smiled…softly.

…Akagi frowned a bit as she's deep in thought, she looked all around her and noticed that everyone is minding their own business. Akagi knew that William would be there with them to search for the missing squad but why did he told them to go ahead? To secure a landing spot? Last time Akagi checked the map for the operation when Amagi briefed them the facility is located uphill and possessed vast underground complex, they will land on the designated beach before storming the facility. Sometimes Akagi didn't know what is her big sister planning but she have faith in her plan, Amagi surely thought that this approach might be beneficial for them.

"Amagi nee-sama?" Akagi asked Amagi.

"Hai, what is it?" Amagi asked Akagi back.

"Why did shikikan-sama didn't went with us?" Akagi still want to ask why didn't he went with them.

"He said he will take a while in preparing his equipment. He's very experienced in ground warfare so I trusted he could do his work better than us, I already shared the strategy plan with him" Amagi said to Akagi while she smiled.

"Understood…Let me scout the area, nee-sama" Akagi said to Amagi.

Akagi launched three fighters to the air to scour the area for any enemies, the recon plane circled the whole island for a while but Akagi couldn't detect any sign of movement or presence of Siren forces. This island was among the first to fall when Sirens first attacked the isle, it's a very important island for Sakura Empire so why didn't they post some guard around? Why there's no sign of combat that happened with Sirens and the previous Sakura Empire missing squad? Could they retreat inside the facility?

"…How is it looking, Akagi?" Amagi asked Akagi.

"Strange…the place is devoid of life nee-sama" Akagi commented as she kept her plane circling around the island.

"Hmmm…Takao, Atago, Mikasa-san, move in on the residential area. Advance slowly and carefully, check for any sign of bodies" Amagi said to the three of them.

"Bodies? Alright. You two, follow me" Mikasa said out loud.

""Hai"" Takao and Atago answered as they followed behind Mikasa.

The three ship girls landed on the beach and started to make their way toward the nearest residential area which has the closest main access to the facility from below, they walked through the streets with rigging equipped and eyes on the door, windows or alleys. It was a strange sight to see this area being devoid of any signs of life, like a ghost town. Mikasa noted that there's not even a single body laid on the streets despite the brutal implication of the previous battle with plasma scorch, bullet casings, fallen infantry weapons, abandoned vehicles and even former deployable steel barricades that Sakura Empire infantry set up in the intersection for helicopter evacuation…

"…Where are the bodies?" Mikasa asked out loud.

"Hai, supposedly they are scattered around the area after Siren assault three days ago" Atago said to Mikasa while she's frowned.

"Draw your swords girls, something is not right" Mikasa said to Atago and Takao.

Mikasa, Atago and Takao took out their blades and they started to scour the inside of the buildings. The three girls found an abandoned bar in the intersection and they proceed to enter it carefully, Takao and Atago entered the bar while Mikasa stood guard at the entrance in case they need a way out which also as onlooker for trouble. Atago stopped to check for any sign of bodies near the entrance while Takao went inside further, Takao heard some slow footsteps near the kitchen area and her hands instinctively readied her katana…Takao approached the door and nudged it slowly with her blade, it easily budge as the door didn't even shut properly and Takao widened her eyes at what she saw. Multiple Brawlers huddled in close as they ate, a decomposed human body was being torn apart as the Brawlers feed on it. The light shone from where Takao stood prompted the Brawlers to stop eating and stared at Takao who quickly turned from surprised to utter disgust.

"Not you guys again! Brawlers spotted! Five of them!" Takao shouted as she turned around and run.

"Out you two! Get out!" Mikasa shouted from the entrance.

Atago managed to get out first with Takao just few seconds behind, Mikasa could see the five Brawlers moved in incredible speed to chase them. Mikasa summoned her rigging and loaded HE rounds, she didn't hesitated to fire her battleship grade guns at them into an enclosed space. The HE rounds exploded at the Brawlers with the explosion being large enough to destroy the bar and make a really big hole to the building next to it, from that hole even more Brawlers appeared as they're attracted by the explosion sound. They also heard a faint screech coming from all over them, this entire tiny town had become their nest?!

"*Cough*…damnit! Amagi-san! There's so many Brawlers here!" Mikasa said to Amagi on the radio.

"Retreat to the beach! We'll cover you!" Amagi said to Mikasa on the radio.

"Got it! Let's move!" Mikasa said out loud.

Mikasa, Atago and Takao opted for a shortcut through the roofs of the building to head straight for the beach area and to avoid the Brawlers. But that isn't as easy as it sounds because the Brawlers also jumped on top of the roof, one of them jumped on Takao but it failed as she just sliced it into two on the midriff with her katana. Few try to form a blockade at them but Mikasa fired her main gun again and blown them to smithereens, Atago dashed forward, jumped across the hole and the gap between the building they're on into the next and landed on top of a Brawler which got knocked down and blade struck on its nape before Atago yanked it and proceed to run further.

"Kuso…there's so many of them!" Takao said out loud as she ran.

"Just don't stop, Takao! We need to get off this area!" Mikasa said to Takao.

"Bombs away!" Akagi said out loud on the radio.

BOOM!

A bomb dropped at the crowd of Brawlers behind the three from a dive bomber that was flying overhead, Akagi has sent several of her dive bombers to bomb the increasingly large swarm of Brawlers. Atago decapitated another one and jumped down from the building all the way to the beach area, Mikasa and Takao slowed down a bit as they fired their main and secondary guns at the approaching Brawlers to fend them off a bit before Akagi's bomber circled back and dropped several bombs to give them some breathing room. They started to run again when they saw the Brawlers in immediate vicinity were dead, Takao however widened her eyes when she saw the Brawlers took flanking route from the streets.

"Atago, right side!" Takao shouted at Atago.

Atago immediately faced her right side just in time to see a Brawler dashed at her, she side stepped to the left while she swung her katana downwards which cut the Brawler into two then she used her superhuman strength to jumped back and gain some distance from the crowd of Brawlers. They didn't get far before Takao gunned them down from on top of the building, however Takao was punched from behind by one Brawler who managed to get a drop on her. Takao slammed into a wall and she gritted her teeth as she turned around then avoided a lethal punch to the head from one of the Brawler, its hand was stuck into the wall which Takao immediately cut off and then slit its throat from the side.

"Mikasa-san, Takao! Get down from there!" Amagi said out loud on the radio.

Takao and Mikasa jumped down from the roof of the building they're on, the building was obliterated in a huge explosion that came from Amagi who fired her main guns from fifteen kilometers away. The explosion took out many of the Brawlers but there's so much that it seems it didn't make any dent on their numbers, Takao, Mikasa and Atago faced against large wave of Brawlers and they made a dash to the water…only to see something blocking the view, a large helicopter flew above them in low height.

BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRTTTTTTTTTTTTT!

Hail of lead rained down from the helicopter's side mounted minigun which fired nonstop as the helicopter did a strafing run, the large helicopter side armament suddenly vanished as it were replaced with rocket pods. The helicopter hovered and rained rockets upon the advancing Brawlers, most of them were shredded from the first salvo alone and the helicopter fired four salvos of HE rockets. The armament once again changed into the minigun and it kept raining bullets until the remainder of the Brawlers retreated hastily back into town. The beach was littered with yellow splatter, torn bodies of Brawlers alongside craters and scorch marks and the girls looked up at the helicopter which hovered above them.

"Cavalry has arrived ladies, sorry that we took a while" William said out loud on the radio.

"Shikikan-sama!" Mikasa smiled widely at the timely arrival of their commander.

"Thanks for the help, shikikan!" Atago said to William on the radio while she smiled.

"We appreciate it, it would be hell to fight all of those Brawlers!" Takao said to William on the radio.

"You're welcome! Alright, the remaining of them are pulling back into the facility or to the forest. I'm dropping in straight in the facility to clear a landing zone, the helicopter will circle around to pick you ladies up. We'll meet there!" William said on the radio.

"Understood shikikan-sama" Mikasa said to William on the radio while she nodded her head.

"…It seems your prediction was right, Amagi" William suddenly said to Amagi on the radio.

"While it is, I'm not happy in the slightest shikikan-sama" Amagi said to William somberly on the radio.

"Understandable…" William said to Amagi in low tone on the radio.

The prototype helicopter raised its altitude as it headed straight for the facility on top of the large hill while the three ship girls watched from below, Mikasa had some doubt as to how William will clean the landing zone for the helicopter? He might be a skilled soldier but is it possible for him to fight the entire Siren unit that's highly probable to occupy the facility surface level alone? He did survived the fight in Southern Ironblood but that might be because of the situation at the time where it's night and he have Prinz as support, could he do so now alone? Mikasa shook her head sideways, he could definitely do it…if the content of that large metal box that Akashi insisted to carry here are what she suspect, Mikasa won't have to worry about him.

"You knew, Amagi-san?" Takao asked Amagi out loud on the radio.

"I suspected that Sirens will make use of the civilian bodies as a way to bolster their ranks. Few reports I read in the past suggested that the Larva possessed some capability to reanimate dead bodies" Amagi said to Takao on the radio.

"They didn't shown any restraint…If this is what happened to those on the residential area, I can't help but dreaded what will we find when we enter the facility" Akagi commented out loud on the radio.

Akashi was sweating bullets right now as she stared at the courtyard with her pilot helmet, the HUD clearly marked many hostile in preparation to intercept the helicopter. Not even two second since she thought that several Siren Trooper fired their plasma rifle from below which prompted Akashi to take evasive action to dodge the purplish plasma projectile, several of the plasma bolt managed to hit the helicopter but it failed to give any severe damage as it scorched the hull to the passenger bay.

"What's with the shaking, Akashi?!" William asked Akashi on the radio.

"In case you're deaf shikikan, the LZ is hot nyaa! Of course I would evade them!" Akashi half shouted at William on the radio.

"…Couldn't things went smoothly for once?" William melancholically asked out loud on the radio.

"Urgh! We are inside a large helicopter which makes lots of noise so of course they would notice nyaa!" Akashi groaned then said to William on the radio.

"Yeah you're right…pass above that flat roof near that storage building Akashi, I'm dropping in" William said to Akashi on the radio.

"Hai, opening the rear hatch now!" Akashi said to William when she saw the roof William mentioned.

The helicopter circled around the facility as the rear hatch slowly opened and revealed the passenger bay with a single man stood there, a single armored man. William took some time in donning his new Albion Armor, fresh cobalt paint on the armor gleamed in the sunlight exposure that hit him from outside, he has various bandolier and attachment around his body which filled with ammunition and explosives, William held a PKP Pecheneg Machine Gun with 7.62mm ammo belt connected to it and wrapped around his right arm in thick wrapping alongside several box of magazine on his pouch, on his right thigh there's an P90 SMG with red dot scope, his left thigh held his usual snub nosed Colt Python revolver and he have sheathed combat machete on his back. Looking at the weaponry, the ammo and the explosives William carried he shouldn't be able to move, but combined with his large build and the hydraulic system installed in the armor he felt like he carried nothing. The hatch completely opened and William stepped forward right before the edge as he grabbed on the hull edge for support as he stared at the scenery, the turquoise visor reflected the sunshine as he prepare himself to go all out now so no more sneaky beaky entrance.

"Stand by for Knight Fall!" Akashi said out loud on the radio.

"I believe the word you're searching for is Titan instead of Knight, Akashi!" William asked Akashi on the radio with cocked eyebrows.

"Whatever! Drop now nyaa!" Akashi said to William on the radio.

William jumped down from the helicopter, landed, rolled back and kneeled on the flat rooftop where several Brawlers already waiting ahead of him. William slowly raised himself up, he quickly took every information as fast and many as he could in short amount of time. Enemy position, vantage point, etcetera…He saw the Brawlers making their charge at him so William grinned viciously in response as he also charged at the incoming Brawlers while firing his PKP machine gun, it took some effort to down a charging group of Brawlers and William managed to gunned the Brawler group down with several bullet spray to the head. But that's just the opening because few other Brawlers get on top of the roof from his right side, several others also appeared from the left so William did something he never thought he would do…William fired his machine gun at the right group one handed without looking while his left hand took out the revolver on his left thigh as he started gunning down the one on the left with precision shot.

The only reason why he could do this was the fact that the armor's hydraulic system also minimized the effect of recoil, that's why he could fire a machine gun with one hand. Both group died almost at the same time, two Trooper spotted him so William only fired his remaining belt ammo at the two of them before his machine gun went empty. Before he could reload the machine gun with the box magazine a team of Siren Trooper get a drop on him from across the building, they fired their plasma rifle at William who quickly ran, slung the PKP, grab the P90 on his right thigh and fired one handedly at the Trooper team. The bullets managed to kill three of them which leaves two who pursued William as he jumped off the roof, when he landed on the ground the previous two chased after him while they fired their weapon.

William took cover behind the building, he checked his P90 which only have around twelve rounds remaining on the magazine. He came out of cover with the SMG on his left hand, William fired at one of the Trooper who quickly died with several bullet to the chest as he rapidly closing in on the last Trooper on the team. The Trooper realized that William is closing in for melee kill so it swung the plasma rifle toward William's head, the man grazed the blow by using his left elbow and angled it so the weapon slide off toward his left forearm while at the same time William took out his machete with his right arm. William jammed the blade at the Trooper's torso then yanked it to the left, swung the machete in hand before jamming it on the Trooper's back without facing it. William took out the blade as the Trooper fell to the ground and died, he noted that the rest are still trying to find him so he used the opportunity to reload all of his weapons.

…There's a mini map on his HUD lower right corner where it function as a map and radar at the same time, he saw that few red dots which means enemies are moving toward him from the top left. William realized that the group will show up directly in front of him so William took cover from behind the building he took cover before and reloaded his P90, he will ambush them. A combination of three Trooper and four Brawler appeared, William smiled as he took out a fragmentation grenade from his pouch and took out the safety pin. He waited for a bit before he primed the grenade and thrown it at the approaching group, the group scattered but not all of them make it as three Brawlers and one Trooper were killed in the ensuing explosion.

William sprinted toward the surprised Sirens, he lunged forward and delivered a powerful right hook to the Brawler's face who was thrown toward the wall. The two Trooper fired at William who narrowly dodged the projectiles, he took out his machete and slashed diagonally to the right toward one of the Trooper which got a deep cut from its shoulder to its chest. The other Trooper however used its plasma rifle and swung it toward William's head which caused him to fall to the ground from the unexpected retaliation, however William was quick to recover as he used his leg to slide the Trooper who fell to the ground. But before William could jump on him he was tackled first by the previous Brawler into the ground before it screeched at his face revealing its sharp row of teeth, William recoiled in surprised at the sight.

"You're one ugly motherfucker!" William said out loud.

After he said that William immediately launched a right jab at the Brawler which due to his own power combined with the hydraulic system managed to thrown the Brawler off of him, as soon as he did that the Trooper pulled out its sidearm and fired at William. Fortunately the bolt from the plasma pistol missed and it gave William a chance to lunge at the downed Trooper, he sat on top of the Trooper, grabbed his machete from the ground and jammed it straight into the Trooper helmet cladded head. William took out the machete and sheathed it, he held his PKP as he started to run toward the facility's main entrance by the courtyard where he noticed that few of the remaining Sirens are charging toward his position so William took a knee as he fired his machine gun in full auto at the Sirens.

The four remaining Troopers were murdered by the bullet storm due to the unexpected attack but the Brawlers are elusive enough to dodge majority of the rounds that William fired, so the man slung back the PKP as he took out the P90 and begun charging at the five remaining Brawler. William methodically aimed and fired the SMG at one of the Brawler's head which instantly killed it, but it didn't go as planned as one of them managed to grab his right hand and then thrown him toward the large facility's main entrance. William coughed a bit in response to his body absorbing the kinetic impact, even with armor it still felt painful as hell. He saw that the four Brawlers now charged at him and rapidly closing, William isn't scared however as he took out a flashbang grenade, took the safety pin and thrown it forward for a bit and he looked away while turning his body around.

The flashbang grenade exploded, it didn't blind him with the flash but it did made his ears ringed since it exploded in close proximity. That didn't really affect him as William spun around, took out his Colt Python, charged at the blinded Brawlers which were so close to him and fired off his gun which killed one of them, he shot one of them in the chest to briefly stun it, another one in the head which killed it and the other one in the neck which also stun it. His revolver is out of ammo for now so he put it back to his left thigh and unsheathed his machete, William decapitated the Brawler which got shot in the neck and thrown his machete at the one who got shot in the chest. The blade embedded on its chest area but that didn't kill him, William finished it off by running forward and kicked the embedded machete which sent the Brawler to the wall before it died on the ground…William huffed and took out his bloodied machete from the dead Brawler then cleaned it off by swinging it to the ground.

William looked around for a bit as he nodded his head, he's satisfied with the result of the combat. Without this armor William won't be able to send a Brawler flying with a single punch, move faster, fired his gun with minimal recoil and even outright murder the Siren forces guarding the entrance all by himself…William grinned as he realized that the armor really enhanced him to the point being a superhuman and oh dear lord he fucking like it! William grabbed his fallen P90, checked his equipment or weapons for any damage and noticed that the prototype helicopter approached him before touched down on the courtyard.

…The hatch opened then ship girls walked out from the helicopter and stared at William, they are honestly impressed at his direct proof of his prowess in combating the Siren guards. The ship girls looked around and noticed that William slain each and every Trooper alongside Brawler in the area and the man still looked healthy, he didn't get hit by any plasma projectile and he was armed to the teeth. And they also stunned to see William in full armor, now they understand and relieved to know that William got better protection than his old armor that he wore on previous battles. The girls that were sent here as reinforcement immediately connected the dots in how William managed to procure the armor, it's the reason why their flight to the isle was so agonizing with large amount of space were taken up by Akashi's box.

"…Shikikan-dono, you…killed all of them" Takao said to William with widened eyes and astonished tone.

"Apparently…the armor helps a lot, I could get used to this" William said out loud as he smiled.

"But still, you did an outstanding work shikikan-sama~" Akagi said to William while she smiled.

"Thanks Akagi" William said to Akagi as he nodded his head.

"I will return to base now shikikan, good luck everyone!" Akashi said out loud on the radio as she took off with the helicopter.

"Be ready to pick us up on my signal, Akashi. If within three hours there's no contact from us, assume the worst" William said to Akashi on the radio.

"Hai, wakatta nyaa" Akashi said to William on the radio.

William reloaded his PKP then he approached the large entrance alongside the ship girls, he know opening the large door would require control panel. By the way, why did the special operation squad lock it back up? Is there something inside that shouldn't get out in case they failed or something? William still have no clue so he approached the control panel by the door to open it, the hiragana and kanji writing on the control panel made him grimace. He quickly worked on getting the BIOS system up, he decided to open the door through binary encoding instead…After messing it up for half a minute the door produced loud hydraulic sound and it start to opened, William nodded his head in satisfaction.

"…Well, hiragana and kanji didn't make sense to me. Binary code encryption however, a second nature" William muttered to himself.

"Your knowledge on technology is impressive, shikikan-sama" Mikasa said to William while she smiled.

"Thanks. I could teach you few things about it, Mikasa" William said to Mikasa.

"M-Maybe later, I could use some help with my…handheld telephone" Mikasa said to William while she awkwardly smiled.

"Sure, after we get back. Just don't break it before then~" William said to Mikasa while he grinned.

"Meanie" Mikasa said to William then pouted.

"I'll take point, stay behind me and stay close everyone" William said out loud to the ship girls.

The ship girls nodded their heads as the door fully opened and William raised his machine gun then pointed it toward the dark hallways of the facility, he tilted his hand to the right a bit before he pressed a small button on the rear of his helmet and the flashlight on his helmet left side was turned on. For something so small it provided well lit light projection to his front view, William and the ship girls advanced slowly and carefully into the black hallways with only occasional emergency red light. The first few rooms were fine but the deeper they go near the main elevator the messier the entire scene looked, there's blood splatter everywhere and signs of combat that happened on this area…

"Dark, eerie and blood splatter everywhere…What kind of carnage happened here? And the bodies are missing too" Atago asked out loud.

"Must've turned into Brawlers" Takao said to Atago.

"Hold up…Damn…" William said out loud.

The ship girls stopped when William said so, they looked what's in front of him and few of them held their hands on their mouth. In front of them there's a man wearing Sakura Empire Special Force Group uniform, or well, half man. The dead man laid on the floor, facing to the ceiling, his face forever frozen in shocked expression and he missed his lower torso. His blood coated the floor around him, William looked a bit further and found his remaining lower body and he grimaced…whoever killed this man has such power to even separated his body into two in ten meter radius.

"Oh kami…" Akagi said out loud with hands covering her mouth.

"He lost half of his body…who did this?" Kawakaze asked out loud as she stared at the dead man.

"I don't know…But the cut was too clean, this could only be done by bladed weapons. The blood have dried out, he already died for at least an hour. We lost contact with everyone on the team around one hour ago, it's possible their communication was jammed and then get picked off one by one" Takao said to Kawakaze as she inspected the dead man.

"How unfortunate" Kawakaze said out loud.

William nodded his head at Takao's conclusion, it seems plausible that's what happened with the man here. He crouched down beside the dead man and noticed that he wore a wrist terminal which is something that today's combat engineer often carried around, this guy must be one. William unclasped the terminal from the dead man gently, he took it from the man and inspected the terminal before he turned on the screen. As expected it's in Japanese language, William couldn't read absolute jack shit about it…

"Sorry mate, we need it…Shite…Um, Amagi, can you help me with this?" William said to the dead man then to Amagi when he realized he can't read whatever is written on the terminal.

"Sure. Might I assume that we're looking for their briefing file to locate the nuclear arsenal, the map of this facility and possibly the IFF locator on his comrades?" Amagi asked William as she operated the terminal.

"Spot on…I'm impressed, you know what I want to say" William said to Amagi as he stared at her in awe.

"I happen to make a correct assumption, that's all…Here it is" Amagi said to William.

Amagi shown the screen to William and the other ship girls, there's a 3D map of the facility and various blue dots could be seen around the facility. Hmmm, a 3D map? That's very convenient for them because with this they won't be blind regarding the direction they must go, but then something hit William's thought…Blue dots around the facility and it moved? That means the squad members are still alive! Oh thank god, William thought all hope is already lost with them!

"…Okay, apparently his squadmates are still alive too" William said out loud as he pointed the blue dots.

"No, check the movement out. It's randomized, there's no pattern to it. I don't know what that means, but let's be on the lookout if we detect any of them. I'll be in charge of the monitoring them, shikikan-sama" Amagi said to William who nodded his head.

"I see…Then let's head for the generator engineering section for now, we have to reactivate the power to this facility" William said out loud as he stood up.

Something's wrong with them, given what they know about Siren and Larva William didn't really have the best assumption with those blue dots. Just like Amagi said, they better take precaution when any of those blue dots are around them…William lead the group through narrow corridors into engineering section where the main generator is located with Amagi's guidance, they have to turn it on before they could access the main elevator and light this whole place up because their eyes are starting to hurt from the red emergency light. William looked back to make sure everyone are still there, Takao valiantly watched the corners, Atago stared back at William then she smiled, Akagi also stared at William while she smiled, Mikasa had her hands ready on her sword, Kawakaze looked around as she try to remember the path they took and Amagi was busy with the wrist terminal that she equipped on her left arm.

"Are you ladies fine with only your blades?" William casually asked the ship girls.

"We are quite proficient with it, shikikan-dono. Firearms isn't really our strong suit" Takao said to William.

"Well, there's nothing wrong with carrying a sidearm at least. I might decide to allocate some budget for handguns or machine pistols when you ladies had to fight on enclosed spaces like this in the future" William said out loud.

"How thoughtful of you, shikikan-sama" Akagi commented while she smiled.

"I just want all of you to be ready for anything…" William said out loud as he stared ahead.

"We're close to the generator room…*gasp* One of them, fifteen meters to our left!" Amagi said before she gasped and whispered.

"Hug the wall" William whispered to the ship girls as he pointed at the wall.

The ship girls formed into single file and hugged the wall to their left, they're currently on the intersection and the blue dot is approaching from the left. William turned off his flashlight, hugged the wall and backed away bit by bit then his back was gently grabbed by Amagi who peeked from his right side to see their front side, the other girls followed her lead as they kept themselves close with one another. William took out his PKP and aimed it to his front side, his finger moved to the trigger when something came into view. The blue dot is indeed one of the soldier but he moved slowly and abnormaly, the soldier still carried his MP5 SMG on his right hand as he stopped moving…Maybe the man was injured and shocked with his circumstances regarding the situation, they would assume that if not for the black mass that circled around his body, his limbs and two tentacles that moved on his shoulder. Whatever his condition, William was sure that he can't be saved anymore…

"…What…the…fuck" William muttered to himself with widened eye.

CLANG!

Atago yelped as she unconsciously kicked a tool box on the floor and knocked its content to the floor, the sound immediately caused the man in front of William jerked his head toward them. Amagi widened her eyes because the man brought the MP5 up and it was aimed at her face, William instinctively turned around, grabbed Amagi and held her to his chest as the SMGs fired. The 9mm rounds impacted William's back and the man gritted his teeth to hold off the painful sensation of being shot, the gunfire stopped when the man ran out of ammo that caused Amagi to look up from his chest to stare at William's polarized turquoise visor. But before Amagi could say a word William already let her go as he turned around, dashed toward the man and launched an unrestrained left uppercut.

The man was thrown toward the ceiling, impacted it before falling back to the floor. But before the man could land William already spun around, extended his right leg and kicked the man away that caused the man landed on the floor before William aimed at him with his PKP. William squeezed the trigger and the machine gun fired, the man tried to stand up but failing completely due to the rain of 7.62mm rounds. William fired at the man for five second straight, lodging dozens of bullet at him before William let go of the trigger. The man was filled with holes that spurted out yellow blood before it fell to the floor and stopped moving, William turned on his flashlight to get a better view of what did he just kill.

It's indeed a human man but with bright yellow eyes, pale white skin, there are tentacles located on the man's shoulder which spurted out of the black mass that circled his torso and he bled yellow colored blood. It was obvious that the black mass on his abdomen is a Larva, he's clearly already mutated into a Brawler but this is the first time where William witnessed an incomplete transformation which also capable using the equipment the host has…William fired few more rounds at it to make sure the creature really died, huffed a bit as he stared back at the ship girls who just stood there because it happened so fast. The ship girls were busy taking cover when that thing fired its gun and as soon as the sound stopped they already saw William in the middle of kicking the creature before gunning it down.

"I'm so sorry, shikikan! It's my fault!" Atago said to William while she deeply frowned.

"Doesn't matter now, we are compromised! Move!" William said out loud as he started running.

Amagi stared at William's back as she try to identify the spot where he was hit by a barrage of 9mm bullets, she noticed that the armor's new coat of paint was chipped in multiple spot which means that must be where the bullets hit him. She didn't even have the chance to say thanks to William properly, he already went off to kill that creature back then and all of it happened under five seconds. William and the ship girls heard screeches and footsteps echoing from all over the place, William know that the loud gunfire will surely attract the attention of Sirens and they will surround them in no time…maybe he should've used his machete instead of his machine gun, but he just don't have the time to think clearly because as soon he noticed that the gun wasn't aimed at him his reflex immediately kicked in to protect the ship girls behind him and his hulking body successfully tanked all of the bullet. If any of his ship girls in danger like that of course he will-

"Shikikan-sama! Generator room is straight ahead!" Amagi said to William.

"Alright" William said to Amagi.

The horizontal double door to the generator room was half shut but William got around the problem by putting his left hand on the top part and his left feet on the down part, he then simultaneously pushed the door parts. It took some effort even with his natural strength and the hydraulic system combined but William managed to do it in the end, the door was wide opened and the ship girls went in before William also entered the room and let go of the door which returned to its half closed state. William immediately checked the console to turn the generator back on while the ship girls secured the generator room from any hiding Sirens, William found the operation console but it only displayed their constant system crash error message. Rebooting the system will take considerable time but fortunately Sakura Empire power generator used the same standard which they could use as a shortcut, each of them has an auxiliary console located directly on the generator.

"Bloody hell, the generator has to be turned on directly from the generator's auxiliary console!" William said out loud.

"Can you do it shikikan-sama?!" Akagi asked William out loud.

Before William could answer Akagi the half closed door was rammed by a Brawler, the ship girls that carried blades immediately converged on the entrance to thin out their numbers by either slicing their limbs or stabbed them through the gap which is too small for the Brawlers to pass easily. Looking on the bright side, if they could successfully defend the area long enough the stack of Brawler corpse would make an excellent barricade.

"Don't worry I'm on it! Keep those guys off of us!" William said out loud as he pointed at the door.

"Wakarimashita, shikikan-sama!" Akagi answered while she smiled confidently.

William started to climb the large diesel power generator to find the terminal on top of the generator, he couldn't be bother to use the stairs because it'll be faster to just climbed the solid part of the generator. He predicted that he would need at least a minute to turn the power back on, William briefly looked down to see Takao, Kawakaze, Atago and Mikasa valiantly hold off the advancing Brawlers from getting inside the generator room. William then quickly operate the console which thank the lord used English for its standard operating language, he messed with the commands and successfully switched the generator on which resulted in the light turning on few seconds later.

"Powers back!" Mikasa shouted out loud.

Takao looked to the left and noticed she's the closest to the door terminal, Takao immediately hit the control to shut the door which resulted in the door closing. Several discomforting crushing sounds were heard as the door cut off several of the Brawler's hands, Takao sighed when the door have completely shut and they got some time to rest and a well lit room. William jumped down from the top of the generator, the impact produced loud metallic sound and bended the metal floor a bit with its sheer weight…The ship girls flinched when they heard the sound, they suppose that armor must've weighted at least a hundred kilograms.

"Good job ladies…Amagi, where to next?" William complimented the ship girls before he asked Amagi.

"…Based on the schematics, the nuclear arsenal storage are located fifteen floor down and inside a secured section of the facility" Amagi said to William while she frowned a bit

"Why do I sense a 'but' there?" William asked Amagi as he folded his arms.

"Correctly assumed. We have to head toward the security center first to disable the lock, only then we could access the secured section" Amagi explained to William.

"Looks like our task just become much more difficult…" Kawakaze said out loud.

"Great…" William huffed in annoyance at that point, not even he felt confident in hacking a sensitive secured section so the security station is his best bet.

"Kochira Kitahara Gunso, dareka? Otoushitekure! (_This is Sergeant Kitahara, anyone? Please respond!_)" Someone suddenly said on the radio in Japanese.

"Gunso? Gunso? Kikoemasuka?! (_Sergeant? Sergeant? Can you hear me?!_)" Amagi immediately answered the sergeant on the radio.

"Hai! Yokatta! Kimi wa dare da!? (_Yes! What a relief! Who are you?_)" The sergeant asked Amagi on the radio.

"Watashi no namae wa Amagi, KANSEN desu yo. Eigo wo hanasemasuka? (_My name is Amagi, a KANSEN. Can you speak English?_)" Amagi asked the sergeant on the radio.

"Hai, dekiruyo (_Yes, I can_)" The sergeant answered Amagi on the radio.

"Yoroshi (_Good_). He's Sergeant Kitahara, shikikan-sama" Amagi said to the sergeant on the radio then to William.

Finally, a survivor! William was dying to know regarding what went completely wrong with the special operation squad, he would ask the sergeant for the complete story when he could meet with him because he will need all the information he can get to get this job done smoothly. Amagi offered her left arm toward William because that's where the radio contact come from, William gently took Amagi's left hand and he leaned on it so he could speak with Sergeant Kitahara clearly.

"Sergeant Kitahara, this is Commander William Blaze of ALASUC. I'm inside this facility to recover your team and the nuclear arsenal, give me situation report!" William said to Kitahara on the radio.

"Y-Yes sir. My team and I went inside this facility approximately two hours ago, we managed to make all the way toward the fifteenth floor but before we could access the storage room all of a sudden we lost power. That's when we were ambushed, dozens of Brawlers and few Troopers poured out of nowhere and captured my comrades. I…I managed to evade capture and hid myself on the security center, that's until the power went back on and I know someone else must've had entered the facility" Kitahara said to William on the radio.

"I see…we're coming to security center now, we can formulate a plan to bring the nuclear arsenal out" William said to Kitahara on the radio.

"Sir, there's something else I need to tell you. There's a human among them, a woman" Kitahara said to William on the radio.

"Woman?" William asked Kitahara on the radio while he narrowed his right eye.

"Yes. I didn't caught her features that well, but she wore white clothing and carried a katana. Be careful" Kitahara said to William on the radio.

"Got it. Stay put sergeant, we're coming" William said to Kitahara on the radio.

The sergeant spoke calmly but William noted there's an edge on his voice, the sergeant seems to be mentally unstable so William would have to tread lightly when he met with him…Wait, a woman among the Sirens that carried a katana and dressed in white. He didn't remember Purifier which dressed with somewhat white clothing ever carried a katana with her, who is she then? William subtly glanced to the left to see Takao and Atago who still stared at the floor in processing the information they just got, both of them could spook the sergeant into attacking them…

"A woman carrying a katana and white clothing? Who's she?" Akagi asked out loud.

"I don't know" Kawakaze simply responded while she shrugged.

"But it's apparent that she's with the Sirens…Atago, Takao, you stay behind us and don't enter the room until I say so. His shaky tone mean he's shell shocked, I don't want any friendly fire case" William said to Takao and Atago.

"Hai, shikikan" "Wakarimashita, shikikan-dono" Atago and Takao answered simultaneously.

"Wait. That dead man we saw near the entrance, his body was cut clean in half" Amagi said out loud as she stared to the floor.

"Could it be that woman is the perpetrator?" Akagi asked Amagi with raised eyebrows.

"Yes, there's a huge possibility that she did it…sounds like she possess the capable tool to do so" Amagi said to Akagi while she frowned a bit.

"We can talk about it later, maybe the sergeant could give us an answer. Let's head toward the security center for now, get ready" William said to the ship girls.

…The ship girls lined up at the door in case the Brawlers outside would swarm them, William held his machine gun on his right hand as he approached the door terminal. He took a second to confirm if the girls are ready or not in which the ship girls nodded their heads at him, William nodded back and he pressed the button on the terminal which caused the door to open. The ship girls readied their weapons and William pointed his machine gun outside the room only to see the remains of the dead Brawlers in front of the generator room door, the rest retreated? Whatever the reason, they were glad that they won't have to fight for a while and William alongside the ship girls moved to the main elevator.

After a brief ride down to the third floor, the group moved out straight toward the security center section. William noted that the door was opened and he couldn't help but to thought something must've happened in there, he quickly walked while readying his P90 SMG. William entered the section and head straight for the control center, there he spotted someone standing in front of the main console. That person turned around and William widened his eye, based on the physical attribute that person is a man which equipped with full body black scaled armor and slanted blue visor who faced William who slowly raised his P90 SMG.

"…Well, you people are sure easily fooled" The armored person said to William.

"…Who are you?" William asked the armored person as the ship girls arrived behind him.

"Not in the mood to speak, William?" The armored person asked William while he moved forward a bit.

"How did you know my name!?" William asked the armored person with widened eye.

"We all got our own ways" The armored person said to William while he shrugged.

Who the fuck is this guy!? Where's Sergeant Kitahara? There's no sign of him! William inspected the armored man closely and he widened his eye, he have met with the man in front of him in the past! No, more like inside a dream! William remembered the dream where he woke up inside the destroyed administration building of his base which also surrounded by thick fog!

"…Wait a fucking second, I've seen you before!" William said to the armored person.

"If you're talking about that brief duel we had? Yeah, we've met. You gave a nasty kick to my head, mate!" The armored person said to William while he folded his arms.

"That wasn't a dream?!" William asked the armored person in disbelieve.

"In a sense, it's not. The universe work mysteriously-" The armored person said to William.

"Enough! Where's Sergeant Kitahara?" William asked the armored person as he pointed his P90 at him.

"In case you didn't catch up yet, like Amagi over there, Kitahara is me you dimwit. Heh…" The armored person said to William before he snorted in amusement.

William stared at Amagi who gazed sharply at the armored person, she felt that she should realized that this entire thing is nothing but a fraud. When the armored man masquerading as Kitahara contacted Amagi she didn't bother to check the 3D map for blue dots on the security center, she just take him as one of the surviving member of the team that they searched so she's quite relieved and forgot to double check it…Reckless, Amagi was fuming inside, she actually fell for this simple trap and she's not happy. William could clearly see that Amagi seemed to figure it out ahead of him, he stared back at the armored person as he wondered on what is this guy want with them?

"…What do you want with us?" William asked the armored person.

"The girls? Nah, you? We got something to talk about mate and it'll be best if we're…alone" The armored person said to William as he pointed at him.

"Not until we got what we come here for" William said to the armored person while he shook his head.

"Ah, the mighty Titan Bomb. A tactical nuclear weapon, with the size of an Eagle Union football. It's on those green modular cases" The armored person said to William as he casually pointed at two modular green case stored beside a console.

"…Just why?" William couldn't help but asked, this man's action didn't make any sense!

"Why indeed…why spend my time and energy to get you a weapon of mass destruction to fight the Sirens? As far as I'm concerned, I got nothing by doing that…except, your attention" The armored man said to William, he couldn't see it but William is sure that the armored man is smirking right now.

"Fine…you have it. Now, what do you want?" William asked the armored man.

"Don't you remember? Private meetings" The armored man pointed at the ship girls who already took out their weapons and pointed it at the armored man.

"Hah, insufferable cunt…Akagi, Kawakaze, take the cases then get out of this room with everyone. Wait for me outside" William said to both of them.

"Shikikan-sama, we can't leave you-" Akagi said to William.

"That's an order. Do as I say" William immediately said to Akagi.

"…Hai" Akagi frowned as she answered.

Akagi and Kawakaze walked inside, they passed the armored man while eyeing him. The armored man didn't bother to look at them as his helmet cladded head still focused on William who still got his P90 pointed at the man in case he did something stupid, both Akagi and Kawakaze grabbed the case and then walked back toward the other. Akagi briefly stared at William when she arrived beside him but he only nudged his head to the side that tell her to leave them, Akagi nodded her head as she alongside the other ship girls left William alone with the armored man.

"You know, you don't have to be that harsh?" The armored man asked William.

"You're starting to get on my nerves, get to the point because my fingers have been itchy and I'd be delighted to unload a full mag at your face" William said to the armored man.

"Oohhh, such hostility! Do you think those bullets would work!? Ah fine, I see you don't have sense of humor!" The armored man said to William with amused tone.

"I have one, what I don't have is patience" William said to the armored man with serious tone.

"Heh…pull Sakura Empire forces back and defend your HQ at all cost" The armored man said to William.

"You expect me to believe such heap of rubbish?" Pull their forces even the patrols back?!

"I'm saying this for your own good. All of you need to do is to hold out until tomorrow at least, by then you will find a gap to exploit" The armored man said to William.

"And why should I trust you?" William asked the armored man.

"Bah, William, are you actually this daft?" The armored man waved dismissively at him.

"Then stop speaking cryptically you fuck!" William said to the armored man as his finger moved to the trigger.

"Bahahahahaha…Ah man, terribly sorry about that. I'll explain it in one sentence…Sirens have what they came for" The armored man laughed then said to William.

What were those Siren after? Not even they know why did The Sirens want with this isle but their prediction is that the Sirens would like to use this place as their base to assault Sakura Empire Honshu Island which was the mainland, but the armored man made it sounded like it's not the case with these Siren forces. Then what do they want? What did they want so badly that they sent such significant forces to combat them here?

"…I suppose you know what they after?" William asked the armored man.

"You" The armored man simply answered as he pointed at William.

"Me?!" William asked the armored man with shocked face and tone.

"Yes, you. Believe it or not, you've become quite popular among them and all of this? Is to provoke your response! Nothing with Siren is ever as it seems and they got what they came for. You, come charging to Furushima like a knight on thunderous charge atop of the horse with his lance! So what they really want with you? Simple, a mere test and you prove yourselves especially when you ram Purifier with that jet, oof~" The armored man explained to William.

"What test?!" William asked the armored man.

"You ask a lot of questions you know?" The armored man said to William with amused tone.

"Then don't tempt me to in the first place!" William half shouted at the armored man.

"Hahahahaha! Ah, toying with you has been fun. But take heed of my words, if you didn't get out of here within the next hour you will suffer the consequences. It's up to you mate, if I were you I'd immediately warn everyone. See you next time William!" The armored man said to William.

The armored man snapped his left finger and a purplish portal opened behind him, the armored man only waved casually at William before he jumped backwards, entered the portal and disappeared alongside the portal. William lowered his P90 as he stared at the floor, he walked around a bit as he try to comprehend what did the armored man just said to him…He just basically said to William that he's the reason for this invasion to happen, he's the reason why the Sirens did this attack. Why? Because they want to test him! Regarding what? He got no fucking clue whatsoever, all he got right now are assumptions and he felt that whatever Sirens wanted with him it's not going to be good…

"...Goddamnit! Do everything needs to be complicated as fuck?!" William asked out loud before he turned around and exited the room.

.

…Somewhere in the forest area a purple portal opened and the armored man jumped out from it, he landed on the ground and stared at the closing purple portal before he turned around and started walking toward into the forest. He walked a bit while he hummed to himself, the armored man reached the end of the island which is a cliff that overlooked the island where the facility he's just in was located few kilometers away. The armored man was about to set when a blade was put in front of his neck from behind by someone, the armored man however didn't shown any sign of fear or even surprise…

"What did you say to him?" The person that held the sword asked him in feminine voice.

"Now now, there's no need to hold me at sword point am I right? Besides, how did you know that I-" The armored man said at the female behind him.

"What. Did. You. Say. To him?" The sword was pressed tighter to the armored man's throat as she asked him again.

"…I warned him, simple as that" The armored man answered calmly.

"You-" The female said out loud.

The armored man broke free from the female and stared at her, the female is the one that he mentioned to William when he's inside the facility. She's a woman with long black hair, with golden eyes glared at the armored man, dressed in white clothing, black coat and a black katana in her hand. The armored man put his hand forward in mock surrender, he tilted his head to the left a bit while he chuckled amusedly.

"Hehehehe whoa, careful dear, I don't want to use violence against gorgeous girl like you" The armored man said to the girl.

"One more word and I'll disembowel you!" The girl declared firmly as she tightened the grip on her katana.

"You wouldn't, I know you too well~" The armored man said to the girl with teasing tone.

"Enough!" Someone said out loud.

The one who said that is a woman with long hair and wearing black coat, she glared at the two person from above a tree with her purple eyes. She dropped down from the tree she stood on, landed gracefully on the ground before she stared at the armored man who sighed as he lowered his arms. The woman walked to the armored man side before she thrown him a package which he caught effortlessly, the armored man opened the package to find a large futuristic pistol which he took with his right hand. The armored man stared at the pistol for a bit before it disappeared in small purple light, he then stared at the woman in front of him who still held her blade at him.

"Yeah, Ash is right. Look, I know we're not exactly buddy buddy with each other now but let's not start pointing weapons…this whole thing is bigger than us" The armored man said to the woman.

"I'm not saying what you did was right either" The woman or 'Ash' said to the armored man.

"Yikes, I thought you're on my side" The armored man said to Ash as he stared at her.

"I'm on neither side with this nonsense…Ember, sheathe your blade already" Ash said to the woman or 'Ember'.

"…Hmph" Ember complied and sheathed her katana.

The armored man then noted that there's several portal that appeared on the sea, from that portal several mass produced Siren ship appeared before the portal closed. Some smaller portal also appeared from beside the mass produced ships and Siren ship girls also appeared, the armored man whistle in awe at the Siren forces that shown up nearby before he stared at Ember and Ash who joined him by his sides. Ash and Ember didn't shown any signs of surprise at the mass appearance of Siren fleet, they know it's only matter of time before this happened.

"…Would you look at that? Alpha was not happy with the yesterday's raid, she's going to test them to the limit but at this rate they'll die without even having the chance to fight back" The armored man said out loud.

"…Nyx, what you did back there is extremely reckless. Now he knows that something is up, worse, even they could find out what we are planning" Ash said to the armored man or 'Nyx' as his name.

"What? Paranoid much? He and the girls can die sooner if I don't" Nyx said to Ash as he shrugged.

"It is their fate on this world line then" Ember quipped from Nyx left side.

"Don't talk about that world line universe bollocks with me…Every single man or woman, in the right place on the wrong time can make all the differences in the world. He's not destined to die now, don't believe everything 'she' said" Nyx said to Ember in gentle yet firm tone…

"…If you know that he won't die yet in this world, then why do you still come to him?" Ember couldn't help but asked Nyx that question.

"Why? Heh…I'd just like to see his face again, to see 'this' William Blaze up close. Shame he got the armor on" Nyx said out loud as he stared at the facility he's just on.

"Already?" Ash couldn't help but asked out loud with widened eyes.

"Yeah…that should help him when he had to fight against-" Nyx said out loud.

"Nyx. This is Alpha" Suddenly Nyx communicator went online.

Yikes, Nyx sighed before he answered the communicator for Observer Alpha, turned it into holographic screen which shown her personally and she seems displeased with something. Nyx felt like he cringed when he saw Observer Alpha's face directly, she didn't say anything yet but he know he's about to be involved in something nasty. Ember and Ash noticed the screen as both of them only stared at it for a bit before they left Nyx to deal with her himself by going off screen which caused him to look at both of them exasperatedly, however Nyx shrugged as he faced Alpha to ask why would she contacted him.

"Uh, go ahead darling. What do you need?" Nyx asked Alpha who sat with legs crossed and tapping her cheeks.

"I noticed you're on that facility few moments ago, what are you doing there?" Alpha immediately asked Nyx.

"Didn't you want me and Code T to make sure those Sakura Empire troops to not get the nuclear weapon?" Nyx asked Alpha in confused tone.

"I suppose, but you took your time while Code T already move out when the task are done" Alpha asked Nyx while she folded her arms.

"Can't a man get some quality quiet time to himself?" Nyx reasoned while he shrugged in tired tone.

"…Arguing with you wouldn't get us anywhere" Alpha sighed before she said to Nyx.

"Surprised you notice, 'Observer'~" Nyx said to Alpha in teasing tone.

"Don't test my patience next time, Nyx…Now, I have something need to take care off and your parameter would prove to be suitable for the task. I will assign 'Midnight' to replace your position there" Midnight? Oh, that mean motherfu-

"Oohh, are you actually going to pay me this time? You know, my supplies for alcohol have run dry" Nyx asked Alpha in sarcastic tone.

"…I'll discuss that with the Arbiter or Zero later. Come to me, immediately" Alpha said to Nyx with no-nonsense tone.

"Okie dokie~" Nyx answered in cheery tone and 'okay!' handsign.

The communicator holographic screen disappeared and Nyx sighed heavily, man he hated working overtime. Nyx noted that Ember and Ash returned to their original position as soon as the call were done, both of them were not keen on meeting with Observer Alpha or even any Siren at all unless they have to. Nyx huffed as he turned around to face the two of them, it's time to talk about their plans.

"…Hmph, there's always something with her. Ash, make preparations for New York per 'her' instructions. I don't want that woman to hound us for progress any longer, her nagging is a pain in the arse" Nyx instructed Ash in serious tone.

"Tch, fine then" Ash said out loud before she walked away.

"Ember" Nyx said to Ember

"I know where I must go, don't expect me to always help in this little scheme since favor work both ways…Remember, we still have our original objective to fulfill" Ember said to Nyx while she frowned.

"Noted. See ya later" Nyx said to Ember while he waved at her.

Ember snorted before she turned around and walked away following Ash, Nyx once again turned toward the facility and noted that the Siren fleet have passed the area. Nyx armor HUD turned into digital binocular mode and zoomed in toward the island in front of him, specifically the facility he's just been on. He saw the prototype helicopter that ALASUC hovered above the facility before it slowly landed, several minutes later the helicopter take off again and immediately moved toward the direction of Sakura Empire Regional HQ. Nyx sighed in satisfaction, he snapped his finger again and a purplish portal appeared beside him.

"I hope you will do the right thing, William. We got so much to do in the near future, don't die yet mate" Nyx said out loud before he entered the portal which vanished two seconds later…

* * *

…**Boi! So much happened and I have to postpone the release for this chapter, to make it up for the long waiting time I decided to make it extra-long. Really, it went through 20k words…Now, thank you for the follow, review and favorite readers. As you might have noticed, shit went from thirty to one hundred real fucking quick and The Sirens have started to notice that William is a person they should investigate. But hey! Some good news! The man have acquired his Albion Battle Armor which is tough, hard hitting piece of hardware that will play important role in William's fight against the Sirens! With that armor he could fight toe to toe with a Brawler directly and even outright killed them with his own bare hands if he had to, the man turned into temporary super human when he wears it. Okay, I think I blabbed enough, time to rest for a bit before continuing the next chapter.**

**See you next time!**

**\- Dasmara**


	23. The clock ticks to Midnight

"Meguro? Meguro! This is Blaze, listen to me, incoming attack on HQ! I repeat, incoming attack on HQ! Large scale Siren forces are inbound to our base!" William said to Meguro on the radio.

"Damnit! Again?! Well, it seems your prediction become true!" Meguro said to William on the radio.

"Yeah? Well, I'm not happy about it!" William said to Meguro on the radio.

"Radar just picked them up…shit, we'll need you here Blaze. Bismarck-san took many of the Ironblood ship girls and left for their own mission so we're short on ship girl's combat strength" Meguro said to William on the radio.

"Got it! We're on our way!" William said to Meguro on the radio.

William went to the cockpit and managed to see the approaching fleet toward their base, he couldn't help but grimaced when he saw how many ships are on that fleet. William quickly racked his brain to find a way in chipping some of their capabilities while also flying back to the base at the same time, after thinking for few seconds an idea hit him…What if this helicopter could be used like a gunship? Not helicopter gunship, something like AC-130 Gunship in firepower. How to do that? Well, they already got a ship girl in here so all that's left is to implement their firepower into this helicopter. William sat on the empty copilot seat, he got a plan to implement now.

"Akashi, switch with me" William said to Akashi.

"Control is yours nyaa!" Akashi said to William as she relinquished the helicopter's control.

"Ladies listen up! I'm opening the hatches and you thin them out. Mikasa, take the left side hatch and deploy your rigs. Akagi, launch your planes from the rear hatch. Amagi, you take the other hatch. I'm going to pass between them, we only have one shot to make this pass so make it count!" William explained out loud to the ship girls.

"""Ryoukai!""" Amagi, Mikasa and Akagi replied in unison.

"Shikikan-dono, could we also launch our torpedoes?" Takao asked William.

"Will it work in ten meters height?" William asked Takao back.

"Technically it will launch well in five meters" Takao said to William.

"That close to the surface…alright, we're risking it" William said to Takao.

"Arigatou" Takao said to William as she nodded her head.

"Takao?" William asked Takao as he turned around to see her sticking her head from the passenger bay.

"Hai?" Takao asked William.

"Make sure those torpedoes hit" William said to Takao.

"Count on us. Atago, take the left side! Kawakaze, you take the rear! I'll take the right side!" Takao said out loud.

""Hai!"" Atago and Kawakaze replied.

"Alright ladies! This is it!" William shouted at the ship girls.

There's a narrow gap in the Siren's fleet formation, he certainly could fit the helicopter through it but the question is will they get shot down? William doesn't have any confidence to get close to one of the Siren's ship even with fighter jet and now he's going to do it with a helicopter? William shook his head, he doesn't have time to think about any of the consequences. He dived with the helicopter all the way to five meter's height, the waters were quite still so he won't have to worry about hitting the surface during this mad dash. The hatches were opened and the ship girls are on standby with their riggings out, the Siren mass produced ships immediately lit up their AA guns and William had to paid attention to the AA projectiles while he hoped that their lucks hold out.

Atago and Takao were the first one to launch their torpedoes out, Akagi launched her torpedo bombers and dive bombers from the rear and followed by Amagi alongside Mikasa fired a salvo toward the ships on their side. William moved the helicopter to the right side a little to avoid crashing into a Siren light cruiser which Kawakaze immediately torpedoed, all of their attacks managed to cause some damage toward the Siren fleet in a single, daring run which William didn't want to do again anytime soon…William sighed in relief when they gained some distance away from the fleet without getting hit, they're quite lucky.

"It worked!" Mikasa said out loud.

"What do we manage to kill?" William asked out loud.

"Three cruisers, two battleships and one Smasher!" Akagi reported to William.

"Nice work there!" William complimented while he grinned.

The hatches were closed and the ship girls sat to rest themselves for the incoming battle that will surely come to their regional headquarters, Amagi got up and take a look at the situation in the cockpit where Akashi and William still flying the helicopter but it seems Akashi was the one who flew it while William just make sure their instruments were working as intended…William was just in time to look back and saw Amagi staring at him.

"Yeah?" William asked Amagi.

"Shikikan-sama, that tactic was reckless…But, I like your style. Reckless and daring" Amagi said to William while she smiled a bit.

"Um…Thanks Amagi" William said to Amagi.

"…I bet her panties is wet right now, kommandant" Prinz suddenly said to William on the radio.

"What the fuck Prinz?!" William half shouted at Prinz on the radio with wide eye.

"Heyya, I'm babysitting these guys until Bismarck returned. Based on radar, they should arrive in five minutes" Prinz said to William on the radio.

"Five minutes? Their fleet is still pretty far away, they should arrive in at least ten" William asked Prinz with confused tone on the radio.

"I forgot to mention, they do have their fleet of dropships coming in. They intend to kill us with ground forces" Prinz said to William on the radio.

"Just perfect!" William said out loud and huffed in annoyance.

Fleet of dropships? As if their fleet aren't enough problem! William saw the regional headquarters straight ahead and the dreaded dropships approaching from their far right, fortunately the AA defenses of the regional headquarters are strong enough that the Sirens didn't dare to fuck around by dropping straight on the perimeter. The sheer volume of AA flak in the sky was enough to force them to unload their cargo on the beach area which also immediately rained by torrent of bullets from the pillboxes around the beach, the machine gun rounds tore into the dropping Troopers who didn't have any cover and could only occasionally fire back which didn't put any meaningful damage.

The experimental helicopter managed to land safely in one of the available landing pads, William and the other ship girls immediately disembarked and head toward their respective destination. Majority of them prepared themselves to combat the approaching Sirens while William, Mikasa and Amagi who carried the nuclear case headed straight for the command center…Along the way, almost everyone who looked at William stopped whatever they were doing since this would be the first time William donned the armor in public. His body is already intimidating enough in a sense but the armor cranked it up by several levels especially when they can't see his face, William entered the command center and head straight for Meguro who took a while to inspected him from head to feet in stunned manners. The other personnel including Prinz inside the room did the same, it looks like they're going to start a briefing about something.

"…Huh, so this is what you mean by testing something" Meguro commented as he stared at William.

"Yeah. Bad news, it would seems none of the spec ops squad you sent survived" William said to Meguro.

"…Hah…damnit…okay, do you have the nuclear weapons?" Meguro grimaced then asked William.

"Here" Both Mikasa and Amagi shown Meguro the nuclear cases.

"Excellent. I need you both to leave them here" Meguro said to the ship girls as he pointed at the spot near the briefing room holographic table.

"Right there?" Amagi asked Meguro as she pointed at the spot.

"That exact spot, Amagi-san" Meguro confirmed to Amagi.

"…What are you planning, Meguro?" William asked Meguro as he watched the ship girls put down the cases.

"New order just came in, straight from Kabakura himself. We're doing torch and burn op" Meguro said to William while he scowled.

…William took a second to processed Meguro's words, a torch and burn operation? Can he explained to him on why the fuck did high command just ordered that now?! They could've avoided so much loss if high command ordered to secure their every Intel and research then burn this base to the ground, if they've done that then they won't have to commit some near desperate assault to the Siren's base! They could focus entirely on defense and perhaps…Shoukaku, Zuikaku and Hiryuu won't have to suffer such wounds!

"…We did all that, lose so many men, resources and time only to retreat?! We're leaving the Sirens to win after all that?!" William asked Meguro with widened eye.

"Calm down" Meguro said to William.

"Don't fuck with me Meguro! Do you have any idea what this battle cost us?! Three of the ship girls paid their price already!" William said to Meguro while he scowled.

"Don't give me that! I've thrown five thousand soldiers and dozens of pilots to hold this spot! I sacrificed them to hold this exact spot! All of them and thirty thousand civilians still died in the process! Do you think I don't want to go completely ballistic? No, I'm fucking pissed! If those motherfuckers back home could just make up their own mind regarding this! So many lives we could save! We could've fight them somewhere else! So what if they got this isle?!" Meguro shouted at William while he scowled.

CRASH!

Meguro thrown his pad toward the wall on the far side of the room in flick of anger, he definitely understand William's feelings and he even felt he's supposed to be more pissed with this situation than him. Meguro felt this one battle will be a black mark in his entire military career, he lost so much men and asset in this fight against them which didn't even bore fruit when Operation Icarus failed due to that goddamned shield wall! William got three injured ship girls? Bah! Meguro had it worse! He lost so many men which he know on personal level during the first fight against them! The civilians under his jurisdiction were slaughtered, William had no idea how he feels right now when he heard the order!

"…Isn't this place a strategic location sir?" Meguro's lieutenant to his side asked Meguro in timid tone.

"Wake the fuck up lieutenant! The 'strategic' value of this isle is because of that nuclear weapon development facility and the wisdom cube research lab! Staging area? We could always sortie from Hokkaido for fuck sake! We sacrificed so much just to buy time for those scientist to back up the research data and acquired these nuclear devices! That's it! That is it! And they got prime ticket in getting out of here! Our C-130's would be prioritized for them!" Meguro said out loud while he scowled.

That caused every Sakura Empire personnel except the ship girls to direct their outraged gaze at Meguro, so essentially the eggheads got to be the first one escaping and used the transport plane? As usual, the military guys got to stay behind so the bright minded individuals like them could live longer. They knew it's their duty to protect the civilians from harm too but right now in their frustration many of them only felt disdain at this decision, all of them really want to get out of this hellhole. Meguro sighed heavily when he noticed the looks, he understand their feelings right now and that's also the reason on why he want to prioritize getting his men out.

But he do have realistic view on the situation, before they get out they need to thin the chaser's herd. How to do that? Simple, the nuclear bomb that William and the ship girls just brought here will be put to good use. Meguro had resolved to attack Siren's secondary base once again but this time they will spare no quarter in ensuring it's destruction, he already got a plan in mind and in the form of presentation. He know that there won't be many that will follow him because this plan could be categorized as suicide order…but he made his choice.

"Don't give me that look, I know! All of us want to get out of here so listen up! Despite the order from High Command, our objective did not change! 8th Carrier Division's already been notified about this, we're going to rendezvous with them in the open waters! After we route this attack, we will be commencing Operation Taiga! Objective? Evacuate from this isle and put a massive dent on their secondary base! Non-essential personnel and the wounded will board our transport ships with several destroyer escorts then join 8th Carrier Division! The rest of us? We'll pull an all-out attack on their large secondary base to distract the Sirens from focusing on them, that way we could at least cripple them so all of this wouldn't end for nothing! There are only two outcomes! We die trying or we'll make it back home with whoever and whatever's left! I will personally lead you from the front! So give me your all because we're doing this for our loved ones back home!" Meguro said out loud to the personnel with him on the briefing room.

"""""""""""SIR YES SIR!"""""""""" The man and women that were with him said out loud as they saluted at him.

The personnel then immediately dispersed to coordinate with the others in order to execute Operation Taiga, Meguro kept his face straight but deep down inside he felt immense pride for his soldiers for not backing down from this operation, if they have any objection they will certainly voice their objection but they only respond in absolution in their tone as they know the stake…William looked at Meguro while he smiled, the local commander surely got some bold plan and he approved of it. The only thing that concerned him is how suicidal it sounds…

"…Tell me, does that convincing enough? Because right now I'm both pissed and scared" Meguro said to William while he folded his arms.

"Yeah, I'd say you manage to get them up and going. But still, this is very risky" William said to Meguro with cocked eyebrows.

"Like when you ram a jet at a Siren?" Meguro asked William while he cocked his eyebrows.

"…You'll never let that go, huh?" William said to Meguro while he cringed.

"Nah, I won't" Meguro said to William while he smiled a bit.

"Heh…Where's our part in this?" William snorted then asked Meguro.

"I'd like to say that you alongside the ship girls should join the evacuating group, but saying we'll take on a technologically advanced base that large with just handful of mass produced ships is the literal word for arrogance and dumbfuckery" Meguro said to William as he stared at the holographic table to his right side.

"Fair point. What do you propose?" William asked Meguro as he folded his arms.

"To take down that base we would need that one Titan bomb be placed within the center of the base, specifically this large building that we presume to be the shield generator…To do that? We're going have to infiltrate their perimeter, with just bunch of people" Meguro said to William as he shown him the map for the Siren's base.

William carefully studied the layout of the secondary base taken from aerial reconnaissance, it would appear the base have zero gap in their defensive perimeter. So how to sneak in with just bunch of commandos infiltrating from the water? Then William saw something that might be advantageous, a small Cliffside on the southern part of the island. The position is relatively undefended but Sirens might post some patrol there, it won't be a problem as long as they didn't get spotted during the entry or the mission is over before it even started…

"…Have you ever try infiltrating a Siren's base before?" William asked Meguro as he stared at him.

"I might be able to help with that. Few Northern Union squad of elite troops did that few months back, I happen to know some of the technical details from their experience" Mikasa suddenly said to William.

"Outstanding Mikasa! You will help with the technical planning!" William said to Mikasa while he smiled.

"Great. After we plant the bomb in there, we blow it up and make a lot of noise as we flatten that place to the ground. We retreat back to our base, let their primary base send in their forces to eliminate us, converge them in this place before…Boom, the second nuclear device exploded. That way, we could at least cripple massive number of their units which should help us when we're escaping from this isle and still completed our objective" Meguro explained to William.

"Full of risk, but great plan nonetheless. Count ALASUC in commander" William said to Meguro while he smiled.

"Thank you. Mikasa-san, Amagi-san, can I count on your help to discuss the technical details" Meguro said to Mikasa and Amagi who nodded their heads.

"Sure, Meguro Shikikan" Amagi said to Meguro.

"Understood" Mikasa said to Meguro.

"Alright. Prinz, you're with me, we're going to hold the turf" William said to Prinz who have been calmly watching from the side.

"Ja~wohl~" Prinz mock saluted as she approached William.

"Good luck, shikikan-sama, Prinz-san" Mikasa said to William and Prinz.

"Thanks" William said to Mikasa before he and Prinz who nodded her head left the room.

William and Prinz walked out of the command center and noticed that the people around them running around while shouting, both of them looked outside from inside the building and noticed that the Siren gunship circled around the headquarters while laying down several suppressing fire. Prinz shrugged as she jumped off through the window, landed on the ground, deployed her rigging and lit up her AA guns at one of the dropship. The aircraft suffered extensive damage before catching fire and fell down straight in the beach, Prinz smirked in satisfaction before something heavy hit the ground behind her. William just followed her lead by also jumping through the window, he managed to land while creating dust cloud around him.

"You just can't wait for some action huh?" William asked Prinz while he smiled amusedly.

"Can't help it, it just beg to be shot down while circling around like that…How's your field trip by the way?" Prinz asked William.

"In short, the haunted house part really ticked me off" William said to Prinz while he shrugged.

"Ufufu, oh scheibe~" Prinz said to William while she smirked.

"Kommandant, this is Bismarck" Bismarck suddenly said on the radio.

"Bismarck?" William nodded his head as he asked Bismarck.

"I have the information regarding the Siren's base" Bismarck said to William on the radio.

"We're going to get busy for now, contact Mikasa as she'll help the planning for the next operation. Your information should help them" William instructed to Bismarck on the radio.

"As you command. I have heard from Eugen regarding the inbound assault, we are returning to headquarters now" Bismarck informed William on the radio.

"Alright. Be careful" William said to Bismarck on the radio.

"You as well, kommandant William" Bismarck said to William on the radio.

"…So, inbound Siren fighters, dropships with troopers and possibly the entire arsenal of nightmare of whatever the fuck the Siren decided to throw at us today. What do you think?" William asked Prinz as he stared at her.

"There are worse date than this" Prinz said to William while she shrugged.

"You call this a date?" William asked Prinz with cocked eyebrows and pursed lips.

"Ufufu nein nein, of course not, that's just a bad joke from me…Regardless, if we can't shoot down majority of the dropship? We'll be commencing that operation with so little men it would be impossible to pull off a win" Prinz said to William while she stared at him.

"Right…you got any bright ideas to down those dropships quickly?" William asked Prinz as he stared at the other Siren dropships being harassed by machine gun fire.

"Ah…Follow me" Prinz said to William after her eyes widened a little.

…William and Prinz stopped by the armory first to get some weapons for William, they then ran all the way back to their temporary housing. Prinz hold up her hand at William to signaled that he should wait outside while she went in and grab everything she needed, William shrugged as he set down the M87 Anti Material Sniper Rifle loaded with .50 caliber rounds which has enough power to tore human's limb off in one shot. He pulled the slides few times to make sure it's working before he loaded a magazine to it and pulled the slide again then released it, the round entered the firing chamber and William set the safety off.

He wondered on what did Prinz had to get from their temporary housing and it supposedly could bring down a Siren dropship quickly? Why store something as dangerous as that in their temporary housing? The longer he thought about it the more it became clear that Prinz really put everyone's life on danger with the potential accidents involving whatever she's picking up, boy he's glad that didn't happen this morning. Prinz came out while carrying a large box filled with numerous tubes and one large pipe like tubes, this successfully gained William's attention when he noticed that those tubes are actually torpedoes! William started to connect the dots concerning the item in front of him…and he has mixed feelings about it.

"I've requisition some ordnance and get creative with it" Prinz said to William as she shown him the content of the box.

"…I said bright ideas, Prinz" William said to Prinz while he stared at her.

"This isn't bright to you? Come on~" Prinz said to William while she smiled smugly.

"This is the first time I've heard an Anti-Air Torpedo" William said to Prinz while he stared confusedly at her.

"Precisely because it's the first time, kommandant. Check this marvelous engineering of makeshift armament, ship girl grade torpedo strapped on missile propellers with the warhead removed. A torpedo is capable killing a destroyer in one hit, imagine what it can do to a dropship" Prinz said to William while she grinned a bit.

"Exactly! This is overkill and a waste of resources! Our AA missile alone should be enough to down it!" William said to Prinz while he frowned.

"With eventual continuous fire if I might add, sometimes we need one shot one kill weapon…I don't have your approval?" Prinz asked William while she pouted.

Nah, she just got it straight from him after he thought about her reasoning. Sure it's a waste of resources but when a javelin missile launcher sometimes even has to hit a Siren dropship three times before it fell down? An airborne anti-aircraft torpedo started to sound like a really good idea. Based on the appearance it looks like the weapon worked with the same principle as your standard missile launcher although the weapon itself looked like children's bazooka toy, but that might be because this is an early version…he didn't even know this weapon exist until Prinz carried it here.

"On the contrary, you just got it. This isn't bright in the slightest, but I can appreciate the thought and effort…how can you be so sure this will work? And when did you even make this?" William asked Prinz.

"This morning when I woke up, Hipper helped me with the design and created few as prototype. We tested one and it works" Prinz said to William.

"Hipper help you with this?!" William asked Prinz in surprised tone as he stared at the torpedoes.

"Ja, why are you so surprised? She won't turn down occasional bad ideas you know despite what she said?" Prinz said to William while she smirked.

"Heh, that so" William said out loud, that little tsundere couldn't resist her little sister's request-

"The only downside of this? It's dumb fire ordnance, but perhaps with additional research we could make a heat seeking anti air torpedoes?" Prinz said out loud as she grabbed the large pipe.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves with that, here comes the second wave of the dropships!" William said out loud.

William spotted a large formation of the dropships approaching the headquarters, it would seems they decided to just drop in all at once this time. Prinz casually took one of the torpedoes and loaded it into the pipe tube from the front end, William paid close attention to how Prinz load the weapon as she walked a bit toward him and turned around toward the approaching dropships. She attached something like an iron sight at the side of the tube before she held it up on her right shoulder, when one of the dropship flew a little bit close under intense AA flaks Prinz squeezed the trigger on top of the launcher which primed the rockets and the torpedo flew off straight in the path of the flying dropship.

BOOM!

"Bloody hell!" William commented in amazement, the torpedo managed to blow a large hole on the center of the dropship instantly.

"I told you, it works wonders~" Prinz commented while she stared at William while she smiled smugly.

"Alright, hand me that" William said to Prinz as he opened his hands.

Prinz shrugged while she still smiled smugly as she passed the pipe tube at William who took it easily, he checked the weight a bit which almost weightless in his arms. William went to the box and took one of the modified torpedo, loaded it toward the pipe tube and aimed it toward the approaching dropships. Prinz summoned her rigging and she stared firing at one of them so William choose the other one which haven't been targeted yet…Judging from the missile velocity he observed earlier, he should aim a little bit to the front…William squeezed the trigger, the missile fired and it went to hit the dropship's right side which effectively putting it out of action.

BOOM!

"Ja! That's how you do it kommandant!" Prinz said to William while she smirked.

"This is fun, I'd admit!" William said to Prinz while he grinned.

"Well unfortunately, a dropship passed us and headed over there" Prinz said as she pointed toward the place where Bismarck and William talked yesterday night.

William choose to carried the M87 on his arms and put down the launcher down on the box, Prinz led him toward the place where he sat yesterday and noticed that the dropship already dropped many Troopers and Brawlers. The Sakura Empire infantry valiantly fought to defend their post, but it's obvious that they would need help when that one dropship suppressed their pillboxes from firing by the torrent of plasma bolts.

"Let's keep our distances and help those men down there" William said to Prinz as he laid prone on the ground.

"Aww, I was hoping for some killing spree in close quarter" Prinz said to William while she pouted.

"Nope, keep our distance we won't want to get caught in that crossfire" William said to Prinz as he set up the M87 bipod on the ground.

"Hmph fine~. I'll start then, take out any stranglers alright?" Prinz asked William as she aimed her cannons.

"Don't worry, I got you covered" William said to Prinz while he grinned.

Sniping? He's not the best at it, but he's good enough that Lena threw him some sniper rifles whenever recon mission came up in the past. Looking through the scope, he carefully analyzed the situation before he eventually heard Prinz's main guns being fired. The HE rounds exploded on the Siren's soldiers and instantly killed a group of Trooper that huddled close to one of the building, a trooper noticed Prinz and was about to turn its rifle at her before it died with its head decapitated by a .50 caliber rounds. Prinz quickly laid prone while William kept picking his target and squeezed the trigger, he readied a magazine then reloaded the weapon in under two seconds and resumed firing at any Siren in his line of sight.

Those Sirens weren't even two hundred meters away from their current position, sniping them in this distance is a child's play especially when recoil and weapon sway were almost negated by Albion armor hydraulic system. William squeezed the trigger once more that effectively kept the troopers from sticking their heads out from cover and risk on getting shot at, that's when Prinz show up once more with her riggings and fired another salvo of HE shells toward the cover. The resulting explosions were enough to kill majority of those Troopers that's still behind the cover, the remaining few that are still alive were immediately hunted and gunned down by the Sakura Empire infantries down below…William reloaded his M87 as he kneeled, Prinz stood up and observed the carnage they both made. She had to admit, they really make a good team.

"Clear. Nice shooting Prinz" William said to Prinz.

"Ditto on that, kommandant" Prinz said to William.

"Let's check the others…Akagi, how's it going over there?" William asked Akagi on the radio.

"We're still in the fight shikikan-sama, the Sirens proved to be quite persistent in their assault. Constant reinforcement keep coming from the beaches" Akagi said to William on the radio.

"I see. We'll head there now, we've secured our side" William said to Akagi on the radio.

"Glad you could stop by shikikan-sama, we'll wait for you here" Akagi said to William on the radio.

William gently tapped Prinz's left shoulder as he left to head toward Akagi's position, the ship girls split themselves up in the defense of the headquarters without William having to order them. Majority of the ship girls went to handle the Siren's incoming fleet while some like Akagi, Takao and few others stayed back to help defend the base from aerial invasion. William reached the place that Akagi's defending with dozens of infantries covering the whole area, they stood guard on rooftop of a building or behind a barricade. Several of them carried their injured comrades to safety from the previous fight that happened on this area, William noted that they prevailed for now so he went to find the officer in charge of the defense in this area which is a lieutenant who's currently talking with Akagi.

"Lieutenant, sitrep" William said to the lieutenant

"Sir! The Siren focused some of their troops on this sector! This road lead straight to munition depot entrance, I think they're trying to starve us out from our own supplies! Our men in the primary defensive line are already dead, those dropship's relentless plasma salvos took majority of them out!" The lieutenant saluted and said to William.

"Then let's make sure that won't happen again! Have the infantry in this secondary defensive line focus their fire to the incoming Siren infantries especially Brawlers, we'll handle the drop ships!" William said to the lieutenant.

"Sir yes sir!" The lieutenant said to William.

"Good to see you, shikikan-sama" Akagi said to William while she smiled.

"Likewise. Are you hurt?" William asked Akagi as he stared at her.

"Oh, I'm not hurt in the slightest. Thank you for your concern" Akagi said to William while she smiled wider.

"KURUZO! (_INCOMING!_)" The lieutenant shouted out loud.

Four dropships approached directly in front of them while firing their chin mounted plasma cannon, everyone immediately rushed to find nearby cover. Prinz quickly hid behind the building next to them while William grabbed Akagi by the waist and jumped to Prinz's position with her in tow, Akagi yelped at the suddenness that she had to grip on William's shoulder pad. Akagi looked back at her previous position and she found it was scorched by a large plasma bolt, William sighed in relief as he looked at Akagi.

"You alright Akagi?" William asked Akagi.

"Hai" Akagi said to William.

"Troopers!" Prinz suddenly shouted out loud.

The dropships made a low pass to the ground while dropping its contents before they bailed out, around twenty Troopers made landfall with plasma rifle in hand in front of William, Prinz and Akagi. They immediately started firing on any humans in sight including them. Prinz quickly deployed her energy shielding but unfortunately the radius didn't include William and Akagi under its protection and they're under fire, William quickly get in front of Akagi while firing his PKM from the previous mission with his right hand while his left hand grabbed Akagi and guided her to behind Prinz's energy shield. The constant stream of plasma bolts are too much to dodge and one of it struck William's right torso side, Akagi widened her eyes in horror and quickly inspected him when he made it safely behind the energy shielding.

"Shikikan-sama!" Akagi said out loud in worried tone.

"Don't worry Akagi, the plating took the beating. Launch your fighter support" William said to Akagi.

"H-Hai!" Akagi said to William as she summoned her planes.

William might be saying that to Akagi but behind his helmet he winced as he took a knee while holding the spot where he got hit by the plasma bolt, sure it didn't have much kinetic force behind it but the heat is so extreme his right side of the torso armor plate was blackened and still producing thin smoke. William felt it didn't burnt his skin too bad though, the armor must've had some layer of protection against thermal damage. He felt like his right torso got hit by a boiling hot water, but compared to the actual unprotected plasma hit he suffered on Southern Ironblood this was nothing in the heat and pain factor.

"Oi kommandant, quit your daydreaming! I'm going to need help with those scwhein!" Prinz said to William as she tapped his helmet twice.

"Got it. I'm taking the right side" William said to Prinz as he readied his PKM.

"Left for me then" Prinz said to William while she smirked.

The Troopers kept their relentless fire at the three of them behind the energy shield, William then dashed right as he fired his PKM at the Troopers while Prinz aimed her cannons to the left side. The Siren Troopers quickly take cover but it do little for them when Akagi's Zero Fighters flew up and strafed them with cannons fire from above. The Troopers that stuck between rock and hard places came out of cover to avoid the cannon fire only to find HE shells for them on their left and burst of 7.62mm rounds on their right, being completely helpless in the open majority of them quickly died while the rest choose to retreat for safer position…only to be strafed by Akagi's fighter plane from above.

"Shikikan-dono! Some of the Troopers managed to went past us, I'm really sorry!" Takao suddenly said to William on the radio.

"How did that happen?" William curiously asked Takao on the radio.

"They brought their tanks! We have to take care of it first before it could kill everyone!" Takao said to William on the radio.

"I see. I'll handle those Troopers, continue to hold your position!" William said to Takao on the radio.

"Wakarimashita!" Takao said to William on the radio.

"Akagi, see if you can help Takao with anything" William said to Akagi.

"Hai!" Akagi said to William as she moved to Takao's position.

"What are my orders?" Prinz asked William while she pouted a bit.

"Prinz, hold this point, I'm going to hunt those Troopers that slipped past us" William said to Prinz.

"Be careful, alright?" Prinz said to William while she smiled a bit.

"I will…Takao, where did those Troopers go?" William said to Prinz then asked Takao on the radio.

"They're heading straight for the command center!" Takao said to William on the radio.

"Alright, thanks!" William said to Takao on radio.

William quickly run toward the command center building to see its defenders under siege from the Troopers, William quickly used his PKM to shoot the Troopers from behind and it managed to catch them completely off guard. The rounds managed to kill some of them while the rest that were surprised fell when the Sakura Empire infantries fired at them from inside the command center building. William's PKM went click as he expended all of the 150 7.62mm bullets at the Troopers, he discarded the gun and raised his right hand with a thumbs up toward the direction of the command center. The soldiers nodded their heads before they sealed the entrance to the building, which should buy them some time against potential intruders.

"Heh, well that should-" William said out loud.

WHACK!

Something just hit William from behind and with such force he was thrown toward the command center building then hit the wall face first, the impact shook him to the core and get his visor cracked a little as he fell down to the ground while he groaned in pain and discomfort…What the fuck hit him?! It was so sudden and had so much kinetic force with it that William was surprised that his back didn't break already from that hit, William try to stand but something grabbed him from behind and lifted him up while spun him around.

"…Interesting…you didn't immediately die" William opened his eye when he heard that line.

William stared at who held him, a freaking two meter giant cladded in matte black armor with Siren aesthetic design stared back at him through the downwards triangle V shaped like crimson visor...it looked like a humanoid shadow with single red eye. William is sure the one he faced right now is a Siren, a male one like the one he encountered on the facility before judging from the voice alone. William noticed that the Siren held him by the nape and lifted him up who probably weighted two hundred kilograms like he was nothing right now, just how strong is this motherfucker? The Siren tilted his head to the right a bit as he inspected William who remained motionless so he won't provoke this Siren, suddenly William heard the Siren scoffed.

"…Pathetic. Is he really the one on this world, Alpha? You said he's an interesting specimen…" The Siren said to William in deep raspy voice.

"I suppose you're a special snowflake just because you're Observer Alpha tentacle's love slave?" William scoffed back and asked the Siren out loud.

"…Ho?" The Siren said out loud.

"A Siren like you who like being jacked off and molested by her tentacles?" William said to The Siren.

But he was cut short when the Siren threw him back to the wall that knocked the wind out of him, William however was prepared this time and he shrugged it off like a trooper. William reached for his P90 and didn't hesitate to fire at the Siren in full auto, fifty 5.7 caliber rounds hit the Siren across his whole body relentlessly. The P90 went click and William had to widen his eye, fifty rounds and it did nothing as the Siren stood still like he's not affected by anything! Not even recoiling when the rounds connected with his armor, now that William looked closely the armor didn't even got scratched! Who the fuck is this guy, seriously?!

William sheathed his P90 and pulled out his combat machete as he charged at lightning speed that betrayed his size at the Siren, the said Siren only hummed in intrigue before he set his own stance. The Siren opened his right hand and a black metallic longsword materialized from a purple flash in his hand, the Siren let William closed in before he swung at him in lightning speed. William noticed the attack a little earlier and he side stepped to the left, the blade struck his armor's right shoulder path and it chipped a large chunk of it from a single blow…William started to sweat in nervousness, a single strike from that guy is that devastating? Then he's sure that Albion armor wouldn't protect him from any of his attack. He had to end this quickly and without getting hit…

The Siren started his attack and William back stepped while trying to anticipate the attack, the Siren had predictable attack pattern from the way he swung the sword around so William could still dodge the blade relatively easy. That until the Siren suddenly switched his style with a more quick and flawless swings, William felt like he fought against a Jedi with lightsaber due to his continuous and relentless movement which makes avoiding the blade just become a lot harder. So, he went with the obvious choice, can't dodge it? Take it to them. William suddenly dashed forward with machete thrust but the Siren deflected the attack by swinging his longsword upwards, William quickly used the momentum to launch a downward swing which was blocked by the Siren's longsword that's suddenly already in position to guard him. The Siren kicked William straight in the chest and he was thrown back, William rolled before he stood and prepared his stance to defend against the Siren who dashed forward with a downward vertical swing. William himself swung his machete upwards in response, the blades immediately clashed between them.

CLANK!

Deafening sound of steely impact could be heard across the area, William could felt the impact all the way to his bones from that clash of steel. He lunged in close to the Siren and thrust his machete at him, only to find that his machete's blade was gone. William widened his eye in realization before he was kicked across the head that caused him to spin in the air then landed face first on the ground…William took a bit to stand up, he ran again toward the Siren as he threw the hilt of the machete which the Siren easily deflected. That give him some opening to launch an unrestrained powerful jab to the face which caused the Siren's head to jerked backwards in response, William grinned knowing that direct unarmed melee attack works immediately lowered himself before he jammed his left fist to the Siren's guts. The Siren bowed down a bit as he took a few steps back, but two seconds later the Siren discarded his longsword and launched a right hook at William. The man put his hands up in defense, but not even that was enough because the Siren's raw strength still caused him to be thrown backwards, spun in the air and fell into the ground…this time William had to laid still on the ground, the pain and dizziness from repeated head strike is becoming unbearable.

"…You ARE more courageous than the others, even going so far to challenge me in melee combat without hesitation…or was it in despair? Armor aside however, you're nothing but a human…You're nothing more than a weakling wearing a powerful shell, who will fall and die just like-" The Siren said to William who tried to sit up.

"Twice the arrogance, double the fall…you ever heard of that, Siren? Keep that up and your end will be more painful than you'll ever imagine" William said to the Siren as he stood up shakily.

"…You still have the strength to talk after all that?" The Siren asked William with intrigued tone.

"What can I say? I talk a lot…during duel, old habits die hard" William said to the Siren as he managed to stand up firmly in fighting stance.

"…Fine…I will entertain you, human…show me how strong you are" The Siren said as he ran toward William.

"GRAAAHHH!" William shouted loudly as he also ran toward the Siren.

Both of them ran toward each other, closing in on each other in lightning speed for humanoid giants. William and the Siren each launched a right jab and their fists meet in the middle with a loud thud, both fighter quickly gained some distance before they closed in again at each other. The Siren launch a jab at William's torso which he managed to avoid, William then send a knee jab to the Siren which was blocked by his left hand. The Siren counterattacked by sending right hook that William avoided by ducking, the Siren kept up the attack by sending a follow up left thrust kick which William successfully anticipated by crossing his arms on his chest. The impact caused him to get pushed to the back a little, the Siren noted that William staggered with that last attack then decided to dash forward toward him.

The Siren is in range to strike and he didn't waste any opportunity to launch barrage of punches at William who struggled to keep up in putting up his defenses, every blow he managed to block or deflected cost his stamina and it started to make his hands felt really painful. William felt something behind him and he realized his back reached the command center building, the Siren launched a left high thrust kick to William's head which he narrowly avoided. The kick connected to the wall and cracked it, William widened his eye in shock at the Siren's strength before he grabbed the Siren's left leg and slide his right one. However, the Siren used that opportunity to grabbed William with his legs and thrown him backwards. William hit the ground again, he stood up and sent an elbow strike which the Siren caught. The Siren pulled William's right arm so hard it produced uncomforting sounds before throwing him back toward the building's wall.

"AAARRRGGHHH!" William roared in pain at his right hand being pulled that hard.

William hit the wall, got his wind knocked out of him for the second time. But before he could fell down to the ground the Siren already in front of him and held him by the neck while pushing him tightly to the wall, being chocked like that William tried to freed himself with his only remaining functioning arm by grabbing on to the forearm of the Siren to loosen it a bit so he could breathe. But all of his effort is in vain, the Siren is too strong and William was exhausted so there's not much he could do…For the first time since he become the commander for ALASUC, William felt something that he thought was long gone…fear of dying. He know he will die fighting this guy and goddamn he got so much regret, he see no way out from this and frankly speaking now that he know his death approaches…William felt scared, he's not ready to go yet.

"…Disappointing…Any last words?" The Siren asked William.

"Harder…daddy!" William said to the Siren with croaked voice.

"…Hmph…Most interesting...I like you" The Siren said to William with intrigued tone.

"I don't swing…that way…but thanks" William said to the Siren with croaked voice.

"…You mask your fear with these quips, classic human soldier bravado" The Siren said to William before he sighed.

Yup, he's right because William is scared shitless right now and faking confidence is one of his way to stave off that feeling from overpowering him. For a brief moment, William saw flashes of the ship girl's faces. Hood, Belfast, Prinz, Enterprise, Illustrious, Bismarck, Zara, Kongou, Hiei, Shoukaku, Zuikaku, Brooklyn, Vestal and many other ship girls. He saw the faces of Lena, his mother, his sister and even the freaking Lucas himself…would they cry if he die? Heh, for sure, especially Hood given how worrywart she is when he fight directly in the front. That assumption would become a reality if he didn't do something about this Siren that's chocking him in the next few seconds, he hated to see the ship girls sad…In desperation William came up with an idea…losing a hand or any other permanent injury would be a worthy price for a chance to die another day.

William's left hand dropped down from grabbing the Siren's hand, it went to his rear pouch and fiddled its content. William took a flashbang grenade, he used his own left hand to unpin the grenade before he held it by the tip. One wrong move and this is it, William did a mental countdown despite his fading consciousness because he couldn't breathe before he brought the grenade out and held the grenade between him and the Siren while he grinned wickedly in a brief moment of insanity.

"Boom…motherfucker" William said to the Siren with croaked voice before he looked away while he closed his eye.

BANG!

Loud explosion triggered from the flashbang that William held by the tip, the explosion blinded and deafened the Siren who had to release William down. The explosion also caused William's right ear to ring painfully, burned some part of his left hand and his left ear to be completely silent from hearing anything so congratulations William you just make yourself half deaf from that feat but it did give you a fighting chance! He quickly gained his bearing while the Siren was stunned, when he felt his breathing returned to normal William quickly reached back to the pocket he reached before. This time William pulled a fragmentation grenade, since his hand suffered burn damage from the previous flashbang explosion William used his helmet chin guard to unpin the grenade by holding it between his chin and left shoulder.

The grenade was primed and William looked at the stunned Siren who put a hand in front of his face, William thrown the grenade at the Siren who caught it easily with the hand that shielded his face. The Siren looked at the grenade and he tilted his head to the right a bit, William quickly charged at the Siren and launched a direct kick toward the Siren's gut. The powerful kick sent the Siren backwards and he was thrown back, William grinned when he realized that he could actually give some damage to that Siren…that until he saw something dropped down from above right beside his feet, it's the fragmentation grenade that the Siren held.

"Cheeky bastard!" William said out loud as he jumped backwards.

BOOM!

Despite jumping backwards, the proximity was so close that it doesn't matter when the grenade exploded. William got hit by the shockwave, shrapnel and it sent him backwards again toward the wall. He hit the wall, fell down to the ground in seated position while his back on the wall and goddamn William felt numb and in pain at the same time…if that's even possible. The Siren stood back up and he walked toward William who got no strength left to even move his fingers, all William could do is stare as the Siren approached then kneeled in front of William. William noted that the Siren actually suffered some damage to his armor which shown some part being chipped, but compared to his…it's not even a meaningful damage.

"…Now you impressed me, human…I will let you live because you have potential and I'd like to see it fulfilled…But until then, you will do well to tread lightly" The Siren said to William.

"Who…are you?" William asked the Siren weakly.

"…I'm the end of an era and the dawn of new one, I will be there in the downfall of the worlds and the rebirth from its ashes…I. Am. Midnight…remember that name" Midnight said to William before he kicked him straight in the head and William blacked out.

.

…Akagi, Takao, Atago, Kinu and Prinz walked back toward the command center tiredly, they successfully held the line for fifteen minutes before the Siren decided to pull out from the attack. The soldiers fought valiantly against the incoming waves of Troopers, Brawlers and Spider Tanks which they managed to destroy after sustained firefight. Bismarck alongside majority of the Ironblood ship girl's fleet safely returned to the base but they missed the fight just by couple of minutes, they rendezvoused along the way to the command center.

"Good work out there and welcome back, Lord Bismarck" Prinz said to Bismarck.

"Same to you. The headquarters still looked intact after all that attack, impressive" Bismarck said to Prinz.

"To be honest, dropping your troops straight inside a kill zone isn't what we could call a smart move" Prinz said to Bismarck.

"It is not. But for a distraction, it worked wonders" Bismarck said to Prinz.

"Distraction huh?" Prinz said out loud in wonder.

"…Speaking of which, where's Kommandant William?" Bismarck asked Prinz.

"Last we spoke he's heading for the command center to deal with the Siren Troopers that went past us" Takao said to Bismarck.

"Then let's head there, I have much to discuss regarding that base" Bismarck nodded her head in affirmation.

Akagi massaged her right shoulder as she led the others to the command center, her right arm felt sore after constantly sending out planes or using the paper based one to kill some Brawlers and Troopers in close range. She noted that the entrance was quite empty saved for some corpses of Troopers, that until she saw something near the sealed entrance. An armored giant rested on the wall unmoving, it's no other than William Blaze himself…Akagi widened her eyes as she ran towards him to check up on him, William's armor front side was scorched black, shrapnel embedded all over his unprotected body, his right arm looked detached, his left hand was scorching black, he lost the right shoulder pad and his visor has a huge crack on it.

"SHIKIKAN-SAMA! SHIKIKAN-SAMA! PLEASE WAKE UP! PRINZ-SAN! ANYONE! OVER HERE!" Akagi shouted as she shook William's unconscious body.

"Nein! KOMMANDANT!" Prinz who was not too far behind immediately ran.

As soon everyone heard the distress in Akagi's and Prinz's voice, they ran toward their direction to see the sight that caused it and all of them were shocked. Prinz arrived to inspect William's condition and she deeply frowned as she try to check his vital signs, Prinz quickly removed the helmet to see William's face with his eye closed. Prinz quickly put on her finger on his neck to checked his pulse but the under suit is too thick for her to feel any pulse, Prinz's vision suddenly got blurry and something fell down to William's chest piece…Prinz widened her eyes…she's tearing up.

"Mein gott kommandant…who did he fight!?" Bismarck asked out loud while she deeply frowned.

"I don't know, but whatever it is we won't want to fight it!" Tirpitz said to Bismarck with grim expression.

"Ja…let's carry him back to the infirmary and call Akashi to remove this armor from him!" Bismarck said out loud.

Bismarck, Prinz, Akagi and Takao quickly get to work. They put William's right hand on his stomach before they positioned themselves to lift him off the ground, Z23 banged on the sealed door while shouting to the personnel on the other side so they could open the door. The door was opened and Z23 alongside Hipper ran inside while ramming anyone that stood in their way, the two of them got to the ship girl's infirmary and brought out a wheeled stretcher. They returned outside, Bismarck nodded her head in approval then she looked at the other ship girls before they lifted William up on the count of three. The ship girls lifted William up on the stretcher, they quickly wheeled him to the specialized ship girl's infirmary. The reason? He's guaranteed to be prioritized when he arrived there. Atago was on the phone, she's calling Akashi to get down to the infirmary lab with her tools.

"Please kommandant, please hold on! We'll treat your wounds as soon as possible!" Prinz said to William while she deeply frowned in worry.

"Out of the way! Out of the way!" Takao shouted as she make sure the hallways are cleared from obstacle or people.

"Is he breathing!?" Bismarck asked out loud.

"Yes but its shallow!" Prinz said to Bismarck.

"Akashi is on the way there!" Atago said out loud.

"Gut!" Bismarck said to Atago.

They reached the ship girl's infirmary, the doctors who scratched their heads was about to reprimand the ship girls for breaking in and stealing a stretcher but then immediately bite their tongue in favor to help with the casualty laying on top of the stretcher. They quickly opened the door to the infirmary and let the stretcher in, the ship girls wanted to stay but the doctor would need some room to concentrate so they left the room and prayed for the best. Akashi arrived and she only spare quick nods at the other ship girls before she entered the room, she would be needed to remove the armor from him. Bismarck felt her phone vibrated and she took it out, it's a call and from someone she really didn't want to speak with right now after what just happened…

"…Scheibe" Bismarck said out loud as she stared at her phone.

"What is it?" Z23 asked Bismarck.

"…Its Hood…notify Mikasa about kommandant's situation, Nimi" Bismarck said to Z23.

"…Jawohl Lord Bismarck…" Z23 said to Bismarck while she saluted then left for the command center room.

"…Hello?" Bismarck answered the call.

"Bismarck, I'm terribly sorry to call you during the assignment. I tried to call Lord William's phone but it's deactivated, did you know what happen?" Hood asked Bismarck on the phone.

"Ah, he left it on his room. He's still away now" Bismarck said to Hood on the phone.

"I see. Can I request you to notify him so he could call me when he's back?" Hood asked Bismarck on the phone.

"…Ja, I will" Bismarck said to Hood on the phone with soft tone.

"…Are you alright? You sounded…off" Hood asked Bismarck on the phone with concerned tone.

"Nein, I'm fine Hood. Just tired" Bismarck said to Hood on the phone.

"In that case, please have a good rest Bismarck" Hood said to Bismarck on the phone.

"I will do that later. Would that be all?" Bismarck asked Hood on the phone.

"I want to chat some more but your surroundings sounded busy, we could always talk later" Hood said to Bismarck on the phone.

"Jawohl…see you later" Bismarck said to Hood on the phone.

"See you" Hood said to Bismarck on the phone.

The call ended and Bismarck looked around, indeed the surrounding is quite busy with how many people coordinating for damage control around the command center building. People running around in the hallways, casualties being brought in…Bismarck rested herself on the wall, she sighed as she looked at the floor. The worst had been realized, something out there is as stubborn as their commander in frontline combat and it's very strong. William was by no means weak or unskilled, but it looks like he met his match…Bismarck heard someone sobbed beside her and she looked to the right, she saw that Takao was sobbing while she covered her face with her hands and Atago had tears running down her cheeks as they huddled close together. Prinz squatted on the floor with her face buried between her knees, Hipper folded her arms as she leaned on the wall with unreadable expression and Akagi occasionally steal a glance toward the infirmary door…

The doctors worked as fast as they could with Akashi removing the armor piece and the under suit, closer inspection revealed some nasty bruising around his body, his entire right arm was dislocated, William's left hand suffered third degree burns and there's shrapnel lodged all over his body that wasn't protected by the armor plating…the operation took three hours and he's still unconscious, one of the doctor came out of the infirmary and Bismarck immediately questioned her. It's the same doctor that operated Hiryuu, Shoukaku and Zuikaku yesterday.

"…How is he, doktor?" Bismarck asked the doctor.

"To sum it up, he's quite lucky…Come inside, see for yourself" The doctor said to Bismarck.

Bismarck and the other ship girls quickly went inside the infirmary room to see William, he laid on top of the bed with bandages covering almost his entire body, the bandage bundle on his left hand is especially thick and his eye patch was removed. Beside him there's Akashi who inspected the armor pieces as well the under suit on the floor, she was frowning deeply in conclusion to the armor's performance in tanking the damages he suffered…The armor was completely battered, armor pieces deformed or outright shredded, under suit had holes on it and let's not even mention the helmet visor which had a large crack on it.

"Akashi?" Bismarck asked Akashi.

"I have mixed feelings nyaa…I'm glad to see shikikan is alive but I'm devastated to see my creation turned into this" Akashi said to Bismarck while she frowned.

"You could always fixed it up or create a new one, we can't do that for our kommandant" Bismarck said to Akashi as she stared at William.

"You're right Bismarck-sama nyaa" Akashi said to Bismarck.

"…So, what now?" Bismarck asked the doctor.

"I recommend a full bed rest for him, medication to ease the bruising, we already stitched the part where shrapnel's punctured his skin, applied Regel for his left hand and we've corrected his shoulder joint…luckily he's unconscious because that's quite painful. You will need to treat him further when you returned to your base, those wounds won't heal for quite a bit even with Regel" The doctor said to Bismarck.

"…Thank you, doktor" Bismarck said to the doctor while she nodded her head.

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…

…William opened his eye groggily, his body is sore and in pain all over the place so he winced when he tried to sit. Goddamnit he want some painkiller for this! William groaned before he fully opened his right eye, someone suddenly lifted him up and made the bed so he could sit properly. William finally able to clearly see, Amagi and Akagi were the ones who lifted him up as they stared in concern…He noticed that he was naked saved for his boxers, many part of his body was bandaged and his left eye patch was missing.

"…Shikikan-sama? Can you hear me?" Amagi asked William in concern.

"…Amagi? Akagi?" William asked weakly.

"Oh thank kami you're awake! Are you alright?! Do you need anything?! How do you feel?!" Akagi asked William as she grabbed on his shoulder.

"Calm down Akagi, let him breathe a little" Amagi said to Akagi calmly.

"Uh, hai nee-sama" Akagi said to Amagi as she pulled back while she smiled sheepishly.

"…Thanks, Amagi…To answer your question Akagi, I'm very hungry right now" William said to Amagi then Akagi.

"Then I will make something for you, shikikan-sama! Please wait for a bit!" Akagi said to William while she smiled widely.

Akagi got up from her seat and immediately went out of the infirmary room while shutting the door, William watched as Amagi texted someone on her phone then he looked around…Well, it seems he's inside a private room. The ship girl's infirmary are different than the ones for the ordinary personnel, the facility has private rooms so the ship girls has some privacy…But really, he was brought there because his treatment will certainly be prioritized. Brief flash of the Siren that beat him crossed his mind and William unconsciously shivered…something like that Siren is a serious trouble, he alone could annihilate Azur Lane ground forces singlehandedly if fighting William himself is like him toying with a child. And William was trained to be the best, if even the best of humanity falls…

"Are you cold, shikikan-sama?" Amagi asked William as she frowned a bit.

"Nah, no…just thinking about something" William quickly said to Amagi with reassuring smile.

"I see…Akagi seemed to be quite 'attached' to you today" Amagi commented as she checked her phone.

"…That so…How long was I out, Amagi?" William asked Amagi while he frowned.

"Nine hours. The counter attack task force already left long ago" Amagi said to William.

"…I see. How about the other ladies?" William asked Amagi.

"Other than the ones that participated in the operation, they're minding their own business" Amagi said to William.

"Good…good, I hope they stay out of trouble" William said out loud as he stared to the white ceiling.

"Speaking of trouble, you shouldn't make them worry so much shikikan-sama. ALASUC ship girls pretty much cried when they see you in that state, don't you think making girls cry is just the worst thing a man could do?" Amagi said to William while she deeply frowned.

"Urgh, well-" William said to Amagi.

God fucking damnit! Did they seriously cried when they see him in that injured state? He's all fuzzy inside knowing that the girls did cared for him that much but at the same time he felt like the world greatest shit bag for being the cause of them crying in the first place! But before he could come up with an apology or anything the door to his room was thrown open, Bismarck entered the room looking like she's out of breath…did she seriously just ran here?!

"Kommandant!" Bismarck said to William.

"Hey, Bismarck" William greeted Bismarck with weak smile.

"How do you feel now!?" Bismarck asked William as she approached him.

"Well now that you ask…not that great" William said to Bismarck while he cringed.

"…Tell me, who did you fight back then? You almost died Kommandant William!" Bismarck asked William with serious expression.

"…A Siren who called himself Midnight" William said out loud as he stared down at his feet coated in blanket.

"Midnight? That's the first time I've heard that name…" Bismarck said to William.

"Me too…" Amagi said to Bismarck while she nodded her head.

"…He's strong…too strong in fact. Even with Albion armor, I was nothing to him…all my hand to hand attacks, bullets flinched off of his armor, blades were stopped by his swordsmanship…even grenades could only lightly chipped some of his plating while mine was completely busted, I shouldn't have used frag grenade as a bait to kick him…heh" William said out loud melancholically before he looked to the side as he snorted.

What could kill Midnight? Tactical nuclear strike? Why William immediately assumed that Midnight somehow has a plan in case that did happen? Hah…Well, in a sense, the current him even with Albion Armor can't beat that monster. What's the cause? Simple, Midnight is stronger than him, he has better swordsmanship and his CQC techniques are quite refined and that armor of his…a freaking grenade didn't really do much other than chipped some part of his armor, he should carry a rocket launcher the next time he faced off against Midnight…Do William even want to face that monster again? No, even if he didn't want to the world doesn't revolve around him so there's a chance that he will appear again in the future. Solution? Also simple, he need to train more. He lacked any form of training himself ever since his release from the prison, this may serve as his wake up call.

"Oh…so that's why your armor was in such bad shape. Suicide grenade attack, really?" Bismarck said to William in low tone.

"I have confidence in the armor's durabili-" William said to Bismarck while he frowned.

"Now I understand how Hood feels…you are one true dummkopf" Bismarck said to William.

Bismarck stared at William with a sharp gaze that reflect bewilderment, frustration, exasperation and she scowled at him. Yikes! William started to sweat in nervousness when Bismarck stared at him like that! It's not comforting and really put him on edge, sometimes he forgot that Bismarck is also the fleet representative that was in charge of the Ironblood Navy because he saw her as a girl personally. Bismarck didn't really show it but she was assaulted by sense of dread when she saw him just after his fight with Midnight, she also thought that Hood is overprotective of him and Bismarck approved of him going directly to the front…But after that incident, she understood why Hood did worry and why her perspective of him fighting in the front started to change.

"…and by the way, she want to call you but your phone is not active" Bismarck said to William.

"…Can I borrow yours?" William sheepishly asked Bismarck.

"What happened to your phone?" Bismarck asked William with cocked eyebrows.

"It's drenched on the water yesterday when I jumped off the plane" William said to Bismarck while he cringed a bit.

"Fine…here" Bismarck said to William as she handed him her phone.

William stared at Bismarck's phone, it's your average smartphone and her lock screen is a picture of Tirpitz and her seated together in the bench on the base central park. William unlocked the screen and quickly set a call toward Hood's number, it took a bit but the lady on the other side finally answered. William noted that it's close to midnight, Hood must've gone to sleep already…

"…Hood?" William asked Hood on the phone.

"…Milord? Why did you call from Bismarck's phone?" Hood asked William on the phone, she sounded like she's just woken up…

"Mine was broken Hood, I'll see if I can get it repaired later…In any case, do you need something?" William asked Hood on the phone.

"…I just want to hear your voice, ufufufu" Hood said to William on the phone before she giggled sweetly.

"…Cliché much?" William asked Hood on the phone while he smiled.

Yeah, he tried to play it cool but he bet his ass that his cheeks are flushed red right now! Man, what a cliché method but it works in making him flustered, Hood is quite good at this. William made a mental not to get her back later when he returned to base, he's not the one that take it lying down. Did Hood seriously called just so they could talk? Oh shit! He haven't even contacted her ever since he's involved in this god forsaken commission!

"Ufufufu…but that's how I really feel. I've been going in and out of the office for these past three days, seated in your chair, doing the paperwork…and I couldn't help but to wonder how you are doing, you never called" Hood said to William on the phone, see?! He's spot on!

"…I'm sorry about that…so many things happened and I forgot to give you a call. Didn't you called the other girls though?" William asked Hood on the phone.

"Not. The point. Lord William" Hood said to William on the phone with steely edge on her tone. Boom Will! Relationship landmine!

"Right, right…sorry, I-" William said to Hood, he's starting to sweat again.

"Something happened, isn't it?" Hood suddenly asked William.

"What do you mean?" William asked Hood on the phone with cocked eyebrows.

"You're nervous. I can tell from your voice" Hood said to William on the phone.

"Ha? How did you know?" William asked Hood on the phone with surprised tone.

"I've been your personal secretary for months now, I do notice your habits. Like when you're nervous you tend to make blunders when you converse, when you're deep in thought you always looked downwards with little frown on your lips, when you're frustrated you curled your brows a bit despite your best attempt to hide it…shall I mention more?" Hood asked William on the phone with cheeky tone.

…Holy shit! Right down to the tiniest detail! Not even he know he made those gestures! How much time did Hood spend on watching him, really? Did she even observed him when they're in the office, just the two of them, spending time to sort documents, chatting, drinking tea…okay, there's plenty of time and chance but wow! He really should pay more attention to the secretaries too, Hood paid that much attention to him so it's only fair if he do so in return.

"No that's more than enough, not even I know I made those gestures…you really do paid attention to me" William said to Hood on the phone while he smiled softly.

"Naturally…So, what happened?" Hood asked William on the phone.

"…I got into a fight with the Sirens, multiple times for the past three days" William said to Hood on the phone while he smiled bitterly.

"When did you get hurt?" Hood asked William on the phone with unamused tone.

"Ouch…that had to be the first thing you ask?" William asked Hood on the phone while he cringed.

"Let me guess. Today" Hood said to William on the phone.

"Right…today…I got into a duel with one of the Siren that called himself Midnight, he's very powerful…I guess he might be in the same class with Observer Alpha and Purifier" William said to Hood on the phone.

"…How bad are your wounds?" Hood asked William on the phone.

"…Well…I think, bad is an understatement" William said to Hood on the phone while he cringed and looked down at his bandaged body, like a mummy.

"…You're awfully cheery despite surviving something that I'm sure to be horrible" Hood said to William on the phone.

"Hey, I'm still alive, that's something to be celebrated" William said to Hood on the phone while he shrugged.

"I suppose…Hah, but-" Hood said to William on the phone then sighed.

The door to the infirmary was opened wide and Akagi went in while carrying a tray with a bowl of porridge, she hummed happily with a wide smile on her face and she seemed not to care the fact that she shocked both Amagi and Bismarck. William also jolted when Akagi opened the door suddenly that he almost dropped Bismarck's phone, but he managed to catch it with his right hand.

"Shikikan-sama! Here, I made you some egg porridge! Let me feed you~!" Akagi said to William as she pull a chair to sit on his right side.

"Oh don't worry about it, I could eat by myself" William said to Akagi while he smiled.

"But the doctor said that you shouldn't move your arms too much for now shikikan-sama, here I'm going to feed you!" Akagi said to William as she scooped the porridge with the spoon.

"It's alright, I told you-. Umph!" William said to Akagi but his mouth was jammed by the spoonful of porridge.

William got no choice but to gulp down the porridge inside his mouth, hmm the egg porridge that Akagi made did tasted delicious. Amagi and Bismarck gazed at the porridge that Akagi made, how did she made one in that short amount of time is a mystery but they supposed it's edible if William had no problem with it…for now.

"Okay, don't worry I've made sure it's just in the right temperature and very tasty for your tongue. You will have no problem whatsoever with my cooking, shikikan-sama~" Akagi said to William while she smiled widely as she spoon fed him again.

"Who's that, milord?" Hood asked William on the phone curiously.

"*Gulp* She's-. Hey!" William swallowed before he protested when the phone was taken by Akagi.

"Ara, who are you?" Akagi asked Hood on the phone.

"Ah this voice, hello to you too Ms. Akagi" Hood said to Akagi on the phone.

"Hmmm, ah, might you be that hoity totty all elegance talk from Royal Navy called Hood-san? It's been a while!" Akagi said to Hood on the phone cheerfully.

"Certainly it has…Could you hand the phone back to Lord William? I believe we are not finished speaking yet" Hood asked Akagi on the phone.

"I'm terribly sorry Hood-san~, he's currently need to eat and you're kind of bothering him. Bye-bye~" Akagi said to Hood on the phone with a sly grin on her face.

"Hey, don't you dare hang up the call!" Hood said to Akagi on the phone.

"Too late~!" Akagi said to Hood on the phone with mischievous tone.

Akagi swiftly pressed the hang up button and put the phone on the nightstand in front of her all the while Amagi closed her mouth with her right hand, Bismarck stared at Akagi in bafflement and William had his jaw dropped which soon was jammed with spoonful of egg porridge. Akagi got guts and plain rude, seriously. William didn't expect her to behave like this, she gave off the proper and charming young woman when they first met, what the hell happened while he was out for nine hours?!

"…Hood's going to have my arse when we get back" William said out loud with half closed eye.

"I believe that would be the case, kommandant" Bismarck said to William with half closed eyes.

All of a sudden the room flashed white then orange, Amagi stared with wide eyes, Bismarck glanced to the window, Akagi widened her eyes as she stopped spoon feeding William while he turned around to see what was going on outside. From the window they could see a bright flash followed by huge mushroom cloud? Yep, nuclear detonation. It seems Meguro managed to achieve the goal and by the god William hoped that secondary Siren base is flat to the ground right now or they are fucked, he looked back toward the ship girls while he frowned a bit.

"…Did they did it?" William asked out loud.

"That explosion seemed to indicate so" Bismarck said to William.

"It's been six hours since they left port…it's enough time to complete their mission" Amagi said out loud.

"Let's just wait for them to return, we could hear how it went straight from them" William said out loud.

…They waited for one more hour after that explosion when the door to the infirmary room was knocked, Amagi went and opened the door only to see Mikasa with her beautiful face and clothing in dirty state from the smoke and dirt. She went inside after nodding his head to Amagi and Bismarck, when she saw William's face she allowed herself to smile a bit in relief that her commander is alive and conscious, however that smile quickly turned into deep frown and Mikasa looked at her own feet…

"...Shikikan-sama" Mikasa greeted William.

"Welcome back Mikasa, how is it?" William asked Mikasa.

"The attack…it was successful…But, all of our units except for the ship girls did not survived" Mikasa said to William as she stared at him.

"What?!" William asked out loud as he widened his eye.

"Hai…all of them, including Commander Meguro stayed behind to ensure the nuclear bomb exploded" Mikasa said to William while she frowned.

"SON OF A BITCH!" William shouted in frustration.

BANG!

William hit his right hand to the metallic nightstand to his side and dented it a bit while he scowled, the news really made him sad and angry at the same time. Amagi flinched a bit, Mikasa stared back at the floor and Bismarck was facepalming…Such heavy cost for a single victory and this battle isn't even over yet! Meguro clutched on to the last man standing to ensure the nuclear bomb would explode, that's not your ordinary dedication there and the men and women under his command willingly followed him to their deaths. What's holding them together in the face of certain death? Loved ones? Home? William sure that his family and friends are the one who's holding him together when Midnight chocked him to death…The worst really happened for the strike force.

"…Are you absolutely certain, that there are no survivor?" William asked Mikasa while he scowled.

"No, shikikan-sama…We stayed there within the safe zone as long as we could" Mikasa said to William while she frowned deeply.

"…What about the others that still on this base?" William asked Mikasa while he scowled.

"Right now, none…everyone went with the evacuating transport ship or went with Meguro's task force…we're all that was left in this island" It was Amagi who answered William.

"Wait, didn't the plan could only work if there's still someone on this base? If it's just us, then how would we bait the Siren to attack this base!?" William asked Amagi with cocked eyebrows.

"I don't know shikikan-sama, but Commander Meguro said something before he ordered us to leave…he said that he left the other nuclear bomb on the command center for you to use, he said that you will know what to do with it" Mikasa said to William.

William widened his right eye and he moved out of bed to walk only for him to fell down because both of his knees weren't strong enough to support his body, Amagi and Bismarck immediately moved to help him up. William can't believe how weak his legs were, but then again he survived direct fragmentation grenade blast with his feet still in the explosion radius…he better be thankful with the fact that it's still intact.

"Be careful! You're still hurt, shikikan-sama! Get him that wheelchair Mikasa-san!" Amagi said to Mikasa who grabbed the wheelchair from the corner of the room.

"…Take me to the command center!" William said to Amagi as he get onboard the wheelchair, again.

William could only sit as he was wheeled to the command center by Amagi with Bismarck and Mikasa close behind, they reached it and as expected the place was devoid of any human presence. William wheeled the wheelchair himself to the briefing room, he took a look around and noticed that there's still one case of nuke that Meguro left with a sticky note on top of it. William move closer and took the note, it has handwriting there that said '**Use this well, I'm trusting you for the final part of Operation Taiga. Godspeed Blaze – Meguro**'…What? No personal good bye or anything? Heh…William put the note down as he opened the case…Inside it, there's a rugby ball shaped nuclear bomb which is ready for activation.

"Shikikan-sama…what are your orders?" Amagi asked William as she watched him from the briefing room entrance.

"…We wait…They will wait our next move after we just blew up one of their base, let's wait until tomorrow at least" William said to Amagi as he turned around.

"I can see them doing that…Fine, I will trust your judgment shikikan-sama…but if they immediately attack us?" Amagi said to William after she nodded her head.

"We lure them in as many as we could to this island then blow this entire place sky high, just like we originally planned…Call the ladies, all of them...we're going to discuss our next move" William said to Amagi.

"Wakarimashita, shikikan-sama" Amagi bowed a bit before she left, leaving William with Mikasa and Bismarck.

The two of them looked at William who massaged his left temple as he thought up what to do next, couple dozens of ship girls against entire Siren army didn't bode well for power comparison no matter how overpowered anyone think the ship girls are. He's torn between two option, destroying this base or destroying the last Siren base and no matter the choice that nuclear bomb would have to be used…Bismarck wordlessly walked up to William's front side, that got his attention as he looked up at her to see her smiled a bit. Bismarck reached for something from her pocket and pulled out William's eye patch, she then put it on him to cover his left eye like usual. She still don't know why he covered up his left eye, there doesn't seems to be any external injuries from her brief look of his closed left eye…but she supposed that mystery could be solved another time.

"I'm used to see you like this" Bismarck commented as she was done putting up the eye patch.

"Heh…thanks Bismarck" William simply thanked her while he smiled.

…The ship girls gathered on the briefing room not too long after that and William explained them their option in which he confessed he haven't make any decision on what to do yet, but he knows that defending this empty regional headquarter is important for the next few hours to determine their next move. It's pretty simple, if the Sirens come knocking then they blow the base, if they're not they'll bomb their base. Mikasa recounted on what happened during the mission last night all the way to the nuclear detonation, she said to William that the base did activated its energy shielding which tried to contain the nuclear detonation inside its sphere of protection before failing dramatically.

From close observation, it would seems the shield is a wall like structure where it doesn't cover up the base's top side where planes could still fly inside and cause havoc. There's one thing that Mikasa noted based on her experience during North Pole Siren Base invasion, on the North Pole the Siren base didn't have any kind of energy shielding but they have large metallic wall that proved to be very durable against Northern Union forces assault. The base on that island didn't have any kind of wall, but it has shield generator on the center of it that was capable projecting large energy wall to stave off attack. Tall enough to prevent most shells and low altitude flying missiles but low enough for planes to easily scale it and attack the inner part, but that was countered with the hundreds of AA defenses they have on that base so all in all they got their defenses covered. Mikasa apologized with the fact that she didn't know how the infiltration team made it inside their perimeter but she guessed they managed to get in before the shield was up, William was honestly satisfied with that hypothesis and he thought it made sense.

Based from that assumption, William choose to 'play it safe' where he will send out recon group out to scout the last Siren base. From there they could easily figure out their next move because William had set up two plan depending on the situation…One, the Siren stayed on their base, William would've sent carrier strike group and used them to send the bomb inside their wall remotely. Two, the Siren come for them then their only option is to blow the base sky high, their ideal bomb planting site would be the underground laboratory on this island…With the plans agreed on, they set everything into motion and they would move at dawn.

"…Dawn is upon us. Graf, you are cleared to launch your recon planes" William said to Graf Zeppelin on the radio when he noticed that the sun is up on the horizon.

"Ja kommandant, launching planes now" Graf Zeppelin said to William on the radio.

"Akashi, what can you find from the local database?" William asked Akashi who's operating the console in front of him.

"I could access the servers normally shikikan, but all of them were void of any data nyaa…the scientists must've took the data with them and then wiped the entire server clean" Akashi said to William while she frowned.

"Double check it, I don't want any chances…Yuubari, how's our communication system?" William asked Yuubari who's operating another console.

"It's still active, shikikan…Do you want to use it?" Yuubari asked William.

"Yes. Get me online with Sakura Empire High Command, specifically General Kabakura" William said to Yuubari.

"Wakarimashita" Yuubari said to William.

William, Amagi, Akashi, Yuubari and several other Sakura Empire ship girls remained on standby inside the command center control room while Bismarck took the rest of them to secure the island's perimeter. The large screen in front of them went online and they could see General Kabakura still seated on his office while writing something, he then looked toward them and he put down his pen as he focused his attention to the screen. He looked exhausted, he have black eye bags and messy hair. Those eyes of his widened when he saw William being bandaged all over his body while only wearing his white pants and standing in the center of the room…Yeah, he forced himself to be able to stand, he don't want to be a deadweight on top of the wheelchair so he prepared some adrenaline injection inside his pocket when he will need some strength.

"…Commander Blaze? This is quite the surprise! Where is Commander Meguro? Oh dear! You're hurt!" Kabakura said to William with concerned face.

"…He died in battle, general. He valiantly ensured the destruction of the second Siren base with the nuclear weapon, the rest of your forces on Furushima are already on their way to join the 8th Carrier Division…It's just us in here now" William said to Kabakura with firm face.

"…I see…that young foolish kid" Kabakura said as he looked to the left and sighed.

"…We still have one bomb left. Do you want to use it on this installation or the last Siren's base?" William asked Kabakura.

"…Commander Blaze, I've made a grave mistake" Kabakura ignored the question as he said to William.

"What do you mean, general?" William asked Kabakura.

"…I shouldn't have ordered him to stay and fight, I should've immediately order scorched earth operation the moment it was clear that we will lose our foothold on Furushima" Kabakura said to William with regretful tone.

To be honest? Yeah! William already questioned about this right from the start didn't he? Why not do some torch and burn operation to make sure any kind of data didn't fall into the enemy hands from the start? They said that the regional headquarters and its surrounding facilities are very important to them, but as it was shown yesterday they were finally willing to raze their own base to the ground after suffering such casualties…why not do so from the start to avoid such loss in the first place? Well, William decided that it's not his business to start arguing regarding the best course of action for their military business. He just want to get back home and rest, he had enough for this one.

"Sir? I'm in no position to judge your strategy or competency, right now all I care is the fact that we have to settle this problem with the Sirens here and I need your help. What do you think I should do? If you don't have any suggestion, I will settle this with my own method…I want to clear this up so this won't jeopardize any relations between Azur Lane and Crimson Axis in the future" William said to Kabakura.

"…Right…Hah…I won't lie, I don't know the current situation on that isle and I've made enough mistake from just this one battle…Commander Blaze, I hereby give you an authorization to deal with the Sirens in the region however you see fit! If you deemed the nuclear bomb is necessary to defeat the last of the Siren there? You have full authority to use it! I will take full responsibilities regarding any fallout from this decision" Kabakura said to William with serious face.

"Sir yes sir, thank you" William said to Kabakura as he nodded his head.

"Any after action report could be done online, after this you should just head back to your base…concerning the eight ship girls that stationed there? They are all under your command from now on. I don't know what was the higher ups planning with this decision but I will trust them" Kabakura said to William.

"Understood…General, Commander Meguro and his men served their country and fought valiantly to the end despite the overwhelming odds…I want to recommend an award for him" William said to Kabakura while he smiled bitterly.

"I will definitely do so…We lost so much already, please make that one bomb count commander" Kabakura said to William before he ended the video call.

"…Transmission was terminated from Kabakura shogun, shikikan" Yuubari said to William.

"…Don't worry Ms. Yuubari, I've said all I want to say to him" William said to Yuubari.

That means Amagi, Akagi, Kaga, Hiryuu, Kawakaze, Kako, Kinu and Yuubari have been given permission to come with them back to their base. A bolster in Sakura Empire ship girl's fleet is always a welcome addition, William however got no time to think about what would happen with their integration to the base because Graf Zeppelin suddenly contacted them. Her planes haven't even arrived on the Siren's base but based on the local battle space projection shown on the large screen when the video call ended, her planes are pulling back toward her.

"Kommandant? This is Graf Zeppelin, the Sirens are moving toward our location. I'm transmitting the coordinates of their location and will update it as we stay out of range, it would seems they planned to take on the base after all" Graf Zeppelin said to William on the radio.

"Understood. Pull out and return to base as soon as possible" William said to Graf Zeppelin on the radio.

"Jawohl" Graf Zeppelin said to William.

The battle space projection started showing several red blips near Graf Zeppelin, William paid close attention to it as the dots moved…But it's just one small fleet? Are they a reconnaissance patrol? Suddenly however multiple fleets appeared on the battle space projection near Graf Zeppelin and her escorts who kept their distance as they retreated. Okay, William believed those fleets are bad news so he called Amagi and listened to her opinion.

"…Amagi" William said to Amagi.

"Hai?" Amagi asked William as she approached him.

"What do you make of that?" William asked Amagi as he pointed at the battle space projection.

"They're walking straight to our base, they came knocking into our front door…Shikikan-sama, there's a possibility that they knew this regional headquarters have been abandoned with us as the remaining defenders. I don't want to make any hasty conclusion shikikan-sama, but if they encircle us here which is a very high possibility, we would have no way out of this base…" Amagi said to William while she frowned.

"…That's it, we're scuttling this base! Get everyone ready for defense perimeter! Akashi, ready the helicopter! Yuubari, Ayanami, help me and we're going to plant the bomb!" William ultimately decided then said out loud.

"""""""""Hai!"""""""""" The ship girls immediately responded.

"I trust you know what to do, Amagi?" William asked Amagi as they prepared to leave the room.

"Hai, in this case of ours, it would be preferable for us to just keep one part of the island secured. That way, we won't overextend our manpower to cover an island this big and we could pretty much escape easily through the gap on their perimeter" Amagi said to William while she smiled.

"Nice. I'll trust you to keep the escape path open, Amagi" William said to Amagi while he smiled.

"Shikikan-sama, please be careful. You're not exactly healthy right now" Akagi said to William while she frowned a bit.

"Thank you for your concern, Akagi" William said to Akagi while he smiled.

Akagi nodded then left with the other ship girls to help reinforce the defensive perimeter that was established by the Ironblood ship girls while William with Ayanami and Yuubari left to plant the bomb, they took a military jeep to head toward the laboratory entrance and just when about they're about to enter the facility William saw multiple Siren fighter jets in the air. William clicked his tongue in annoyance before he alongside Yuubari and Ayanami disembarked from the jeep, William however fell to the ground after he get out of the car. His knees are still weak and he knew he will need some strength for this one, William took out the adrenaline injector, took out the cover and injected the content to his left thigh.

"…Shikikan, don't force yourself. We can take a short rest" Ayanami said to William as she helped him stand.

"No, we can't afford to waste time Ayanami. I just need to pace myself" William said to Ayanami.

After few minutes William felt strength returned to his body, temporary as it is it should get the job done. William, Ayanami and Yuubari immediately proceed deeper into the facility. The journey should be a short one according to William's prediction but many of the door were locked by the scientist before leaving so William had to find another way, according to the schematics the best place to plant the bomb would be the administration office which William is currently heading into. During the way however one of the door was forcefully opened by a blue explosion, several Siren Trooper went in and met with William.

Ayanami immediately take cover behind the wall, William took Yuubari with him as they hid behind the wall while being constantly rained by plasma bolts. William took out his revolver and noted he didn't carry any spare moon clip, so he only got six shot. Ayanami summoned her sword while Yuubari summoned her rigging, they had to beat this four Trooper before they could advance. Yuubari fired several HE shells, she hit the wall and the resulting explosion knocked the Troopers to the floor. Ayanami and William moved in, she personally sliced two of them in a single stroke while William quickly unleashed two headshot toward the remaining trooper.

"…They're inside the facility, they know what we're going to do…was our action that predictable?" William asked out loud.

"Sirens are do known to be very intelligent, shikikan" Yuubari said to William.

"Yeah…this is only going to get harder" William said to Yuubari.

William reached down and grabbed the fallen Siren Trooper plasma rifle, this one William often saw being carried by them so this must be their standard issue weapon. It has designs that fit to be used by a humanoid, bulky construction so it's quite heavy, painted in black with red lining, there's a small bulge in front of the trigger which William assumed to be the battery or whatever powering this rifle, it has no ironsight so William basically had to make do with predictive aiming and it got no butt stock so he couldn't exactly fire it from a stable position...honestly? This weapon is a pain in the ass to use. But, it's something over his revolver with very limited ammo so he'll take it with him.

Walking further underground they eventually arrived at the administration sector, this sector were filled with offices, archives and data servers. William set down the nuclear case from his back, he opened the case and took out the nuclear bomb. Yuubari immediately went to mess with it, she figured out how to set the timer and held the bomb to William who stared in nervousness at it…who wouldn't be when they are near a small sized nuclear bomb that if dropped could just yeeted them into oblivion in an instant!?

"I'm setting up the bomb, how long should I set it?" Yuubari asked William.

"…How long did we took to reach this place?" William asked Yuubari back.

"Around half an hour" Yuubari said to William.

"…Set it for fifty minutes, Yuubari" William said to Yuubari.

"Hai! Wakarimashita!" Yuubari said to William as she set the timer and primed the bomb.

"Good thing it doesn't beep, hide it inside that table" William said to Yuubari as he told her to hide the bomb on one of the office table.

"Done, let's get out of here!" Yuubari said to William.

William, Yuubari and Ayanami immediately bolted out of the office they were on, finding their way back to the surface should be easy enough if they didn't suddenly encounter around eight Siren Trooper who immediately fired their weapons at them. William returned fire with the plasma rifle he carried, Ayanami and Yuubari went ahead of him to secure the elevator when the door's terminal just before the elevator was hit by a plasma bolt and as the result it short circuiting the door was closed automatically. Yuubari and Ayanami tried to open the door with force but it didn't budge, William clicked his tongue as he was trapped with the last two Siren Trooper. One of them thrown a grenade at William which caused him to dive toward low wall cover, the plasma grenade exploded but fortunately it didn't injure him.

"Shikikan!" Yuubari shouted at William from behind the door.

"GO NOW!" William shouted out loud as he fired his plasma rifle.

"NO! We won't leave you here!" Ayanami shouted at William from behind the door.

"I mean just find a way to go around! I'll wait here!" William shouted at the ship girls.

"Now you do that? Didn't I told you to wait before?" William widened his eye when he heard that voice.

PSIU! PSIU!

The two Trooper in front of him suddenly fell dead to the floor with burning holes on the back of their head, the cause was a black cladded Siren behind them with a large pistol which then he sheathed behind him while he walked forward. William eye went half closed when he realized something, it's the same freaking guy he met when he went to grab the nuclear bombs! Nyx walked toward William who didn't bother to lower his plasma rifle, any funny business and William won't hesitate to pull the trigger.

"You again…In my defense you're being cryptic about it" William said to Nyx with half closed eye.

"If you didn't bomb that base the Sirens would've pull out slowly, they'll assume that you will take the bomb back to Sakura Empire mainland for later use. But since you used it at the very same day, there's speculation that the other bomb will be used very soon so that's why this attack happened…Oh well, shit happens…Anyway, it won't take long until Sirens completely surround this entire island. You better escape quickly, mate" Nyx explained to William then shrugged.

"Tell me something I don't know. You're done?" William asked Nyx with unamused face.

"Oof, no need to be that rude I'm just here to see you off…we'll talk again soon, hopefully you'll be in healthier condition" Nyx said to William as he pointed his finger at him before he turned around.

"Yeah yeah, piss off Siren…Unless you want to get murdered by Ayanami, she's going to give you some tough love in kisses and hugs courtesy of Sakura Empire sword technique" William said to Nyx while he smirked a bit.

"Heh…I do miss that snarky attitude of yours" Nyx snorted then said to William.

Nyx snapped his fingers and a purple portal appeared in front of him, he looked at William once more before he entered the portal and disappeared. Few seconds later the wall to his side exploded into small bits as Ayanami and Yuubari combined their firepower to create a hole so William could fit through, Ayanami stick her hand through the wall and William took it, when he went through the wall he felt his energy rapidly draining and he stumbled before he fell to the floor. Ayanami and Yuubari quickly picked him up, they got no time to lose right now.

"Let's go shikikan!" Ayanami said to William.

"Right. Akashi, where are you?" William asked Akashi on the radio.

"Right in front of the laboratory's entrance shikikan! We're going to pick the other girls immediately nyaa!" Akashi said to William on the radio.

They reached the laboratory's exit and they saw their helicopter already waiting in the entrance with the rear hatch opened, the three of them quickly got inside the helicopter. When Akashi looked back and saw them already inside she quickly take off from the laboratory's entrance, they're going to pick up the rest of the ship girls on the defensive perimeter. William saw that Zuikaku, Shoukaku and Hiryuu who were still unconscious were strapped to the seat so looks like they're the last one to leave this island.

"This helicopter will be pretty jam packed shikikan! Please sit in the cockpit!" Yuubari said to William.

"…Alright" William said to Yuubari while he nodded.

…The battle below them raged as ship girls on both side going at each other, when they saw the helicopter above ALASUC ship girls immediately disengaged from combat. Akashi lowered the helicopter height all the way to just two meters off the sea surface, the ship girls jumped inside one by one while providing cover for each other. Half a minute and several plasma bolts hit later, every ship girls are aboard the helicopter and Akashi pulled up then flew toward their base at maximum speed.

"All aboard and accounted for! Punch it Akashi!" Myoukou said to Akashi.

"Here we go nyaa!" Akashi said out loud.

"Full speed ahead! This helicopter will surely go down if we're still in range!" Mikasa said out loud.

"Wakatta nyaa!" Akashi said out loud.

"…Hah…that was a close one!" Hipper said out loud regarding their fight.

"Indeed…but at least we get out alive and well" Z23 said to Hipper while she smiled a bit.

"Well, not all of us are well…those three will be confined to bed for a while" Souryuu said to Z23 as she looked at Shoukaku, Hiryuu and Zuikaku.

Prinz smiled in relief that everyone at least managed to get out, now they could head back home where she could use a good long rest from any combat for a while. Prinz went to the cockpit, she really need to see the face of her kommandant since she haven't been able to see him because she went to escort Graf Zeppelin. She saw Akashi was the one who piloted the helicopter while William leaned on the helicopter's wall, she smiled because William must be tired from all of this. She's about to wake him up when she saw his left torso side, the bandage there was bloodied red and it's quite dark…When did he get injured?!

"MEDIC! I NEED HELP OVER HERE!" Prinz shouted out loud.

.

…Nyx exited through the portal, he looked around and noticed he's inside a large hall with metallic black paint and metal pillars in neat rows so it's a place where he indeed intend to go. Nyx walked ahead toward the end of the hall, a large futuristic double door which was firmly shut came into view but before he reached to open it Nyx stopped moving. Someone approached him from behind, it's a black armored giant with red visor who stood behind Nyx who turned around before he snorted in amusement. Midnight tilted his head to the right for a bit as he stared at Nyx.

"…Let me guess…You let him off" Midnight asked Nyx.

"Nice to meet you too, Midnight" Nyx said to Midnight in cheeky tone.

"…Why?" Midnight simply asked Nyx.

"I have my own reason" Nyx said to Midnight while he shrugged.

"…I see…Is it guilt?" Midnight asked Nyx in intrigued tone.

"Eh you're not wrong…but there's something else, which I'm sure Alpha would agree, wouldn't you?" Nyx said to Midnight as he looked upwards.

Both Nyx and Midnight could hear sinister chuckle coming from above, from the darkness of the ceiling someone floated down with amused face. Observer Alpha herself set her bare foot on the marble black floor, she circled Nyx sensually as her tentacle went up to his head. The tentacle gently caressed Nyx left side of the helmet as Observer Alpha stood in front of him, she knew Nyx would noticed her even under the cover of darkness.

"My my…Astute as always, Nyx" Observer Alpha said to Nyx while she smiled in amusement.

"Child's play Alpha, I'm better than you at hide and seek" Nyx said to Alpha with amused tone.

"So it would seems…come, the meeting will start in a moment" Observer Alpha said to Nyx while she smiled.

Observer Alpha went toward the large double door, she looked back to see Nyx and Midnight stared at her as if waiting for her to go. Observer Alpha smirked at this, oh boys and their alone time…Observer Alpha opened the door and went inside before closing it again, Nyx then stared back at Midnight who folded his arms as he stared back at Nyx.

"…Tell me, is it nostalgic? To see him in his original state? Or even the fact that he's alive?" Midnight asked Nyx.

"…It is…Never I would've thought that this will happen, to find him hidden here across all sort of world line…It just proved that his survival back on Operation Dradetheus, is almost impossible to happen…My turn Midnight, why did you spare him back then?" Nyx said to Midnight with somber tone.

"…Same as you…Nostalgia…and I do see him having potential to become strong…He caught me completely off guard, even when I should've expected it" Midnight said to Nyx as he started to move toward the double door.

"Ah, I should've known…Miss that handsome face huh?" Nyx said to Midnight as he passed him with amused tone.

"…Nothing I can do about it" Midnight said to Nyx as he stopped walking.

"I heard plastic surgery in Korea works wonders, want to try? It could get your handsome face back? You could even pick up few girls here and there, I heard Smasher class ship girls like to 'smash'. Know what I'm saying?" Nyx said to Midnight in amused tone.

"…No" Midnight simply answered.

"Come on! Don't pretend to be a virgin! You banged some hot girls in the past! You need to occasionally have some sex to relieve all of that stress! Your mood could be improved with an ejaculation or two~!" Nyx said to Midnight in teasing tone.

"…Shut up with that nonsense…Let's just get this meeting over with, I have plans to follow" Midnight said to Nyx as he moved toward the double door.

"Ooh, fine, you're the badass! Lead the way, mate!" Nyx said to Midnight as he shrugged.

Midnight only stared at him briefly before he opened the door, he went inside and Nyx was the only one left in the dark hallway, Nyx sighed as he also walked forward toward the double door as he grabbed on its golden colored handle which he held firmly as he briefly recalled about Midnight. Oh what cruel fate that befell all of them…him, Midnight, Ash, Ember and others…is this the only path left for them? Nyx shook his head lightly to dismiss that thought, even when their worlds fell and their hope was crushed? They'll find a way...mankind cannot afford to be divided, especially now.

"…And that coldness is something I wish could just fuck off from you, Midnight" Nyx said to himself somberly before he opened the large double door and went inside.

* * *

**Guest: Yes and no, there will be few events that are similar to the ones in the game but it will took different turns than the one in the game**

**Yup, this one got chapter underwent severe revision so it took a while to rearrange everything. Good news is this chapter and current arc is completed so there you go people…I have no intention in completely hiding the identity of Nyx and Midnight but any confirmation regarding them would have to wait when they are revealed in story chapter, won't be fun if I just said it straight who they are but feel free to speculate mwahahaha. Anyway, thanks for the follow, favorite and review, I will take some time to rest before continuing the next chapter, pretty burned out right now perhaps couple of games will help. So stay tuned everyone! (P.S. I've updated the cover pic)**

**See you next time!**

**\- Dasmara**


	24. Recovery and contingency

…William opened his eye slowly, a white ceiling he's all too familiar came into view and he sighed…so what happened to him this time? Organ damage due to that close proximity grenade explosion or any other wounds that they didn't really detect? William didn't know but perhaps someone could explain to him the full extent of his injuries later. He tried to sit up and succeeding to do so, William took a careful look to his own body before he noted that it's still bandaged everywhere with gauze in multiple place…He winced when he tried to take a deep breath, something must've happened to his ribs. William noted that the room he's in currently is ALASUC base infirmary, oh man he's already home…

The man noted that he has IV connected to his right hand because his left hand was fully bandaged and the fact that he couldn't move his fingers too much without wincing in pain, he also couldn't hear anything on his left side which means his half deafness hasn't been known yet…Man, he really done it this time. How long would he need to be in bed rest? But he'll take this any day compared to being dead, didn't exactly have any complaints when he could still escape with his life intact. But William frowned when he remembered what got him to be like this…that Midnight spared him, that's why he survived. He couldn't help himself to feel so weak because that survival of his wasn't earned, Midnight could've just finished him off but that guy for whatever reason 'potential' is choose to let him live. William wondered, if they're in reverse position would he be able to do that?

"Commander!" Someone said out loud.

William looked to the right and saw someone by the door, she's Enterprise who looked surprised at him. Enterprise was in charge to monitor his condition for a bit as Vestal made house visit for the wounded Sakura Empire carriers, she went to the toilet for a bit and came back to see William already sat on his bed. Enterprise smiled widely as she went closer to William who stared at her before he broke a small smile, man at least there's someone he could talk to right now.

"Enterprise…How's the base while we're gone?" William asked Enterprise.

"We're doing fine sir, it's you we are worried about! Vestal said that your x-ray scan shown hairline fracture on some part of your ribs" Enterprise explained to William.

"Figured as much…Hey, do you know I'm half deaf right now?" William asked Enterprise while he smiled bitterly.

"Which side?" Enterprise immediately asked William back.

"Left one. Close proximity flashbang grenade explosion, had to do it" William said to Enterprise.

"…We never know you're half deaf right now…Alright, I'll tell Vestal about it later so maybe she can help with that" Enterprise said to William while she smiled.

"Thanks" William said to Enterprise.

"Do you want anything?" Enterprise asked William.

"…Some snack would be nice, I'm hungry" William said to Enterprise.

Enterprise nodded her head as she turned around, where would she get a snack when it's close to midnight here? She could always make one to be honest until she got a better idea, MRE's! Vestal would spank her for being a bad girl but she honestly didn't have the time nor ingredients to make something right now, oh well she hoped he won't mind. Enterprise walked away but she stopped midway as she turned around to stare at William, the man looked to be deep in thought about something…

"Sir?" Enterprise asked William.

"Hmm?" William hummed in acknowledgment.

"It's good to see you again" Enterprise said to William while she smiled widely.

"…Ditto on that, Enterprise" William said to Enterprise as he also smiled.

Sneaking to her own room is pretty easy and she grabbed some MREs packaging she stored in case she want to eat it, occasionally. Enterprise made her way back to the infirmary and met with William again who cocked his eyebrows when he saw Enterprise with several packaging of MREs, not exactly what he had in mind when he said he want some snack but…oh well, he's pretty hungry and perhaps MRE's could suffice for now. Back in the day meal like this always saved him whenever he had to be on the field for a long time, he didn't really mind the taste because when someone goes hungry any meal would turn delicious…

"Here, pick what you like" Enterprise said to William while she smiled.

"You still had some? I thought Vestal forbid you from stockpiling these" William asked Enterprise while he smirked a bit.

"It'll make good late night snacks, besides she did give me permission to eat this once in a while" Enterprise said to William while she smiled.

"I see, don't you afraid getting fat because snacking in the middle of the night?" William asked Enterprise as he inspected the MRE packaging, salted beef jerky? Don't mind if he do!

"Heh, I don't! My exercise and everyday duty is enough to burn any excessive fat and calories!" Enterprise said to William with some kind of proud smile.

"Well good to know that" William said to Enterprise as he opened the MRE packaging.

He popped some jerky to his mouth and started chewing…Not as tasty as Belfast's cooking to be sure, but a really welcome meal when he's this hungry. William decided to fuck manners as he rapidly eat the content of the MREs, when he's done Enterprise handed him another packaging which he took with sheepish smile. Enterprise also took one as she also started eating, having a friend snacking together late at night is kind of fun.

"Enterprise, sorry for taking too long. Shoukaku is really afraid of needles so it took some effort to-" Vestal suddenly said out loud.

Both William and Enterprise jerked in their place when they heard Vestal voice and dread assaulted them when she stopped speaking all of a sudden, Vestal stood in the entrance as she stared at both William and Enterprise. Vestal didn't know whether she should be shocked that William was awake already or the fact that Enterprise and William are both currently wolfing down some MREs, they all know one thing though…some lecture would hit both William and Enterprise.

"Shite" "Crap" Both William and Enterprise said out loud in reflex.

Surprisingly though Vestal only smiled as she went closer to both of them, that caused the both of them to be cautious because she didn't immediately lecture them. Vestal just honestly glad that he's awake now, she had been worried that William won't wake up anytime soon but it seems she was wrong. He's quite resilient…

"Commander, it's good to see you awake already. Shall I explain your injuries this time?" Vestal asked William while she smiled…menacingly.

"Uh…organ damage?" William asked Vestal while he cringed.

"Close proximity grenade explosion with an armor that's not designed for any Explosive Ordnance Disposal activity, you are lucky none of your organs popped from the shockwave but I still took some precaution" Vestal said to William as she stood beside him.

"…Yikes" William said while he cringed.

"I've applied Regel to your IV liquid, it should help your organs recovery from any potential and latent damage. But sorry to say, your left ear would have to wait" Vestal said to William while she checked the IV bag.

"Wait, you knew?" William asked Vestal with widened eye.

"Based from the wound on your left hand, it matched with close proximity flashbang explosion. Judging from your tendency to wear eye patch, which means you will look away to the right and exposed your left ear. Close proximity of all those and you get a ruptured ear drum" Vestal said to William.

"…You could be a forensic scientist, Vestal" William said to Vestal in amazement.

"Thank you…now, finish that up and let's do some test. Enterprise, go and ask the lady secretary to come down here" Vestal said out loud as she grabbed her medic bag.

"Got it" Enterprise said out loud while she smiled.

Enterprise quickly walked out of the infirmary and she immediately headed for Royal Navy dormitory, she entered the building then walked straight toward a specific room on the third floor. Enterprise approached the white wooden door and knocked it few times, the occupant of the room opened the door and faced Enterprise directly. Hood rubbed her eyes open while she's dressed in her white night gown, her blonde hair fell down on her shoulder and back, she then stared in wonder at Enterprise for showing up in front of her room so close to midnight.

"…How can I help you this late at night, Enterprise?" Hood asked Enterprise while rubbed off her sleepiness.

"Vestal requested for you, Hood. Commander is conscious, he's awake now" Enterprise said to Hood while she smiled a bit.

Hood's sleepiness immediately disappeared as she widened her eyes, she quickly went inside her room to grab a light brown coat from her cupboard. Once she put it on she quickly walked out of her room as she closed the door which caused Enterprise to follow her from behind, Hood walked quickly toward the infirmary and opened the door to see William on top of the bed.

"…Lord William" Hood called out his name.

"Hey there Hood, fancy seeing you" William said to Hood as he turned his head to see her.

"I will go and order some hearing aid device for him now, Enterprise let's go" Vestal said out loud.

"Alright. Hey commander, if you need anything just text us" Enterprise said to William while she smiled.

"Got it, thanks" William said to Enterprise while he nodded.

Vestal and Enterprise then left the infirmary, only Hood and William remained on the empty infirmary room as they stared at each other. Hood smiled as she walked closer toward William who managed to crack a small smile when he saw how she dressed, must've went straight to this room when she heard William's wide awake. Hood sat on his bedside before she didn't hesitate to wrapped her hands around him and rested her head on the crook of his right neck, William went stiff for a bit in nervousness before he returned the hug, to assure her that he's there.

"…You didn't sleep yet?" William asked Hood as she released the hug.

"I was, until Enterprise woke me up. You arrived with bloodied torso and looking half dead just this noon, it really drained me to see you like that" Hood said to William as she stared at his face.

"Really?" William asked Hood.

"Yes…Vestal said that the stitching near your armpit from the shrapnel was opened but what really did you in was your exhaustion, I've heard everything from Bismarck" Hood said to William while she frowned.

"…I suppose you have few choice of words for me then" William said to Hood while he cringed.

"I do…but, just seeing you made it back here alive is more than enough for now. I know you did it out of survival, not recklessness so I'll let you off the hook. That reckless dive with a fighter jet to ram Purifier however…" Hood said to William with narrowed gaze.

"None get past you huh?" William asked Hood as he looked to the side.

"Like I said, I've heard everything" Hood said to William.

"Hah…I suppose" William sighed before he said to Hood.

Before they even arrived at the base Bismarck already called her to ready four stretcher, Hood frowned deeper each time when she saw Shoukaku, Zuikaku, Hiryuu and William being wheeled to the direction of the infirmary. After demanding some explanation to Bismarck and Mikasa, both of them participated in debrief and told her everything that has been going on in Furushima Isle. The battle was a defeat for humanity with tremendous casualties both on civilian and military's side, they lost lot of good men even with reinforcement from Sakura Empire's mainland. Hood sighed in frustration, she knew that victory or defeat will always happen in wars but what went wrong that made the engagement in Furushima turned into a bloodbath?

"…I've been thinking to rest for a bit" William suddenly said to Hood.

"Rest?" Hood asked William with cocked eyebrows.

"Yeah, from any frontline combat for a while. I want to heal myself first…and train. That Siren who I fought? He made me realize that I need to get stronger, need to be better than I am now…I rely too much on luck and my current skill were quite rusty, I was being reckless…do you know what I felt when I was choked by that Siren? Fear…I'm afraid to die, I still got so much regret…that's why, from now on I will try to live my life to the fullest" William said to Hood while he looked down on his own blanket covered feet.

That also one thing that she never thought to hear, male Siren. In all her experience when fighting a Siren, their ship girls and those peculiar ones like Observer Alpha and Purifier were the ones she encountered. So, they have a male members too. Not the ones like their Trooper who almost seemed robotic in their attitude or the savage minded Brawlers, a fully sentient male Siren and there's two of them. One seemed to be interested in talk while the other talked with his fist, William encountered both of them and he was beaten badly with the last one…Hood made a mental note to get some information from Azur Lane database to see if any of them also encounter those Sirens, they will need all the information they could get.

"I see…if that's what you wished for, I shall do my best to help you" Hood said to William while she smiled.

"Thank you, Hood...you know, your face was the first that flashed before my eye in the brink of death" William confessed as he leaned on the pillow behind his back.

"…I don't know whether to swoon that I'm the first you remember or scold you for that dark humour" Hood said to William while she pouted a little.

"Hahahahaha…either way, it was what really happened. So, do you want to go somewhere on a date?" William suddenly asked Hood after he laughed a bit.

"…Ufufufufufufu!" Now its Hood's turn to laughed.

"Ouch, that silly huh?" William said to Hood while he smiled bitterly.

"No, I'm sorry. It's just that your eagerness is adorable…I'd love to go on a date with you, but with one condition. I'm deciding where we are going" Hood said to William while she smiled sweetly.

William have made up his mind, with everything that's been happening and how he experienced it now he was sure that dancing around the issue won't cut it anymore. He know how the girls felt and the girls knew he has interest on them, both sides made it clear that they could advance their relationship should they choose to but because William limited his advances due to that deal. Heck he didn't want to miss any opportunity…Didn't Lucas already agreed upon his terms? Then what is he waiting for?! Go for them Will! Those ladies are waiting for your response! William couldn't help himself but to thought about the what if's and that include if he's forcefully removed from command…Well, he will know who's throat to slit by then so he try not to thought too much about it.

"Alright then…By the way, Hood" William said to Hood.

"Hmm?" Hood asked William while she hummed.

"You let your hair down" William commented while he smiled.

"Ah, yes…I believe this is the first time you've seen me like this" Hood said to William while she touched her hair.

"Yeah" William said to Hood while he nodded.

"…Do I look strange?" Hood asked William while she smiled.

"Nah, you're as beautiful as ever" William said to Hood as he twirled his hand around her hair.

"Ufufufu, thank you" Hood said to William while she smiled softly.

.

"This is quite the crowd" Enterprise commented out loud.

"Yes, but many of us made up our mind that we will visit him today" Wales said to Enterprise.

"But so many of us in the morning? Won't the room would be a bit cramped for all of us?" Lexington asked out loud.

"Well, in a sense this is a small celebration for his survival. As long we aren't rowdy I think Vestal would be fine" Hornet said out loud with hands behind her head as she grinned.

"That I am, please don't cause too much ruckus when we're inside and clean up when we're done" Vestal said out loud.

"Ja, anyway where's the cake?" Bismarck asked out loud.

"Right here, baking this up in short time is quite a challenge when the head maid is away" George V said to Bismarck as she held large sized cake on her hands.

"Sara, no pranks when we're inside, got it?" Lexington said to Saratoga.

"Why would I pull off a prank when we visit our injured commander?" Saratoga asked Lexington with a smile.

"How about that noise maker you store inside your skirt's pocket? Did you intent to wake him up with that?" Lexington asked Saratoga as she smiled menacingly.

"Yikes…" Saratoga said out loud with nervous smile.

"Uwaahhh, I didn't know you could be that mean" Z23 said to Saratoga while she frowned.

"I-I'm not! This is a precautionary device in case commander need some nudging to wake up!" Saratoga said out loud.

"Are you really bringing alcohol as a get well soon gift, Prinz?" Zara asked Prinz as she pointed at a bottle of whiskey on her hands with red ribbons tied on the bottleneck.

"Alcohol have been known to numb pain and provide temporary escape from reality, something I think Herr Kommandant would need very soon…By the way, what did you bring?" Prinz asked back at Zara.

"Comandante seems to have quite some liking to the pasta I made" Zara said to Prinz as she shown her the container she held.

"Helena, Louis, sorry for being late!" Cleveland called out as she stopped beside them.

"There you are" St. Louis said to Cleveland while she smiled.

"Ah Cleveland, sorry the group's just too large so they couldn't wait long" Helena said to Cleveland while he smiled apologetically.

"Don't worry, it's because sis took a while getting ready" Denver said to Helena.

"Who's fault is it again? You're the one who hid my cape!" Cleveland said to Denver.

"Hey it's Monty! Not me!" Denver said to Cleveland.

"Wow, we might have to get in with groups if there's this much people" Mikasa commented while she smiled.

"Indeed. Where are the rest of the Sakura girls, Lady Mikasa?" Queen Elizabeth asked Mikasa with confused tone.

"Ah, they are currently helping Hiryuu, Shoukaku and Zuikaku. The three of them need intensive care but it seems Hiryuu would took the longest to recover" Mikasa said to Queen Elizabeth.

"Ufufufu, milord will certainly be happy with how many girls cared for his wellbeing" Illustrious said out loud.

"Will he be happy with the bouquet, big sis?" Unicorn asked Illustrious.

"I'm sure he will" Illustrious said to Unicorn as she smiled softly.

"Don't worry Unicorn! He will appreciate our effort in gathering the flowers! I'm sure he'll be happy with this!" Javelin said to Unicorn while she smiled.

"I thought so too, yes" Ayanami said out loud.

"So sleepy…" Laffey muttered as she walked.

"When I said that we could visit him, I don't mean everyone at once" Hood said out loud before she sighed.

"Well what do you expect? Everyone already asked for permission to visit when he just arrived" Warpsite said to Hood.

Large group of ship girls are currently walking together to the infirmary to visit William who arrived yesterday, it's still six thirty in the morning but everyone are ready to make the visit with their own gifts. Hood made the announcement last night that William is already awake and the ship girls could make some visits if they wish to, she didn't expect to get collective agreement to visit him in the morning while few others decided to do so later. When Hood ready herself for the day she found that the ship girls already gathered in front of the administration building, she had no choice but to fall in and join them since she did planned to come by again today.

They eventually arrived at the infirmary, they proceed to calmly and in orderly fashion enter the ward he's in but one by one they found out that the person in front of them freeze so suddenly. The ones behind got curious so they piled to the side only to freeze as well, because in front of them right now in the center of the room stood William Blaze himself covered in bandage but his crotch part was devoid of clothing and exposed for the world to see as he's still frozen in some kind of weird Jojo muscle flex pose with his main gun stood erect because of the morning wood buff status. William looked at them like a fish out of the water and both sides took significant amount of time just to understand what the fuck is going on.

…Enterprise mouth went agape with red cheeks, Wales went wide eyed O shaped mouth, Lexington covered her mouth as she stared, Hornet went rigid as her eyes kept locked at the tower between his legs with red face, Vestal shut her eyes and by extension her whole red face with her own hands as she shook her head, Bismarck went red faced as she closed her mouth as she stared like Hornet, George V actually had to steady herself because she almost dropped the cake she held with the view in front of her, Saratoga freeze as she covered her eyes with her hands, Z23 did the same with Saratoga but she sneaked a glance through the gap between her fingers, Zara went wide eyed at the view, Prinz smirked widely at the view, Cleveland leaned on St. Louis for support with red face, St. Louis stared with red cheeks while she smiled, Helena actually passed out and being held by St. Louis, Denver made complicated face, Montpelier averted her gaze while she frowned and with red cheeks, Mikasa closed her eyes while she smiled awkwardly, Queen Elizabeth stuttered as she try to look at anywhere else than William but failing greatly, Illustrious covered up Unicorn's eyes as she stared with red cheeks, Javelin went wide eyed at the sight, Ayanami only blushed as she stared, Laffey was too sleepy to care, Hood went wide eyed before she facepalmed and Warspite only stared with wide eyes and bright red face.

""""""""""KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"""""""""" Multiple girls screamed in the same time at the sight of the manly cannon.

"WHAT IN THE ACTUAL BLOODY FUCK?!" William shouted out loud in combination of surprise, embarrassment and regret all at once.

"COVER IT UP!" Enterprise shouted at William.

"WITH WHAT?! I JUST WOKE UP AND I'M ALREADY COMPLETELY NAKED!" William shouted back.

"KYAAA! BLOODY PERVERT!" Queen Elizabeth shouted out loud as she grabbed then threw a pillow from one of the spare bed which William caught and used to cover his crotch.

"THANK YOU! NOW COULD ANY OF YOU GET ME SOMETHING TO WEAR?!" William asked out loud with red cheeks.

…Oh man, William was naked by the time he's awake and seeing no one around in the room he decided to do some stretching. But midway something triggered on his still sleepy mind that he decided to flex his muscles and do some manly pose, that was the plan until the door was opened…William felt like grabbing a spare gun from any armory and shoot himself in the head then the heart if he's still alive because he's that embarrassed, being seen naked by so many girls at once and he found out his dong became harder than ever…wait a second, did he just seriously thought like that? William shook his head to clear out his thought and moved on from that traumatic event. The ship girls are around him who now dressed in hospital robes but the atmosphere was so tense you could cut it with a blade, they really need some icebreaker for what just transpired. Fortunately Hood managed to do it, how? She's simply started talking to William and one by one the others joined in. They talked a lot of things, but mostly about how the commission went. William was quite happy to be honest, the ship girls so caring about him that they are willing to wake up early just to visit him…

…The talk stalled a bit when they saw William hesitated from talking about his duel in detail even though he give them the story regarding how he got the injuries. What can he say? That he's getting thrashed around like an actual thrash? He's ashamed to be honest, no one like to talk about their defeat and William's no different. The girls thought their commander lost his fighting spirit but they are more than relieved when William said that he will train himself so he could fight better in the future, at least they know that their commander is also quite stubborn in the right way. The ship girls volunteered to teach him so now he got the basics on what he should do, for example he's determined to get better in sword fighting and Warspite was more than glad to have him as her disciple. His form supported the two handed sword fighting style and she didn't doubt that he have the strength to swing large sword around easily, Siren infantries would be in deep shit if he got better at it.

Mikasa also recommended several Sakura Empire ship girls if William ever interested in Eastern sword techniques, many girls used the katana and some used naginata. The thought of learning something new did intrigued him but he wonder if he really got the time to learn both techniques at once, not going to lie being someone who could adapt to whatever technique when required to sounds cool as he witnessed with Wales back then when she switched from her regular technique into a fencing one in drop of a hat. With that, his proficiency with all bladed weapons would be guaranteed…But he decided that he will decide when he's actually healed up, right now he just need to focus on resting after all that mess.

They stayed for a bit, all the way until ten in the morning where everyone started to do their daily activities. William though he's free for a bit but the smile in his face immediately died when Hood came back with stacks of papers and documents while she smiled, oh he's not getting away from his responsibilities especially if he couldn't move…Four hours later, William furrowed his brows as he read one of the document. Griffin and Kruger Military Group requested ship girls help for their operation on Somalia for High Value Target extraction, since they don't have much naval asset they would need help and when they heard Azur Lane do accepted commission they asked for some support…Battleships alongside carrier support and they are willing to pay with red gems for full fire support package? Holy shit, their commander want this target so bad he's willing to cough up rare resources. Alright, both is a win-win but the mission have to be successful.

"You look bored, milord" Hood suddenly said to William.

"Being confined to bed rest is really depressing" William said to Hood as he signed the document and put it away.

"I thought you have no problem staying still for hours when playing a game?" Hood asked William while she smiled.

"It's a game, I had fun with it" William said to Hood while he smiled.

"Oh, so you're not having fun when you're with me?" Hood asked William while she pouted.

"That's not what I meant, you purposely use that to start a teasing war and I read your move first concerning you want me to flirt you" William said to Hood as he grinned.

"I see you've done your homework. But admit it, you'll do it anyway right?" Hood asked William while she smiled.

"Heh, you're that desperate for some affection?" William asked Hood while he grinned even wider.

"Oh touché! In my defense, even an elegant lady must seize the target of their own affection and if it means being assertive then so be it" Hood said to William while she also grinned.

"I do admire your efforts…But you still haven't called me by my name" William said to Hood as he smirked.

"Did I?" Hood asked William as she also smirked.

"Well, only once, and you're drunk so that doesn't count" William said to Hood while he shrugged.

"Hoo…well then, as you wish my dear Wi-" Hood said to William while she smiled.

"Pardon my intrusion" Someone suddenly said out loud.

The door to the infirmary was knocked then opened as a young woman entered the room, Belfast dressed in her usual maid clothes entered the room while smiling. She approached both William and Hood who smiled in return, William did wondered on where was Belfast until Hood explained that Belfast left to lead a Royal Navy commission team for some job. That was the reason why Sheffield substituted for her back on the dorm, the head maid actually volunteered to handle this commission to Hood since…yeah, she said she need exercise too once in a while.

"Belfast! Hey, it's been awhile" William said to Belfast while he smiled.

"Certainly it has, master. I am glad to see you awake" Belfast said to William as she also smiled.

"How was the sortie, Bel?" Hood asked Belfast as she grabbed the necessary paper regarding the commission.

"We encountered small fleet of Siren mass produced ships, we took care of them during our return journey. We successfully completed our mission without losing a single ship we escorted" Belfast said to Hood.

"Good, I assume none of the ship girls got hurt?" Hood asked Belfast.

"None of us require any treatment other than fresh batch of clothes, warm bath and delicious supper" Belfast said to Hood while she smiled.

"Good work out there Belfast, in that case have some time off for the rest of the day. You and the commission team earned some rest" William said to Belfast while he smiled.

"As you command, master…well then, since I'm off duty I'll be taking my leave now. Get well soon, master" Belfast said to William then curtsied.

"Thanks Bel" William said to Belfast as he nodded his head.

Belfast turned around and left the room, she was honestly glad that William managed to return although not in a good condition. Hood watched Belfast leave before she looked into the commission document she held, after skimming the paper she grabbed a stamp before marking the commission as a completed one. Both of them resumed their work, William grabbed another document and read it…Wait, it's one of the paper concerning food delivery to their base. Let's see…fresh meats, vegetables and unhealthy amount of Oxycola and Coolant? Who ordered all of this? Well, seeing they'll need that food in the near future William just shrugged and signed the paper even though it cost them quite a bit on the gold coins.

"Speaking of which, where did you sent Belfast to?" William asked Hood.

"Small escort task to Hawaii, a flotilla of transport ships need to deliver food and essential supplies to Hawaii and they're afraid they will get raided by the Siren given how they often appear on the Pacific region" Hood said to William.

"I see…Okay, job's done" William said to Hood as he put the last document on the stack to his nightstand.

"Yes it is…So, anything you want to do?" Hood asked William while she smiled.

"Well…a walk to the park sounds good, it looked like it will be a chilly afternoon" William said to Hood.

"Then let's go. Ah, I will head over to the admin building to store these documents first. Don't go anywhere without me, got it?" Hood said to William as she picked the paper stacks.

"Yeah yeah mum, now off you go" William said to Hood while he smirked.

Hood shot him a look to which William could only laugh at before she left, she didn't like to be directly or indirectly called old huh? Not like anyone would have a problem regarding how she looked, she looked to be in her early twenties to be honest and even William looked older than her…especially now when his beard started to grow again. Will he shave it again? Having a beard could be a nice change once in a while though he's not sure how the girls will take it. His musing was interrupted when someone opened the door to his infirmary room, a person who's half of her face and body being fully bandaged and she approached William with a bright smile.

"Shoukaku?" William called her name.

"Ohayou shikikan-sama, how are you doing?" Shoukaku asked William as she sat on the stool that Hood used before.

"I should be asking you that, you sure you're allowed to walk around?" William asked Shoukaku while he frowned a little upon seeing her condition.

"My physical wounds are nothing compared to the wound in my pride~" Shoukaku said to William with a cheeky tone.

"Yeah, could agree with that one" William responded as he rolled his eye, that was relatable.

"I hear you get your butt kicked, isn't it used to be the other way around?" Shoukaku asked William while she smiled.

"Don't rub it in, please" William said to Shoukaku while he frowned.

"Alright, alright, I won't~" Shoukaku said to William as she smiled and held her hands up.

…Should Shoukaku be out of bed right now? She didn't seems to be healthy enough to move around already but ship girls are stronger than ordinary human so perhaps his assumption won't matter much. She sat and smiled as she stared at him, William started to felt anxious since why on earth did she do that without saying anything? William looked down and inspected his own body to see if there's anything out of place, he didn't found anything.

"…Anything I can help you with?" William asked Shoukaku.

"Just want to see your face, shikikan-sama. Looks like your lucks hold out, my kiss seems to work wonders~" Shoukaku said to William while she smiled.

"Yeah I'd admit…But I don't believe it'll hold out forever, I need to stop relying on it too much" William said to Shoukaku while he shrugged.

"Ara, that so…How about touching one of our lucky ships before every battle? Yukikaze, Enterprise or even St. Louis? Which one do you prefer?" Shoukaku suggested to William while she grinned.

"The three of them sounds good" William honestly responded.

"Ara, no can do~. Pick one" Shoukaku said to William,

Who to pick then? Yukikaze? She'll bit his hand off if he suddenly head pat her out of nowhere. Enterprise? William thought that she won't mind him touching her as long he asked nicely and properly. St. Louis however, hmm…well, a simple act of touching her could turn into something else. William shook his head sideways to clear the thought, he's been thinking more perversely again does that mean his libido is about to hit the roof? Damn, guess the stress accumulated quicker than he thought…

"…St. Louis then?" William answered in questioning tone to Shoukaku.

"Why? Because she have bigger boobs?" Shoukaku immediately asked William while she smiled.

"That's not what I-" William said to Shoukaku with widened eye.

"Admit it, you want to touch those balloons didn't you?" Shoukaku asked William while she grinned.

"Hah…yes, I'm a man and that would make me quite happy. There, you satisfied?" William said to Shoukaku with half closed eye.

"Oh, very. I believe St. Louis-san will be happy with that" Shoukaku shown him her phone which on voice recording mode.

"…SHOUKAKU!" William shouted at Shoukaku in shock.

"Hahahaha! See you later shikikan-sama! Get well soon~" Shoukaku said to William after she laughed and she stood up to leave.

"Shite, I'm done for" William muttered to himself.

…Hood came in few minutes later, she helped William stand up and make sure he's steady enough to walk without support. After she confirmed that he's strong enough the both of them started walking toward the park, it was a chilly and cloudy afternoon alongside being quite windy but that didn't bother the two of them. Hood found an empty bench which she choose to sit, William sat beside her and leaned on the bench as he sighed…walking that distance was that tiring? He's not even fit to walk around, how much longer should he rest? William looked ahead and saw bunch of destroyers played around the grassy area underneath the large tree, it's the Mustuki and Fletcher class destroyers.

They were playing some kind of baseball game? William was surprised that Bogue didn't joined in, maybe she had something else to do. Hood and William watched the game, the destroyers sure have fun. William thought about it, some of the…no, many destroyers have childish or early teenager physics and act like one despite being a ship girl. What's the deal with that? Is there any destroyer out there with mature bodies? His musing once again had to end when Fumizuki swung her bat, the ball went off course and head straight toward his head. William's reflex kicked in and he caught the ball just mere inch away from his face, the sudden movement caused Hood to recoil in surprise but strangely William was equally surprised as she is. Why? He didn't think he got the strength to pull off such fast movement yet.

"Careful with your swing!" William said out loud as he threw the ball back at them.

"H-Hai shikikan! Gomenasai!" Fumizuki said to William as she bowed.

"Those destroyers sure are rowdy, it was fortunate that none of them like to cause any problems" William said out loud.

"Sure they are, William" Hood said to William.

"Wha…" William's head jerked toward Hood in lightning speed.

"What? Belfast did interrupted us before" Hood said to William as she smiled at him.

"…Heh…wow, hearing you say my name felt different" William said to Hood while he grinned.

"In good or bad way?" Hood asked William.

"Good of course…You know there's only one thing we miss here" William said to Hood.

"What is it?" Hood asked William with confused gaze.

"Some light meal" William said to Hood.

"We could get some later. For now, let's just stay here and enjoy the view" Hood said to William while she smiled.

"Yeah, let's do that" William said to Hood as he nodded his head.

They watched the destroyer played some more until they called quits and rested on the area by sitting around the trees, it seems those children could also get tired despite their seemingly endless bound of energy they have. Kisaragi walked towards them and Hood called her out, Kisaragi stared in confusion but she approached them nonetheless. William stared at Hood as he wondered on why did she called Kisaragi over, Hood then took out her phone as she show it to Kisaragi.

"Ms. Kisaragi, could you do me a favor?" Hood asked Kisaragi while she smiled.

"Hai? What is it Hood-san?" Kisaragi asked Hood.

"Please take a picture of us" Hood said to Kisaragi as she scooted over closer to William.

"Hai. Smile!" Kisaragi said out loud as she took the picture.

"Hope I didn't look like a daft in that picture" William said out loud.

"We'll find out~" Hood said to William.

"H-How is it?" Kisaragi asked timidly as she handed the phone back.

"This is a good photo, thank you. Here, share it with everyone alright?" Hood said to Kisaragi as she handed her a fistful of candies.

"Thank you Hood-san!" Kisaragi smiled widely before she went off to see the other destroyers.

"You had some candies?" William asked Hood.

"You're saying as if I didn't like to munch on one" Hood stared at William with cocked eyebrows.

"What can I say? You don't look like someone who has candies in her pocket" William said to Hood as he shrugged.

"True, but appearance could be deceiving" Hood said to William while she smiled.

"Fair enough…is that the reason why you wore such heavy clothing?" William asked Hood.

"Could you elaborate?" Hood asked William back.

"Well, your uniform looks quite thick and I presume you wore several layers. Its summer, don't you want to wear something lighter?" William asked Hood.

Yeah, this is the mind boggling one about Hood. Its summer, forty degrees celcius out in the open is very possible and you're saying that she could withstand that kind of heat with the thick clothing she wore without breaking a sweat? How the fuck? William would've gone out with a thin t-shirt or even topless if dress code rules or public decency didn't matter. William noted that he only ever saw Hood with casual clothes once and that's when they're heading for the pastry back when they're about to meet with Lena and Lucas, man she looked gorgeous back then-

"I have no problem whatsoever with this dress" Hood said to William as she inspected her clothes.

"Any particular reason why?" William asked Hood with narrowed gaze.

"I just didn't like to flaunt my body around, a lady should always be elegant" Hood said to William while she smiled confidently.

"I see" William said to Hood as he stared at the destroyers who ate candy together.

"Is that disappointment I see in your face?" Hood poked William's right cheek as she asked while she smiled.

"Haha, to be honest yeah, a bit. But I'm more concerned that you might get heatstroke with from the heat" William said to Hood while he smiled back.

"Hmm…I never experienced that before" Hood said to William.

"There's always a first time. Better prevent it…If you're that reluctant, at least take the cape off" William said to Hood.

"Well, why don't you help me a bit here?" Hood asked William.

William cocked his eyebrows before he moved his right hand toward Hood, she only stared at him as William tried to take off her cape. Doing it one handed proved to be quite challenging so William used both hands to take off her cape, after he took off the cape and put it aside he took a chance to take off her hat too in the process.

"A lot cooler, isn't it?" William asked Hood while he smiled.

"I'd admit, it is" Hood said to William.

"Listening to you two from here, I almost got diabetes from all the sweetness in the air" Someone suddenly said out loud.

"The hell?" William said out loud in wonder.

They heard rustling from the trees behind them and someone dropped down from above, that person was none other than Enterprise younger sister. Hornet grinned and adjusted her hat as she stared at William and Hood who stared back at her with surprised face, none of them could predict that Hornet was lounging on top of the tree but William should've known regarding her habit to take a nap outside. Hornet grinned as she approached her commander and his secretary, who knows her favorite spot proved to be a lucky spot to hear how the both of them interact in…private.

"Hey there sunshine, didn't know ya could be up and about outside already" Hornet said to William while she grinned.

"Vestal did give me some clearance…How can I help you, Hornet?" William asked Hornet.

"Thought I should let ya know that Sakura Empire gals will be holding the welcoming party in their dorm, Ms. Nagato was pretty insistent about the place" Hornet said to William while she smiled.

"I don't see any reason to refuse, but would it be enough for everyone to attend?" William asked Hornet, Sakura dorms are huge but would it be enough?

"It's an outdoor party as far as I know, ya know how big Sakura Empire dorms grounds right?" Hornet asked WIlliam.

"Then we're in, what time?" William asked Hornet as he leaned on his seat.

"Seven thirty at night, casual dress" Hornet said to William while she winked.

"See you there and then, Hornet" William said to Hornet while he smiled.

"Aye aye~. I'll be leaving now, big sis told me to meet her on the pier. Oh and Hood? He got a point~" Hornet said out loud while she grinned and left.

"Why thank you for clearing that up" Hood said to Hornet while she pouted.

"…One thing to note off when you pick a place for our upcoming date, please pick somewhere private" William said to Hood.

"Ufufufufu, understood Will" Hood said to William after she giggled.

"I could get used to you calling my name" William said to Hood while he grinned.

"But only in private, you hear?" Hood said to William while she smiled softly.

"Aww, embarrassed?" William asked Hood while he grinned.

"More like not declaring war to the other ladies, yet" Hood said to William while she grinned.

"Hmph, how considerate" William snorted as he commented.

"Great things comes to those who are patient~" Hood said to William while she grinned.

.

…Nightfall and it's time for them to attend the welcoming party on Sakura Empire dorms, William had to struggle with his own preparation…a lot. What can he do? He struggled to bathe, put on his own clothes or even wake up properly. All he managed to get done was to clean his crotch area which wasn't bandaged, William briefly thought that giving up is a great choice until he heard some knocking on the door which he answered then the door was opened only to see Belfast wearing dark blue one piece dress standing in front of his room.

"Good evening master" Belfast said to William while she smiled.

"Evening Bel" William said to Belfast.

"You look to be in predicament" Belfast said to William while she smiled wryly.

William was sprawled on top of his own bed while only wearing boxers, he stared at the ceiling of his room with a poker face. Belfast wordlessly entered the room, closed the door and she opened his wardrobe. William snuck a glance at her to see Belfast picking out few article of clothing, then she went to the bathroom doing god knows what. Around five minutes later she came out with a bucket of warm water and small towel, she also wordlessly took off William's bandage around his body and the gauzes which revealed so many stiches underneath it. Belfast dipped the towel to the bucket, squeezed it and then carefully wiped his body to clean it.

"You know, I didn't think you'll went this far" William said to Belfast.

"Of course I will, full service is what a maid should give to her master at all times" Belfast said to William.

After she cleaned him up, Belfast took out the gauze and bandage. She expertly put on the gauze over the injuries before she bandaged him just like he was before, Belfast then dressed William up in his casual green t-shirt, jeans and some sneakers before she looked back to and judged his appearance. Belfast nodded her head in approval before she put on the black blazer on him, yes they are the clothes that he alongside Takao, Atago, Zuikaku and Shoukaku shopped back in Sakura Empire…After Belfast make sure he's ready, she put on his eye patch on him before both of them left the room with Belfast insisting that William should use a wheelchair for now because how far they're going to walk. William agreed without any resistance, he know he'll collapse midway if he forced himself.

"It's quite chilly despite summer" William commented as a gust of wind blew upon Belfast and him.

"I think it will rain soon, it was pretty hot earlier in the morning" Belfast commented as she pushed William's wheelchair.

"Agreed…Bel?" William looked behind to see Belfast's face.

"Yes master?" Belfast asked William as she stared at him.

"Nice dress, you look lovely" William said to Belfast while he smiled.

"Why thank you for the compliment, master" Belfast said to William while she smiled.

"…You know, I thought you'll spend the rest of the day resting" William commented out loud.

"I had enough rest and ready for duty near dusk, but Edinburgh told me to take it easy at least until tomorrow morning" Belfast said to William.

"What a caring sister you got there" William said to Belfast.

"Certainly. I should do something for her later" Belfast said to William while she smiled.

"Why don't you two take some time off and spend it outside the base? You know, go into town, do some shopping and spend your time for sisterly bonding? You rarely took a day off anyway, I won't mind you gone for a day" William said to Belfast.

Belfast thought about it, when was the last time both of them enjoyed the day together as sisters? It's been a pretty long time to be honest and Edinburgh did helped her a lot these past months, Belfast should show Edinburgh her gratitude. William suggested going outside the base? It's a good suggestion, perhaps both Belfast and Edinburgh could went out to watch some movies, goes for a meal together or even spend some time just window shopping and see if there's anything that could catch their interest. The more Belfast thought about it, the greater the plan sounded in her head.

"…That's a brilliant suggestion, master. Then perhaps this weekend might be a good time, I'll ask her later" Belfast said to William while she smiled.

"Splendid…Sakura Empire cuisine and quite possibly a very enjoyable night, I'm glad I'm still alive…the things you find more enjoyable when you brushed against death" William commented as he saw the Sakura Empire dorm in the distance.

"Isn't that not the first time you almost died during your entire military career, master?" Belfast asked William with confused gaze.

"Yeah, but…this is the first time where I'm actually THAT scared of dying" William said to Belfast while he stared on the ground.

"…I heard from Hood that you planned on training, may I know what kind of training it would be?" Belfast asked William.

"I don't have the specific details yet but it would be a lot of training...I realized that I've been lacking on training myself after I got here, the Sirens will always continue to adapt and we should also do the same. I realized that I lack some specific skill sets, I need to improve myself if I ever hoped to survive against them" William said to Belfast.

"In that case master, allow me to help you as best as I could. Whenever you need to relax after you train, you only need to ask" Belfast said to William while she smiled.

"Hearing the head maid herself said that, I kind of wonder how will you make me relax" William said out loud while he smirked.

"Well, I have large selection for the technique. Relaxation aromatherapy, comforting music or even…massages" Belfast said to William as she leaned on him.

"...Massages? What kind of massages?" William asked Belfast.

"Yes. A wide range of massage option~" Belfast said to William while she smiled.

"I'm eager to find out" William said to Belfast while he grinned.

"Shall we start here~?" Belfast whispered on William's right ear in seductive tone.

"Whoa no, let's take it easy. If we're late all sort of rumors will surface and it'd be a pain in the arse to deal with it" William said to Belfast while he looked at her in shock.

"Ufufufufu. If you say so" Belfast giggled before she resumed pushing the wheelchair.

Too stimulating that's for sure! Man, when Belfast whispered to him in that sexy and seductive voice his spine tingled in excitement. He'll agree to do a 'test run' if they don't have somewhere to be right now, not going to lie…Eventually they arrived at the Sakura Empire dorm and in front of its gate they saw Souryuu leaning on the wall, she stopped leaning as soon as she saw William and Belfast as she approached them while smiling a bit.

"Welcome shikikan-sama, Belfast-san" Souryuu greeted as she bowed a bit.

"Hello Souryuu" William said to Souryuu as he nodded.

"Good night to you, Ms. Souryuu. You're the welcoming committee?" Belfast asked Souryuu while she smiled.

"Yes, I was entrusted to bring shikikan-sama directly to meet with Nagato-sama and the others before heading for the party" Souryuu said to Belfast.

"Lead the way" Belfast said to Souryuu.

The three of them went inside the Sakura Empire dormitory that looked like eastern styled mansion, William have been here couple of times but he's certain that he could still get lost inside the confusing interior. Souryuu led them to a room with large double door, she opened it and William saw several members of Sakura Empire ship girls inside. There's Nagato who sat in the middle end of the room with the large balcony behind her, there's Amagi alongside Akagi, Kaga, Shoukaku and Zuikaku who sat in front of Nagato while facing each other in seiza position. Akagi widened her eyes and smiled as she approached William before she kneeled in front of him, the man could only cocked his eyebrows in wonder.

"Shikikan-sama! Ah, it agonize me to see you still in this state! Do you need some help? I could help you with anything~" Akagi said to William while she smiled.

"Thank you for your concern Akagi but I'm fine" William said to Akagi while he smiled.

"Please don't trouble master, Ms. Akagi" Belfast said to Akagi from behind while she frowned.

"Ara, such hostility~" Akagi said to Belfast as she noticed Belfast frowned even deeper.

"Might be because you're kind of being cringy with your clingy attitude senpai, fufufufu" Shoukaku said out loud while she giggled.

"Shoukaku nee…" Zuikaku said out loud beside Shoukaku while she facepalmed.

"Ho, looks like some kouhai of mine need some discipline after this" Akagi looked back at Shoukaku as she grinned menacingly.

"Um, Akagi…" Kaga said to Akagi with half closed eyes.

"Quit it you two and sit down" Amagi said out loud.

The sheer steel on Amagi's tone was enough to force Akagi to sit back at her previous place and Shoukaku to stopped giggling, Belfast wheeled William forward then stopped before she stood beside him as Souryuu proceed to seat herself beside Shoukaku. William looked around and he noticed that Zuikaku was present, the said woman stared at him before she gave him a weak smile. William could see that her entire body was also bandaged like him though unlike Shoukaku her face seems to be fine, William didn't saw Hiryuu yet so maybe he'll visit her after the party. Nagato stood up before she bowed at him, William only nodded his head in return because he couldn't bow when he sat above the wheelchair.

"Shikikan-sama, welcome to our humble abode" Nagato said to William.

"Is there something you wish to speak in this enclosed room, Ms. Nagato?" William asked Nagato.

"Hai…Shikikan-sama, may I be allowed to go into the town tomorrow?" Nagato asked William as she sit down.

"…Ha? You're asking permission for that?" William asked Nagato with confused face.

"Am I not allowed to go?" Nagato asked William while she frowned.

"What makes you think I won't allow you?" William asked Nagato further.

"Um…back then on Sakura Empire, I wasn't allowed to leave the castle…" Nagato said to William while she looked down on the floor.

"Ms. Nagato, This is ALASUC Base, it's your current home and I don't have any rules that forbid any ship girls to visit the town. All I asked when you're out there, is to take precaution and not to flaunt your identity as ship girls identities are military secret. You want to go out and have some fun? Go ahead" William said to Nagato while he smiled.

…He'll be honest, William may know some of Sakura Empire custom through manga and anime but he got zero knowledge when it comes to their religious customs! If he remembered correctly, Nagato is some kind of priestess or spiritual leader that perform many religious ceremonies back on Sakura Empire. Now that she's here that duty also involved being the fleet representative, he heard from Hood that Nagato still lead occasional ceremonies on the Sakura dorms…So, being a priestess like that requires her not leaving the premise back on Sakura Empire huh?

"Nagato-sama, his answer as exact as the one I already told you. You don't have to worry about breaking tradition or rules" Amagi said to Nagato while she smiled.

"It is as thou say, Amagi-san…I'm terribly sorry to trouble thou with something as measly as this, shikikan-sama" Nagato said to Amagi and William as she closed her eyes.

"Think nothing of it. So, who will go with you?" William asked Nagato.

"I already asked Mutsu and Mikasa-san to accompany me, shikikan-sama" Nagato said to William.

"And where are you plan on going?" William asked Nagato further.

"…M-Movie theater" Nagato answered while blushing a bit.

"Interested in a new release?" William asked Nagato as he leaned on his wheelchair.

"Hai, I've seen its trailer and it really intrigued me" Nagato said to William.

"I don't see any problem. Ah, just one thing, you should go out with casual clothes" William said to Nagato.

Fortunately he remembered to bring that up, Nagato always used her priestess garb whenever he saw her. If she's going out to the town he believed Mikasa would be more than enough to chaperone both Nagato and Mutsu, but because they need to keep their identity hidden it would be wise for them to go out with casual clothes…Wait the fuck up William, how will they hide the ears they have? Nah, there's no need. William thought that with proper decoration they could make it as natural to make it seems the ears are part of the accessory, William sure they'll figure something out.

"Casual clothes?" Nagato asked William as she tilted her head to the left a bit.

"Yes and don't deploy your riggings unless absolutely necessary" William said to Nagato.

"Hai, there's just one problem…I…don't have casual clothes" Nagato admitted with a small blush on her cheeks.

"Oh…Bel, anyone on Royal Navy have spare clothes that fit Nagato's size?" William asked Belfast who stood beside him.

"Few does come to mind, I'll be sure to ask them after this celebration" Belfast said to William.

"I extend my gratefulness to thou, shikikan-sama, Belfast-san" Nagato said out loud as she bowed at them.

"N-No need to bow, really…That being said, we do take some time in here, shall we go to the celebration area?" William said out loud.

"Ah, hai, we almost forgot about that. Let's go" Amagi said out loud.

They went out to the dormitory's backyard and saw that it's already crowded with the girls loitering around, soft music played in the background by a band of Manjuus, lots of food was served and alcohol flow freely. The ship girls from all faction mingled with one another, even the representative such as Enterprise, Bismarck and Queen Elizabeth are already on site. William was being wheeled by Belfast and she stopped beside the food table, but not even a second since she stopped Akagi approached from ahead of William with a large bottle of alcohol in her hands.

"Shikikan-sama, shall we drink together?" Akagi asked William while she smiled.

"Sure, sake?" William asked Akagi.

"Hai, the finest sake that was stored only for occasion such as this" Akagi said to William as she poured a glass for him.

"Wow…yeah, this is great" William said to Akagi after he downed the glass.

"Oho, shikikan is a strong drinker eh?" Kaga appeared from Akagi's back and said to William while she smiled.

"Bloody hell I am" William said to Kaga while he grinned.

"Ara ara, shikikan-kun. Your cup is empty" Atago suddenly appeared beside William and poured more alcohol to his glass.

"Why do I sense you're trying to get me drunk, Atago?" William asked Atago while he frowned.

"Such cruel accusation! What's wrong in sharing some drinks with your commanding officer?" Atago faked hurt expression before she winked.

"Hahaha, I'm just joking…Pour me some more!" William downed the glass before he said to Atago.

"With pleasure!" Atago said to William as she poured more alcohol at his glass.

"Shikikan-sama, here, some onigiri. Say aahn~" Akagi offered the onigiri in front of William which he took a bite.

"…What's the stuffing?" William asked Akagi after he swallowed.

"Tuna, is it delicious?" Akagi asked William while she grinned.

"Oh, very" William said to Akagi while he grinned.

"Kommandant! Enjoying the night, aren't you?" Prinz appeared from behind William and snuggled to his right cheek.

"Hey Prinz, you're here to join us?" William asked Prinz while he grinned.

"I was about to, and I think you'll find my company enjoyable because I brought these" Prinz shown William a bottle filled with light brown liquid.

"Whiskey? Nice" William said to Prinz while he smiled widely.

"Straight from our local Ironblood inventory, shall we open it?" Prinz asked out loud while she smirked.

"Shikikan-sama, some tempura?" Shoukaku suddenly appeared while holding a prawn tempura at William which he also took a bite.

"Uhm! Delicious!" William said to Shoukaku after he swallowed while he smiled.

"Here, have some more onigiri" Akagi said to William with the onigiri in her hand.

"Oh no, he need to finish this tempura first senpai" Shoukaku said to Akagi as she held the tempura to William's face.

"No, he need to finish the onigiri first" Akagi said to Shoukaku while she smiled menacingly.

"Calm down both of you, he need to drink the whiskey first" Prinz said to both Akagi and Shoukaku while she smiled smugly.

"Ara Prinz-san, this is Sakura Empire's welcoming party so he really need to finish the sake first" Atago interjected while she smiled confidently.

"Milord, it's good to see you" Illustrious suddenly appeared and greeted William.

"Good to see you too. Having fun?" William asked Illustrious.

"Oh yes milord, and I would be delighted if you could accompany me throughout the evening~" Illustrious said to William as she leaned in a little, showing off her impressive cleavage.

"Wow…Well-" William said to Illustrious as his eye wandered toward Illustrious' cleavage.

"Hey, come on, this isn't going to finish itself~" Akagi said out loud as she direct William's focus back on him.

…Not too far from the crowd surrounding William, Belfast scowled in pure annoyance and frustration because she left him a bit just to get William a plate full of food and some drinks. She left for two minutes, TWO MINUTES! And when she came back William was drowning in women! Belfast huffed as she turned around and leave with the dish she prepared, but before she could went too far from her position Belfast saw another woman that was fuming just like she is while leaning on a Sakura tree and sipping a glass of sake. That person is none other than William's personal secretary, Hood who dressed in her usual clothes but without the cape and hat…Belfast approached her and stood beside her, both looked at the scene in front of them before they collectively sighed.

"Evening Belfast" Hood said to Belfast.

"Good evening madam Hood" Belfast said to Hood.

"What a crowd" Hood commented at the sight in front of them.

"Yes. I reckon it will be a catastrophe soon" Belfast said to Hood.

"Should we stop it from happening?" Hood asked Belfast then sipped on her drink.

"Do you think you could walk into that crowd of thirsty ladies and come out unscathed?" Belfast asked Hood with cocked eyebrows.

"…I don't think so, especially if there's Akagi there…this will quickly turn into a brawl" Hood said to Belfast with half closed eyes.

"I agree…In the meantime, I propose we stay here for a bit and only interfere if things goes sideways" Belfast said to Hood.

"How do you do, Ms. Secretary" Amagi approached the both of them while she smiled.

"Ah, Ms. Amagi. Yes we're fine" Hood said to Amagi while she smiled.

Both Hood and Belfast then returned their attention to William who's still being surrounded by multiple girls, Amagi followed their gaze and she sighed a bit. Well, it would seems Akagi have decided to joined in on the ship girls in wooing their commander and Amagi didn't expect that her little sister being so interested to their commander in short amount of time. It's been a while since she saw Akagi being clingy like that, last time it was her who had to deal with that clinginess but now it's their commander, hope he got saint like patient because Akagi could be a bit…forceful in her method.

"…Hah…Akagi, turned out a bit differently than I hoped" Amagi said out loud before she sighed.

"She is a bit clingy" Hood said to Amagi while she frowned a bit.

"She's just caring, a bit too much perhaps. It seems she's taken quite the liking to shikikan-sama" Amagi said to Hood as she also leaned on the tree.

"Indeed, I hoped she won't cause too much trouble" Hood said to Amagi while she smiled.

"I'll be sure to stop her if she went overboard" Amagi said to Hood while she also smiled.

"Some sake, Ms. Amagi?" Belfast offered Amagi a glass of sake that she's about to hand to William before.

"Ara, arigatou" Amagi said to Belfast while she smiled before she took the glass.

"…Ms. Amagi, I want to ask Lord William regarding the vacant position for strategic advisor. Do I have your consent?" Hood asked Amagi with serious expression.

"Ufufufufu…funny, he already said that he want me to become one back on Furushima" Amagi said to Hood while she smiled.

"Is that so? That is just splendid, you could become one immediately" Hood said to Amagi while she smiled.

"Ufufu, ah let's not get too ahead of ourselves. We still need his direct approval…By the way, Hood-san?" Amagi asked Hood after she sipped on the sake.

"Yes?" Hood responded to Amagi.

"Won't I will be taking your job if I become one?" Amagi asked Hood curiously.

"Ah no, I'm the one you check in with whenever Lord William isn't available. I'm basically his second in command and the one who summed up the details for him" Hood said to Amagi while she smiled.

"Good" Amagi nodded her head while she smiled.

Belfast and Hood smiled in return until they returned to see William's current condition and only found the wheelchair being empty with the previous girls nowhere to be found, naturally the both of them started to look around because William wouldn't be able to go far except if he's kidnapped. They soon found him on the stage where a band of Manjuus were playing soft relaxing music with the musical instruments, he spoke to the Manjuus for a bit and those chickens nodded their heads eagerly. One of the Manjuu let William have the keyboard, William grinned as he set the keyboard's setting before he took the mic in front of him.

"I'm here on the behalf of those ladies over there who says that I couldn't play any musical instrument. You know what? I do know how to play a keyboard!" William said out loud as he pointed at a group of ship girls.

"Prove it!" Prinz shouted out loud while she smirked.

"Bah, fine! Alright boys, let's hit them with a classic" William said to the Manjuus.

On the second thought, playing a keyboard with his busted left hand might be a bad idea. William moved his left hand fingers bit by bit for warm up, after he felt his left hand fingers able to move well to some degree William flexed his right hand. Now that he's ready, William decided to play some notes to make sure he got the right setting…the notes sounded just like how he intended it to, William let out a grin and hoped that he didn't get rusty from two years of not playing any piano or keyboard. Muscle memory, don't fuck this flexing show.

"Anyone knows what I will play?" William asked out loud.

"We're eager to find out!" Enterprise said to William.

"Alright then, here's a hint…I, Giorno Giovanna have a dream!" William said out loud while he grinned.

And just as he said that, he immediately hit the keys in the rhythmic and systemic order of the song that he's playing while the Manjuus behind him quickly played their own part. Il Vento D'oro, the one music that make him want to learn piano lesson back during first year of high school and spent years so he could play it perfectly. The music flew freely and when the beat drops many of the ship girls started dancing along with the music, not many of them actually knew where the song was from but it was so catchy and has sick beats that they danced anyway.

"He must be drunk" Hood commented out loud while she smiled.

"That's indeed a big possibility" Belfast said to Hood.

"Is there anything he couldn't do?" Amagi asked out loud.

"I think he's that kind jack of all trades man, learned everything he could and while not the best at it at least he could do it" Hood said to Amagi while she shrugged.

.

"What?" Lucas asked out loud as he leaned on his seat.

"He's out of action temporarily, it's his own decision" Nora said to Lucas as she held and read from her tablet.

"Damn…what else that Ms. Hood tell us?" Lucas asked Nora as he stopped leaning on his seat but to his desk.

"She suggested that we should refrain from giving him any field assignment for a while, that include any form of commission from the others as well…Written in full report by herself, would you like to see the report sir?" Nora asked Lucas as she shown him her tablet.

Lucas narrowed his gaze at the pad before he shook his head, he could read it later but at least he already knew the outline of the situation. Yup, he really didn't like what he heard and the fact that William lose means they should be prepared for the worst. Though, he was glad that few things did come to light on that commission. They now know it's possible to utilize Wisdom Cube as some sort of power generator, it's because how ALASUC manage to make the base design for Albion Battle Armor into an actual working power armor. They also know that Sakura Empire have successfully miniaturized an entire nuclear bomb into one small rugby sized device, it's a massive improvement compared to their standardized bombs and ICBMs warhead.

"No, it's fine…This severely limits our options though. Do you think we can execute this without him?" Lucas asked Nora while he frowned.

"I have some confidence that Task Force Pluvia is sufficient to execute this kind of mission, but without Helena's approval I wouldn't be able to command them" Nora said to Lucas as she smiled a bit.

"…In that case, I want you to get a unit to do a clean sweep in New York. Snuff every of those bastards out" Lucas said to Nora with serious face.

"What about rules of engagement?" Nora asked Lucas.

"We have no time to follow Geneva Convention and be a saint, unless they surrender with their pants wet I want shoot on sight policy" Lucas said to Nora while he scowled.

"Got it sir. I'll prepare a team right away" Nora said to Lucas as she saluted at him.

Nora turned around and exited the room, when she opened the door from inside Lucas' office she was greeted by Lena herself who's about to knock the door. Both ladies smiled at each other and exchanged short greetings before both of them are on their merry way, Nora went to prepare the team that Lucas asked while Lena went inside Lucas' office and shut the door. Lucas was busy signing few documents on his desk before he looked up to see Lena, Lucas immediately put down his pen.

"Ah, just the one I want to talk to" Lucas said to Lena while he smiled.

"Shit really went down on Furushima huh?" Lena asked out loud.

"Yeah, to sum it up your ex need some extended vacation. Why don't you go and see him?" Lucas asked Lena while he smiled.

"I'm not taking any chances when Lockwood is on the loose…God, we almost got him!" Lena said to Lucas while she scowled.

The smile on Lucas face instantly disappeared when the talk headed into that direction, he himself was pretty pissed at the situation. To sum it up, these few days Lena and Lucas identified the 'traitors' within Azur Lane intelligence division after gathering sufficient evidence regarding their involvement with Crimson Cleanser and Marry Chemical Attacks. It's a two way operation, Lucas led the Azur Lane Military Police to apprehend those within the intelligence division in surprise raid on the headquarter itself while Lena led group of Azur Lane Army Commandos to apprehend or neutralize Anthony Lockwood on his private mansion within Iris Orthodoxy.

Lucas surprise raid worked perfectly, dozens of personnel and several high ranking members of the division were caught with their pants down and the surprise raid within the headquarters though predictable was executed with such rapidness that they couldn't react. Lena's side however had to suffer failure, the raid was executed at night where the commandos stealthily infiltrated the perimeter of the mansion, but Lockwood somehow find out about the raid. He's just in time to escape and the unit failed to take down the helicopter he's using to bail out of his mansion, Lena was fuming for two days because of that.

"Of course he'll be tipped off by the traitors" Lucas said to Lena while he scoffed.

"…What's our next move?" Lena asked Lucas.

"Same as before. We keep hunting him down" Lucas said to Lena with serious face.

"Shouldn't we handle the other hideouts for those Crimson Cleanser first?" Lena asked Lucas while she cocked her eyebrows.

"I already told Nora to handle the one in New York. Erich handled the one in Osaka, what remains is on London…You know I planned to include William on this one, any business with Ronald should include the two of you. But with his condition, he need to rest for quite a while" Lucas said to Lena while he shrugged.

"Don't worry, he already got enough dealing with the Siren. I'll be the one handling the operation in London" Lena said to Lucas with serious face.

Oh he bet she couldn't wait to get her hands on Ronald, busting four safe house at the same time then there's a good chance that they'll find him holed up there. But if what he knew about this entire thing with Crimson Cleanser are true, then it could be guaranteed that their higher ups are elusive enough to avoid their effort to capture them by various tricks in the books…Lucas however determined to put an end to this entire drama because with Crimson Cleanser existence they're forced to split their forces into two and he didn't like it, he pretty much want to end this as quickly as possible. However, if Lena decided to lead the operation? He's pretty much concerned about her…She haven't been stable in regards of this entire problem with Crimson Cleanser.

"…Alright, take every Intel we can get our hands on. But promise me one thing, Lena" Lucas said to Lena with serious face.

"What is it?" Lena asked Lucas.

"Don't engage him if you see him" Lucas said to Lena, he's sure Lena knew who is he talking about.

"…You're going to make me lose my chance to avenge my brother and Jenny" Lena said to Lucas while she deeply frowned.

"You can do as you like when we got him in our hands, kill him, torture him, I don't care. Just don't take any unnecessary risks" Lucas said to Lena while he also frowned.

"I don't believe it'll be that easy" Lena said to Lucas while she smiled bitterly.

Oh she could already imagined how troublesome this raid will be, she has resolved herself that she and William will be the one who will put an end to Ronald but if William couldn't participate then she pretty much will do it herself. Lena doubted that Ronald would be stupid enough to remain in a safe house which he should know to be compromised by now, but if he's there…she'll be more than happy to put a bullet between his eyes.

"When it ever does in this line of work, eh?" Lucas said to Lena while he grinned.

"Fufufu…By the way, I've read the report from Hood" Lena said to Lucas.

"All of it?" Lucas asked Lena.

"Of course, that's why I took so long to get here…Now that we know something that powerful exist, I was wondering on that genetic modification plan progress" Lena said to Lucas as she folded her arms.

"Going smoothly, very smoothly. I'd expect direct test result within months' time" Lucas said to Lena.

"Any possible side effect?" Lena asked Lucas while she narrowed her gaze.

"There is, testing with some rabbits is errr…" Lucas said to Lena before he stopped and looked to the side.

"You look hesitant. Come on Lucas, don't keep me in the dark" Lena said to Lucas with half opened eyes.

"Gah fine…The first few months? They are basically sex monster, the hormone production during the modification process was so overwhelming they're basically horny overtime. This is a rabbit we're talking about, of course their sex drive is quite high already…But the result makes us wonder on the effect against a human" Lucas explained to Lena regarding the side effect of the genetic modification.

"As if William would have a problem, I think several ship girls are more than willing to get into his pants" Lena said to Lucas while she folded her arms and stared at him with half closed eyes.

"…That's what not what I suggested for some side effect treatment but hey, good suggestion nonetheless. Think we could get some research sex tape from it?" Lucas asked Lena while he grinned.

"Dude…" Lena actually stared at Lucas with disgusted face.

"Haha! Kidding, don't worry I'm a bastard but not that much of a bastard. Other than that, we basically see the desirable growth from the modification. Stronger muscles, faster reflex, increased endurance and even slight change to their appearance" Lucas said to Lena after he chuckled.

"Hope this slight change didn't involve any claws or fangs" Lena said to Lucas as she shrugged then smiled.

"Nah, just their fur colors and eyes. It changed into different colors when the process was completed, it's another side effect but I guess it won't be much of a problem if William did experienced it" Lucas said to Lena to reassure her.

"I see. Well, let me know when Lockwood turn up, this time I'll go with Pluvia to capture him" Lena said to Lucas as she turned around to leave the room.

"You're willing to pull your task force from combat against Sirens just to catch this one man?" Lucas asked Lena with intrigued tone.

"It's time to put this bullshit to an end and I'm willing to go lengths to make sure it will" Lena said to Lucas with a determined face.

Lena then closed the door to Lucas office, the man inside stood up and looked outside the window to see the view of Azur Lane HQ in the middle of harsh rain. Lucas contemplated everything that's been happening, what should Azur Lane do next? What did the Sirens actually planned? Lucas decided to turn on the TV on his office for some ambience sound which coincidentally on the news channel. The news talked regarding the usual, situation around the world, the Siren War, public figures keeping the public morale strong, some propaganda broadcast, military recruitment advertisement and some news regarding the weather. Lucas then heard the door to his office was knocked once again and it was opened few seconds later, a black haired woman with a low bun hairstyle, dressed in black turtleneck sweater, cream knee length skirt and wearing a lab coat entered the room. Lucas caught the face of the person from the reflection on the window, he sighed a bit before he turned around.

"Diana" Lucas greeted Diana Blaze, William's mother.

"Lucas, I'm here to report" Diana said to Lucas as she offered him a folder.

"Report eh, what do you have for me?" Lucas asked Diana as he read the content.

"The team did completed the exoskeleton model for Plan Bellator Luminis 'Heavy Infantry' unit and the testing cleared out all doubt regarding field application, but your next demand is quite…unreasonable, something that I didn't expect from you" Diana said to Lucas while she put her hands on her hips.

"Oh? Your team was mad?" Lucas asked Diana while he smiled.

"Mad is an understatement, they started ranting about you not knowing anything concerning science especially in engineering and astrophysics. I thought they're right, since you ask for a hovering warship" Diana said to Lucas while she frowned.

"I thought Wisdom Cube would solve everything?" Lucas asked Diana while he grinned.

"Listen here you piece of-" Diana said to Lucas while she scowled.

"Whoa! Easy, you need some rest if small joke like that blew your fuse off. Calm down, take a seat" Lucas said to Diana.

Diana sighed out loud as she sit down on the chair in front of Lucas desk, the man went to the side a bit to make some tea while Diana massaged her right temple as she try to prepare her argument regarding the current matter they're about to discuss. Lucas put down a cup of jasmine tea in front of Diana, she took the cup and sipped it's content before she put it down and stared at Lucas who enjoyed his blend of coffee…Lucas need to convince Diana for this one, she's one of the brightest mind humanity have and already served within Azur Lane for years. Her loyalty is unquestionable so he felt he could speak more details to her without having to worry much, he needed to do that if he want her on board.

"All I asked is a design, not the actual thing" Lucas said to Diana as he put down the cup of coffee on his desk.

"Yes I know, but even designing it would take months! Not to mention those months we spend on this very advanced planning of yours? We could create something that's immediately accessible to us. We can worry about a hovering warship like on those sci-fi movies after we sort out the current plan, alright?" Diana said to Lucas while she frowned.

"Even though we knew we could create a functioning one?" Lucas asked Diana with cocked eyebrows and little smirk on his face.

"…Look, I was half joking about disassembling a mass produced Siren destroyer model. Besides, how do you know that their engine provide sufficient thrust power?" Diana said to Lucas with half closed eyes.

"Think about it. Their portal capabilities, they didn't even use propeller to move the ship on water which mean it has significant thrust power already and I bet this month paycheck that the ship is environmentally sealed. It's a literal space ship!" Lucas said to Diana while he grinned.

"…While maybe you're right, the request still going to mess up with our schedule Lucas" Diana said to Lucas as she folded her arms.

"I'm willing to take three months setback or even less if possible so you and your team could work together to put on a working prototype design, a test ship in a size of a modern frigate would be a good start…You don't need to worry about actually creating it, I'll handle that part" Lucas said to Diana while he smirked.

…Diana cocked her eyebrows as she leaned on her seat, let Lucas handle creating it? Wait, did he really have a group ready to construct something that has never been created before? Diana believed he could do it though, Lucas is resourceful man and having entire Azur Lane at his own disposal would mean it's a child's play for him to gather those kind of people. Diana also thought about it, a prototype space ship at the size of a modern day frigate? It's quite large but a sufficient platform for a test bed. That also mean if they want to test it out, they would have to somehow replicate or reverse engineered Siren mass produced ship engine…The more she thought about it the more convinced Diana is regarding the possibility of creating this prototype, but there's still one thing she didn't get. Why?

"…Okay…if you're this insistent, but answer me this…why did you suddenly divert from the original plan?" Diana asked Lucas, she is honestly curious.

"…I realized that even Project Custos Terrae didn't have any sort of backup plan. That ship, would be the first step in creating one" Lucas said to Diana while he stared down to his desk.

"And this is supposed to be more powerful than the ship girls?" Diana asked Lucas regarding the prototype warship.

"Yes and no. We couldn't replace the ship girls with these ships, they're too valuable and useful. I hoped that these ships would be a standard in the next few years though, equipped with the best arsenal humanity have including the ones from Project Custos Terrae" Lucas said to Diana.

"But it's still a fleet of mass produced ships in the end…I'm not a strategist like you and Lena, Lucas. How do you plan to win a war with that?" Diana asked Lucas in confused tone.

"Who said anything about winning?" Lucas immediately said to Diana.

It's not about winning the war? Then what is it about? It was right there and then that Diana widened her bright blue eyes in realization, this is not for winning the war but it's for the endgame nonetheless…Lucas actually thought what would happen if they lost the war, he really thought out a way if they lost the fight against the Siren! He asked for a hovering warship with environmentally sealed hull? He's asking for a space warship! If he's asking for a space warship, then the conclusion for the escape route is space!

"…You intend to escape to space!?" Diana asked Lucas with widened eyes.

"Well, not me. I'm dying on this planet, sooner or later. It's for our civilization…Let's be realistic here, we only have a small chance to win against these aliens. If we have to seek a new home out in the vast ocean of stars? Then so be it. Humanity must continue to live on, even if we have to leave our home behind. We started to get the necessary things bit by bit, we could achieve it through the raw untapped potential of the wisdom cubes. We just need to figure out how it actually works" Lucas said to Diana with serious face.

"…So this is for a worst case scenario? Mass exodus to outer space?" Diana asked Lucas with solemn expression.

"…Basically. It'll be even better if we could develop that portal technology the Siren was using for our own end" Lucas said to Diana while smiled somberly.

"Yes, there are lots of question regarding that. Sirens keep showing up from the portals…but from where? There has to be some place on the other side of the portals, like their planet or even some kind of staging area" Diana said to Lucas.

"Combined that with the potential habitable planet out there for humans, sending a probe to that area to inspect its biosphere and if it is suitable? Boom, sayonara Earth hello Earth 2.0" Lucas said to Diana while he smiled widely.

"…This is some mad plan, hah…" Diana said to Lucas before she sighed.

"Some great inventors and explorers in the past were considered mad, look what they achieved?" Lucas asked Diana while he grinned.

"Right…I guess some steps could be taken on this field early on. I'll see what we can do" Diana said to Lucas with eyes closed, oh hell she's now committed to this one.

"Splendid Diana, I owe you one" Lucas said to Diana as he smiled gratefully.

"Oh you owe me? Then raise my paycheck and buy me a plane ticket, I want to visit William" Diana said to Lucas while she grinned.

"Hoho, consider it done ma'am" Lucas said to Diana while he smiled widely.

"Good, how soon can I go?" Diana asked Lucas.

"How about this weekend?" Lucas asked Diana back.

"I'd love to, thank you" Diana said to Lucas while she smiled.

…Diana stood up from her seat, she started to walk away from the room before she stopped just before she exited the office...That backup plan that Lucas said to her would only going to be initiated if they lost this war, right? If they won then they won't have to escape to the stars, right? Diana was pretty conflicted about this, but she have to keep her head on the swivel. There's so many hazards and challenge regarding this escape plan and the colonization of the other planet if they indeed found one. They could also could die slowly in space during their journey, but Diana thought its better than staying on a doomed planet waiting to get killed in the corner…Humanity had to survive at all cost.

"Lucas" Diana called out his name as she looked back.

"Yes?" Lucas asked Diana.

"…This entire plan…this would only be implemented if we lose, right?" Diana asked Lucas.

"Only if we lose" Lucas confirmed to Diana.

"…Then let's win this" Diana said to Lucas with serious expression on her face.

"Believe me, I'll die trying…" Lucas said to Diana with equally serious face.

* * *

…**Optimism is a great thing to have but one should always prepare for the worst, the war with the Siren will take everything humanity got and it's time for them to start preparing for any scenarios. Thanks for the follow, favorite and the review everyone, have to say that this story is the longest I ever wrote and it's been quite the experience. Next one might take a while because of one thing, grinding…Why? RICHELIEU STILL REFUSE ME! Man, I know I'm quite sinful with my hentai bookmarks and some smut writing but please grace my dock with your holy presence, I've been waiting for you! I can guarantee you a permanent spot on my secretary rooster! A flagship position alongside your sister and an oath ring waiting for you! Shit, can't believe I'm this desperate for a waifu…Oh well, sorry for the rant, just need to get it out somehow because yelling it in my house will grant me an instant whooping.**

**See you next time!**

**\- Dasmara**


	25. Eden, here we come!

William dressed himself with his black jacket he had over his green t-shirt and jeans, he walked outside the admin building while he reveled that despite its being five thirty in the morning the sky is still dark. A gust of wind passed over him and William shuddered, damn it's quite cold and he tried to rub his hands before he realized that his left hand is still injured. He decided to just shrug it off and started walking around the base, he couldn't fell asleep again after waking up and thus he decided to go outside to breathe in some fresh air…William walked all the way to the pier area where he could see the sun rise, the light already shown up on the horizon so it won't be long before he could see the sun's coming up. After carefully walking down the stairs to the edge of the pier William could see a silhouette of someone sitting on the edge of the pier, it's a girl with twin tailed red hair. After walking closer William finally could make up the details to identify her, she's Zara.

"Zara?" William called out to her.

"Ah, salve Comandante. What brings you here?" Zara turned around while she smiled then asked.

"I could ask you the same question" William said to Zara while he smiled a bit.

"Answering a question with a question, hmm?" Zara said to William while she smirked.

"…Fine, I'll concede. I'm here simply for morning fresh air" William said to Zara.

"Aren't you still injured to move around this far?" Zara asked William with concerned tone.

"It wasn't as bad as yesterday. I've been resting for so long I'm feeling sluggish, figure a walk might be a good light exercise" William said to Zara while he shrugged.

"Is that so…care to join me?" Zara asked William.

"Sure" William said to Zara while he nodded.

Zara scooted over to the side and William carefully lowered himself so he could sit beside her, Zara noticed that William was even bigger up close because he took up a lot more space than she thought he would but the close contact between them was worth it because of his body heat and it really helped her out in this chilly morning. Zara looked at William before she leaned her own body against him and stared to see his reaction, he didn't seemed to mind so Zara took it a step further by putting her right cheek over his left arm. William glanced to the side and something clicked on his head, Zara must be cold. So, he did what every man would do since the ancient times, William unzipped his jacket and put it over Zara. The sheer size of the jacket was enough to conceal Zara's entire upper body like a blanket, her cheeks flushed as she started to warm up…and touched that William noticed she was cold that quickly.

"A bit cold isn't it?" William asked Zara while he smiled.

"Hmm, thanks comandante. But, would it be fine for me to have your jacket?" Zara asked William while she smiled.

"You can have it, don't worry" William said to Zara.

"Grazie. You do know how to make a girl happy" Zara said to William while she smiled softly.

"Hehehe, a little secret? I'm usually a bumbling daft when it comes to women" William said to Zara while he shrugged.

"Oh? But don't you have girlfriend before you join this base? How did you managed to get in relationship with her if you're a 'bumbling daft'?" Zara asked William with narrowed gaze.

"Lena's a lot bolder than she let on you know? And well, I do have my moments" William said to Zara while he smiled confidently.

"Is that why you suddenly played the keyboard so expertly yesterday night? Who do you aim to charm back then hmm?" Zara curiously asked William.

"It's not like that Zara, I'm simply trying to prove that I could play something" William said to Zara.

"Was it Prinz who provoked you?" Zara asked William.

"No, it's Shoukaku" William said to Zara.

"Ah…" Zara said out loud while she nodded her head.

Safe to say the party got a little wild last night when William decided to play some music with the keyboard while the Manjuus around him played the other instrument, things got even more heated when Lexington and Saratoga came up on stage in which they started to sing Idol songs. Then Illustrious also came up on stage who decided to sing some calming and relaxing song, there's Akagi who got up on stage because she's drunk enough to sing an Enka song, Scharnhorst was also drunk enough to came up on stage to sing a metal song which resulted in Formidable being her most enthusiastic listener since she's a great fan of the band, William took a turn by singing 'Red Baron' but relented from singing anymore after he's done since his throat became sore, Enterprise was dragged by Hornet up stage where they sung 'Country Road' together, San Diego decided to drop in and well…everyone knows what happened next. All in all it was a great night and William found himself quite elated after spending time and energy with the ship girls, he should do this more often.

"…By the way, how was the pasta?" Zara asked William.

"As the delicious when I first tasted it, you're quite good" William said to Zara while he smiled.

"Of course, I've added secret ingredient to the sauce" Zara said to William.

"Is it love?" William brazenly answered.

"Too bad~, you're wrong" Zara said to William while she smirked then winked.

"Aww" William sagged his shoulder playfully.

"…Because if I really put it in, you'll come gunning straight for me" Zara leaned on William and whispered.

"Bold words, can you back it up?" William asked Zara while he grinned.

"Don't underestimate Sardegna women when they try to make a man fall in love with their cooking, comandante…Those girls better be on the lookout~" Zara said out loud while she smirked.

"Are you implying what I'm thinking right now?" William asked Zara while he grinned.

"Who knows~. You want answers? You'll know when the time comes…I'll be going ahead first, I have something to do" Zara said to William as she stood up.

"Yeah. If anyone ask, I'll be here for a while" William said to Zara as he stared back at the sea.

"Understood. Catch you later~" Zara said to William then left the pier.

Enterprise huffed as she ran in steady pace while dressed in track suit, she's resolved to run at least two laps circling the entire base and that included the dorms area. Why? Well, she stepped up on a weight measurement equipment for shit and giggles and found out that her weight have gone up two kilograms. Horror painted on her face before she grabbed her track suit and started running, she's not getting fat! While making her way to the main compound she decided to take the path near the pier where she saw Zara walking while wearing an oversized black jacket, Enterprise smiled and was about to greet her until she realized that Zara was wearing a very familiar jacket…

"Zara? Isn't that commander's jacket?" Enterprise asked Zara with cocked eyebrows.

"Why yes, he gave it to me just now~. If you're looking for him, he's on the pier" Zara said to Enterprise while she smiled.

"I see" Enterprise said to Zara.

"I'll be going ahead" Zara walked past Enterprise while she waved.

"Yeah" Enterprise nodded her head.

Enterprise's lips curled downwards a bit before she walked to the pier and saw William who's still seated on the edge of the pier while he stared to the sun rising, she walked over and got closer to him. William heard footsteps from behind and he's sure that it wasn't Zara so he turned around to see Enterprise staring at him in an unreadable expression? William narrowed his right eye as he try to decipher her expression, but before he could ask Enterprise decided to speak first.

"…Didn't know you're giving free clothes to girls now, commander" Enterprise said to William.

"I can give you my shirt if you like?" William said to Enterprise.

"Hahaha, no please don't, you'll get cold...That being said though, I never expected you to wake up this early" Enterprise said to William while she smiled.

"I've had too much rest, Enterprise" William said to Enterprise while he shrugged

"I know the feeling, but you can't strain yourself just yet" Enterprise said to William.

"Heh, right…where are you going?" William asked Enterprise.

"Um, morning run?" Enterprise said to William.

"Ah, go ahead. I'll be going back to my room for a bit" William said to Enterprise as he stood up.

"Shall I take you there?" Enterprise asked William while she smiled.

"Hahaha, don't worry about me. Continue your run, burn those fats" William said to Enterprise while he smiled.

"Alright then" Enterprise nodded her head.

William walked toward the admin building, he entered it and contemplated to going back to bed before he passed his room in favor of going to his office. He booted up his computer on his desk and browsed for some messages or any calls since his phone is…well, 'unrepairable' in a sense. Wow, there's several mails so let's see, single girls in your area advertisement? Really? There's hundreds of them on the place he's living in now! William proceed to delete all of the spam messages but he was dejected when he saw his inbox was empty, not even a message he sent to his sister got a reply from her. Maybe she's just busy…William browsed the website for a bit before he felt something, a sharp discomfort on his stomach and he instantly know what happened.

"You know what? I'm getting fast food" William said out loud as he proceed to call the number for a fast food restaurant with his computer.

"This is KFC, may I take your order?" The operator answered.

"Uh…any large sized breakfast menu?" William asked the operator.

"We could get you our special breakfast set menu sir" The operator said to William.

"Any recommendation?" William asked the operator.

"For a chilly morning like today breakfast menu set two might do. It's two chicken breast, large French fries, large chicken burger, chicken nuggets and large sized coffee" The operator explained to William.

"You got any tea?" William asked the operator.

"We do have iced tea" The operator said to William.

"The warm one?" William asked the operator.

"Yeah we also have em, but it's not included in the package" The operator said to William.

"Don't worry, throw that in" William said to the operator.

"Uh right sir. Will you pay with cash or credit?" The operator asked William.

"Credits please, Azur Lane International" William said to the operator.

"Got it…ID?" The operator asked William.

"William Blaze" William said to the operator.

"…Alright, payment set. Where should we deliver it?" The operator asked William.

"Uh, you guys know the military base?" William asked the operator.

"There are two of them sir, which one is it?" The operator asked William.

"The one on the southwest side, tell your driver I'll be waiting on the front gate" William said to the operator.

"Understood. Thank you for ordering, we'll deliver your order shortly" The operator said to William.

"Much appreciated" William said to the operator before he hanged up the call.

William locked his computer and he walked toward the only entrance to the base from the island which is the bridge that connected the base to the island which is barren most of the time, he walked toward the large gate and saw the Manjuus around it and one on the guard post. William looked at the Manjuu on the guard post and pointed at the gate in which the Manjuu responded by pressing the gate control button which opened the gate wide, William took a spare folding chair from the guard post, set it up beside the gate and sit there as he leaned on the chair while waiting for his order to arrive…after waiting approximately fifteen minutes while bathing with the morning sunlight William heard the faint sound of an engine coming from his right, he turned to the right and saw someone with red clothes riding a red colored scooter approaching him. The person arrived and yeah, it's the delivery person. The young woman stared at William for a bit before she asked if he's the one who ordered.

"You're the one who ordered?" The woman asked William.

"Yeah" William said to the woman while he nodded.

"Here you go, Breakfast Set Two with hot tea" The woman said to William as she handed him his food.

"Thanks. Here, keep the change" William said to the woman while he gave her a bundle of cash.

"Eh? T-Thank you sir!" The woman looked taken aback and nodded her head in gratitude.

"Yeah, you're welcome" William said to the woman while he smiled.

The woman turned the scooter around and headed back to the city, William stared at the large box on his hand and he smelled it…Oh man, his mouth is watering already from the smell alone. He put the box on his lap and opened the packaging before he grinned, man he's going to enjoy this. William took the chicken and he's chewing on it, he also grabbed several of the french fries and stuffed his mouth with it. William briefly contemplated whether to drink the coffee or the tea first before he decided to gulp down the tea, he grabbed the chicken burger and started eating it when he noticed that there's two Manjuus in front of him looking at his food. William ignored their stare as he munched the chicken burger, however many more shown up and stared at him that William couldn't just ignored their stare.

"What? Want some? Alright fine, you guys can have some" William said to the Manjuus.

William grabbed the box and offered it to the Manjuus, one of them approached him and took a french fries and popped it to it's mouth. The Manjuu flapped its wings happily and nodded at each other before two of them snatched the box and proceed to ran, William was stunned by the audacity of those chickens that it took him five seconds to process on what the actual fuck that is going on. When he do however he's so pissed that he stood up abruptly and chased at the fleeing horde of Manjuus, William however found out that he couldn't run just yet and it was quite painful for him to move fast. He's so pissed that he threw his large cup of coffee at the fleeing Manjuus and has little effect to deter them, now he's even more pissed...

"MOTHERFUCKER!" William shouted at the Manjuus.

"Master?" Someone said out loud but William didn't heard them.

"Hah…if only I could identify them personally, I'll cook those chickens to replace the chickens they ate…Wait a fucking second, did they just committed cannibalism?!" William said out loud with horrified face.

"Master, I've been looking for you everywhere" Belfast said to William and tapped William's back.

"Oh, hey Belfast" William said to Belfast while he frowned.

"What are you doing on the front gate? Is that fast food packaging?" Belfast asked William while she pointed at the empty packaging being blown by the wind.

"…Yeah" William answered Belfast while he stared at the empty packaging as he frowned in sadness.

"You have that as…breakfast?" Belfast said to William while she blanched.

"…Why did you looked disgusted?" William asked Belfast with half closed eye.

"Forgive me, I just find fast food to be…unappealing. I can made breakfast that should be even more delicious and has more nutrients than that" Belfast said to William.

"Forgive me too, but sometimes nothing could beat a good dose of MSG…Hah, well, anyway, I guess I need to prepare myself for the day if you're coming to get me" William said to Belfast.

"That's correct. Let's get you cleaned up and prepared for duty, Madam Hood is already waiting for you in the office" Belfast said to William while she smiled.

William only sighed as he followed Belfast back to the administration building, he's still hungry and now it's time to work already? Well, not going to lie, he's in shitty mood right now and hoped that the paperwork for today won't be horrendous. He better be ready, maybe he should asked Belfast to cook him something? Yeah, that sounded like a good plan. A full stomach would at least prevented his emotion from spiking and perhaps make him forget about this entire incident…If those chickens weren't so important for the base…

"…Belfast?" William called her name.

"Yes master?" Belfast asked William while she smiled.

"If it's not troubling, can you prepare me some breakfast?" William asked Belfast.

"I thought you already ate, master?" Belfast asked William confusedly.

"Those damn chickens ate my entire breakfast…" William said to Belfast while he scowled.

"Ufufufufufu…Then I shall prepare a meal for you" Belfast giggled before she said to William while she smiled.

.

…Several days later things still run pretty smoothly for ALASUC, no large commissions coming, no enemies around the perimeter of the island and William alongside the ship girls could rest easy with some light work and occasional patrols. He also found that the paperwork for the past few days to be much lighter in load, Hood had took most of the complicated one so William was very grateful to his beautiful secretary. They're currently working on the last few paperwork they have for the day before both William and Hood could take it easy for the remainder of the day, however the ship girls gathered on the office proven to be quite noisy the longer they stayed there.

"Why did my office suddenly become a lounge for you ladies!?" William asked out loud to the ship girls on his sofa.

"Oh don't be such a pooper! We want to spend time with you too!" Saratoga said to William.

"I do appreciate the sentiment but I'm currently working, and could you even count looking at Juustagram together as spending time with me?" William asked Saratoga.

But Saratoga didn't listen as she alongside San Diego's attention was taken by a cute cat video, William was wondering on why didn't Hood reprimanded them when the two of them clearly disturbed the overall calmness of the office and only to found Hood was quite busy herself with the remaining paperwork which she worked on with unwavering concentration…William sighed a bit and was about to resumed his work when Hood suddenly stood up with two stacks of paper and told the two ship girls to delivered it toward Eagle Union dorms, Saratoga and San Diego immediately complied and walked out of the office. William's mouth dropped in confusion, why didn't they listened to him and why did they listened to Hood?!

"…They're not listening to me" William said to Hood.

"You're just being too lenient" Hood said to William while she smiled.

"…What did you do?" William asked Hood curiously.

"Oh? I just threatened them to stop bothering us" Hood said to William while she smiled.

"How?" William asked Hood with widened eye.

"Now the method, I'm not willing to share that one" Hood said to William while she grinned.

"Welp, it's not like the curiosity will kill me…What are they looking at anyway? A cat? Is it a Juustagram star?" William asked out loud.

"To be fair, cute things always managed to become a Juustagram star" Hood said to William.

"Then why are you not one, Hood?" William asked Hood while he smiled a bit.

"Oh my, I thought you considered me beautiful not cute" Hood said to William while she smiled.

"Hmm? Beautiful and cute isn't the same?" William asked Hood with confused tone.

"I think there's a slight difference between the two. Besides, did you really want me to become famous and possibly have so many suitors?" Hood asked William while she smirked a bit.

"Oh hell no, those bloody bastards have to go over my dead body" William said to Hood while he smirked.

"Ufufu, oh so you want to monopolize me that much…Eh? Will, there's an incoming video call" Hood said to William.

"Oh, right" William said out loud as he received the call.

"Blue sky motherfucker!" Someone on the other side immediately said out loud.

The screen shown up in front of William and suddenly the image of Lucas himself appeared, William jerked in surprise while Hood stared at the screen while she furrowed her brows and frowning. Lucas however only smiled when he saw William who's about to blow a fuse if it's not for his confusion regarding the message, blue sky? Why Lucas just suddenly contacted him while saying that? Was there any meaning behind the words 'blue sky' that he should remember?

"…What?" William asked Lucas with confused tone.

"Blue sky? Really? You forgot the code that signify the end of Trident Initiative?" Lucas said to William while he frowned.

"Oh…to be honest, the code is so generic I thought it's just another words with simple meaning" William said to Lucas while he shrugged.

"Well of course that's what I will do, you want some fancy one like Biggus Dickus?" Lucas asked William while he grinned.

"Hey, not a bad idea" William said to Lucas while he sneered.

"Right? Hahaha…Okay, dicking around aside. We finally got the whole situation on the headquarters under control, with some complication" Lucas said to William with serious face.

"Lay it on me" William said to Lucas as he nodded.

"Lockwood managed to escape" Lucas said to William.

"…Lockwood? Antonio Lockwood? That Major General?" William asked Lucas with surprised face.

"I haven't told you about him?" Lucas asked William with cocked eyebrows.

"Yeah. Isn't he the one who helped Iris Orthodoxy back during the Great War from Sardegna Empire offensive?" William asked Lucas.

"He was, the man is in permanent seat of Azur Lane High Command Council, which really irked and anger me when we found out that he's cooperating with Ronald directly. It's even possible that these 'Crimson Cleanser' is actually a rogue unit created by Lockwood, someone had to train those disillusioned terrorist right? There's a chance that some member of Azur Lane military have gone rogue" Lucas said to William while he frowned.

…Antonio Lockwood? Amongst the forces in Europe or Higher Ups, who doesn't know the man? In the early stages of the war Major General Antonio Lockwood was in charge of Azur Lane 14th Army which was responsible for halting the advance of Sardegna Empire 40th Army advance toward Iris Orthodoxy border. The fierce fight there was won by Azur Lane due to Lockwood's clever tactics, he realized that the Sardegna Empire Army advanced through a narrow gap on his defensive formation and thus he decided to encircle the entire army then pushed them to the seas. Sardegna Empire 40th Army was unprepared for the encirclement so they had to fight with their back to the seas, it was a fierce fight because it's the beginning of the war and moral was still high so the men fought till the end. The 40th Army was saved when Sardegna Empire 7th Army managed to hit Lockwood's flank and forced them back all the way to Iris Orthodoxy border where they are locked in a stalemate for months before Lockwood and his army had to retreat when Ironblood 9th Panzer Division moved in from the north, the action bought Iris Orthodoxy some time to organized an effective resistance movement and paved the way for the formation of Iris Libre. Many of Iris Libre commander and higher ups survived the initial invasion because of his action, Lockwood managed to strategically influence the war outcomes.

Lockwood has strong opinion against Crimson Axis even before the war started, calling them traitors and such names. Even back then before they broke up from Azur Lane and encountered the Sirens, the countries that's with Crimson Axis have always been known for their different problem solving methods that often put them at odds with the other countries…William understand that back then Crimson Axis could present a problem for Azur Lane continual operation but for that feeling to last even after the war? It's understandable that not many among the Azur Lane have positive opinion about their former enemies but even those people are willing to work together because of Sirens. Given how Crimson Cleanser was created with the sole purpose of resuming the war, their members believed that the peace they have now is very temporary and Crimson Axis could just betrayed them during this war in order to win against Azur Lane. The prove was there when Crimson Axis worked together with the Sirens temporarily, they could do so again after luring the Azur Lane into false sense of alliance. William found this fear to be in the level of paranoia…Is it possible that their entire movement was created by Lockwood in order to achieve his personal gain? Since the ones who joined this movement possessed the same thought as him?

They know why Crimson Cleanser was created, they know that Lockwood is involved with them and so William still have one question left…did he did this pure out of his hatred for Crimson Axis or was it something else? Some missing details in the bigger picture? What did he aim for destabilizing the alliance between the two great coalitions? Surely, William know that Lockwood intention isn't as simple as restarting the war with the Crimson Axis…If he want to be more 'hypothetical' William have a theory…Lockwood want to destabilize the alliance between Azur Lane and Crimson Axis, that destabilization could result in political impact that put Lucas leadership into question since he couldn't stop Crimson Cleanser action, William didn't doubt that someone out there within the Azur Lane High Command Council actually disliked or outright hated how Lucas run things which is natural in any organization when so many people involved in…Is all this are nothing but slow and methodical attempt for leadership change? To set a perfect scenario so Lucas could be replaced without outright killing or undermining him?

"…Will?" Lucas asked William.

"Sorry, a bit lost in thought there. What about the unit he led?" William asked Lucas.

"Investigation is being conducted by our Military Polices, we're waiting on the result but there's a great chance some of them did gone rogue…We're on the global manhunt for him" Lucas said to William while he frowned.

"A veteran like him, it's hard to believe at first but…with his strong opinion against Crimson Axis, it made senses. But, why involved Ronald with this? What is he aiming? Ronald want to kill me, I get that but why took him in to get involved with this entire political bollocks?" William asked Lucas with confused tone.

"Maybe you can ask him when we got him. My theory? You're a direct threat for Lockwood and he want someone with experience with you to get rid of you, he couldn't bought the three friends of yours and…well, you know what happened" Lucas said to William.

Plausible, putting it from outside perspective William could be considered Lucas 'go to' man when it comes to military matters and Lucas put a great deal of trust to him, not to mention that William himself is former field leader of the infamous Elite Azur Lane Task Force Nimbus which has been known for its operational success and prowess in the great war. To put it simply, anyone who seeks to undermine Lucas would have to get rid of William first. Why? In their eyes, William's loyalty lay with Lucas and not to mention Lucas is supported by Helena McAllen herself who's not many in the headquarters like to mess with…Whoever that wants to destabilize Azur Lane? They're not going to like dealing with him who got reputation in massacring his own unit, even if that person is Lockwood himself.

"Interesting theory…So, what now?" William asked Lucas.

"Trident Initiative have been officially lifted, we could communicate like usual now and you know what to do next…We're moving in on the four safe houses across the world. Lieutenant Commander Nora led the team on New York, Erich send someone to handle the one in Osaka and Lena will take on the safe houses in London" Lucas said to William.

"Lena will?" William asked Lucas with cocked eyebrows.

"Yes…She haven't been stable lately, there must be a lot on her plate given with this job and the situation back home" Lucas said to William while he frowned.

"Have she take any breaks?" William asked Lucas while he frowned.

"No and that's what worries me, she busied herself, something must've happened" Lucas said to William.

…Now Lena also acted strangely, it must be the whole responsibilities she had added with the constant pressure within her family. Lena came from a well-known family originated from Eagle union but stayed in British isle, her family owned the McAllen Enterprise which is a large trading company and the CEO is quite an asshole to speak William never even once managed to get in his good grace despite his best effort. Not to mention since the great war and added with the ongoing Siren war business haven't been that great so a political marriage with the son of a large shipping company CEO would do well to save them from bankruptcy…well, Lena refused this with all her might but finally agreed to it when she got no other choice because she's hounded day and night with order for political marriage. At first, Lena try to at least appreciate her husband but things didn't go so well for them in the end…Lucas have thought up lots of ways in order for Lena to be freed from this position, technically speaking she could do so in a heartbeat because of her position in the military which all she have to do is to renounce the surname 'McAllen'…But for some reason, she still haven't done that. She surely got a reason, but she didn't speak about it to them just yet so Lucas and by extension William couldn't help her.

"…Could it be the situation with her family?" William asked Lucas.

"Most likely…You should talk to her, I'll let you know when she's available…Oh my yes, I have even better idea" Lucas said to William.

"Hmm?" William asked Lucas with narrowed gaze.

"Construction can finally commence with your base, we got the time and resources for the renovation. You and the girls will take an extended leave, for a week to Eden" Lucas said to William.

"A week?" William asked Lucas with cocked eyebrows.

"Based on estimated completion time, I think it's more than enough. Lena and I will also come visit, how about it?" Lucas asked William while he grinned.

"…Sounds great, really. But do you know that I'm currently injured?" William asked Lucas with half closed eye.

"Well, I doubt Ms. Vestal would have any problem with your treatment even during vacation. The facility do have medical facility in case of injuries and your ride there also have medical facility" Lucas said to William.

"My ride there?" William asked Lucas.

"I'm sending a ship to your port for the journey" Lucas said to William while he smiled.

"…Wait, what ship?" William asked Lucas.

"My privately owned transport ship?" Lucas said to William nonchalantly.

"…How rich are you?!" William asked Lucas while he shouted.

"Ohoho, more than I'd like to admit. I told you already that money won't be an issue for me…That being said, the ship arrived tomorrow so you better get everyone ready today" Lucas said to William.

"I'd appreciate if you could give us more time to prepare in the future" William said to Lucas with half closed eye.

"Yeah yeah, sorry about that…So, you'll go?" Lucas asked William.

"I'd love to. What's the main attraction there?" William asked Lucas back.

"Oh it won't be fun if I spoil it for you. Come see for yourself" Lucas said to William while he grinned.

But really, a week-long vacation away from civilization might just what he need to unwind and have fun with the ship girls. Lucas have been quite nice to him, maybe William shouldn't hold his grudge regarding his imprisonment this long when Lucas have been trying to put effort to get in his good grace to fix the fuck up he did back then. Perhaps William should treated him better, he should stay in the old man's good grace because well…who knows what will happen in the future.

"Fine…Hey, thanks Lucas" William said to Lucas.

"You're actually thanking me? Who are you and what have you done with William?!" Lucas asked William with surprised face.

"Look, I'm not your biggest fan but I know what's a gratitude you twat!" William said to Lucas while he frowned.

"Bahahaha…Hah, I miss messing with you" Lucas said to William after he laughed.

"Act your age already, old man" William said to Lucas while he leaned on his seat.

"What? Boring and bitter? Didn't suit me at all don't you think?" Lucas asked William while he grinned.

"…I'd admit you're right to some extent…would that be all?" William asked Lucas while he smiled a bit.

"I think so. If there's anything I forget I'll contact you later" Lucas said to William.

"Got it" William said to Lucas while he nodded.

"Oh wait! There's something I indeed forgot! Your mom will come to visit!" Lucas said to William with widened eyes.

"What? When?" William asked Lucas as he stopped leaning on his seat.

"Today" Lucas said to William.

"Well thanks for the suddenness! Again! Shite, is she midflight?" William asked Lucas while he frowned.

"Ah…she's already landed" Lucas said to William while he checked his phone.

William felt his vein popped and there's a tick mark on his forehead as he hanged up the video call, goddamnit Lucas always like this! Every time William try to open up or even accepted Lucas as a friend something like this always happened! Now, Diana is planning to visit to the base? Why didn't she tell him sooner? At least notify him when she's about to visit so William could prepare for her arrival and not let her come when there's an incident with the ship girls on this base! Oh well, what's done is done so he better do something about this.

"…That man always got ways to get on my nerves!" William said out loud while he frowned.

"Shall we arrange a pick up for your mother?" Hood asked William while she smiled.

"I'll handle that. Get a message out to everyone regarding the tomorrow's paid vacation and tell everyone to finish their commission task tonight" William said to Hood.

"As you wish, Will" Hood said to William while she nodded.

"Mum?" William immediately called Diana with his computer.

"Will! How are you?" Diana asked William with cheery tone.

"I'm fine! Mum, why didn't you tell me that you'll visit today?! I would've prepared a ride for you!" William said to Diana with confused tone.

"I was planning to surprise you dear, of course I wouldn't. But don't worry, I've arrived safe and sound!" Diana said to William.

"I see. I'll send a car to pick you up on the airport" William said to Diana.

"That won't be necessary" Diana immediately said to William.

"Oh come on, you won't have to catch a taxi if I did" William said to Diana with half closed eye.

"No that's not it, I'm on the front gate of your base already" Diana said to William.

"Oh…I'm coming down" William said to Diana.

The call is disconnected and William sighed hard, so his mother already arrived on the front gate so if there's any incident with the ship girls then that's it he couldn't do any damage control. William walked to the front gate while being accompanied by Hood and they saw a woman stood near the gate with a red duffel bag on her shoulder, that woman is Diana Blaze herself. William smiled as he approached her and told the Manjuu on the guard post to open the gate, when the gate opened William could see Diana herself smiled as she approached him. However her smile fell when she saw William's left hand being fully bandaged and not to mention his little slouching posture due to his healing ribs, Diana was certain that her son just got injured from a recent deployment.

"Oh my god, Will…" Diana said to William before she enveloped him in a hug slowly so she won't cause him any pain.

"Hey mum" William hugged his mother back while he smiled.

"Dear god son, who did this to you?" Diana asked William after she released the hug.

"How about an alien who shown up in black armor and impervious to bullets? Yeah, shite happens" William said to Diana while he smiled.

"Well…I'm glad you're alive at least" Diana said to William as she smiled back.

"Yeah…Did Lucas told you about tomorrow's event?" William asked Diana.

"Yes, that's why this is just a short visit. I at least want to see how my son is doing" Diana said to William as she tapped his left cheeks twice.

"I'm touched" William said to Diana while he grinned.

Diana did planned to go over for the weekend but she didn't expect that William would receive sudden orders from Lucas to spend some time outside the base with the ship girls for a week, that's why Diana had to changed her schedule from leaving in two days into tomorrow for departure. But she took this chance than any other day, the time where she's not that busy was quite precious and she preferred to spend it by visiting her children. Hood approached from behind William with a wide smile, she bowed a bit as she greeted Diana.

"Hello Madam Diana" Hood said to Diana.

"Ah Hood! Give me a hug!" Diana said to Hood as she approached and hugged her.

"Ufufufu. It's good to see you madam" Hood giggled a bit then said to Diana.

"Likewise, how's my future daughter in law doing?" Diana asked Hood while she grinned.

"Mum…" William looked to the side while he scratched his right cheek.

"A-Ah, I'm doing fine. How about you?" Hood asked Diana back with faint blush on her cheeks…that honestly caught her off guard!

"Perfectly healthy for a fifty years old lady, don't you think?" Diana asked Hood while she grinned.

"You're fifty? But you look so young!" Hood asked Diana in surprised tone.

"Ahahaha, you know how to flatter me Hood!" Diana laughed then said to Hood while she smiled.

"Alright mum, anymore of that and she'll turn into a red crab. Come, let's put the bag down and explore the base" William said to Diana while he smiled.

"Brilliant, I do want to see the ship girls. Anyone other than Hood that you'll think I could get along with?" Diana asked William while she smiled.

"Hmmm, well, depends on how you see them but with your attitude…I think you'll find most of the girls relatable" William said to Diana while he grinned.

And William was right in that regard, Diana got along greatly with many ship girls in the base. She was most delighted to see the Albion Armor that Akashi managed to construct which after they talked a lot Diana managed to gain the sufficient knowledge regarding the armor's construction and lots of other knowledge she will certainly applied on her workshop in the headquarters, she stayed on Akashi's shop for quite a while because of that. Then they walked around the base while meeting many girls along the way, Diana saw the destroyers playing on the park, she spoke with Bismarck and Enterprise where she have troubles in differentiating the two for a bit, she met with Belfast and the other royal maids, she met with Prinz and they talked a bit regarding few things which William couldn't hear properly since she sent him and Hood away for a bit, Diana participate in lunch that was prepared by Hiei on Sakura dorms and she also spend the rest of the afternoon meeting and talking with so many people…William was honestly impressed, she may didn't look like it but Diana is quite outgoing person and she managed to leave everlasting good impression on the ship girls that they liked her presence despite meeting her for the first time. After the exhausting day, William took Diana to the canteen where they could have dinner together but coincidentally several ship girls were also there and Diana didn't hesitated to ask them to join.

"Ahahaha! Oh dear, you're quite funny Prinz!" Diana said to Prinz after she laughed on one of her stories.

"Why thank you" Prinz said to Diana while she smiled smugly.

"More red wine, Mrs. Diana?" Illustrious asked Diana while she held a bottle of wine.

"Sure, dear" Diana said to Illustrious while she smiled and Illustrious refilled Diana's glass.

"Wait wait wait!" William said out loud.

"What is it, Will?" Diana asked William with cocked eyebrows.

"How come I'm the one who has to cook for everyone?!" William asked Diana with annoyed gaze from the kitchen.

Yup, to be frankly speaking William do want to cook for his mother but there's so many ship girls there now that he had to sweat for a bit imagining how much he have to cook. While there are some leftover William want to serve his mother some warm meal, besides the Manjuus are actively eating the leftovers now on the canteen. There's enough ingredients to cook for them but William isn't that experienced to cook for many people, guess this will be his trial by fire…some help would be nice right about now.

"I haven't tasted your cooking for years Will, don't be such a bummer!" Diana said to William while she grinned.

"And we are interested to taste your cooking, apparently Ms. Amagi managed to sample some" Hood said out loud.

"Wait, she did?" Prinz asked Hood with curious gaze.

"She told me herself yesterday" Hood said to Prinz.

"…You do know my cooking isn't at five starred restaurant level?" William asked out loud with half closed eye.

"But I'm sure it laced with the most powerful ingredients of all time, love" Diana said to William while she grinned.

"Pfft, yeah sure" William snorted as he answered.

"He might sound objected but I see he's still cooking" Hood said to Diana while she smiled.

"I can hear you!" William said out loud from the kitchen.

The ladies giggled in response but it didn't take long for them to nodded at each other before all ship girls that sat with Diana stood up and marched to the kitchen, Belfast, Illustrious, Hood and Prinz entered the kitchen and could clearly see William working as best as he could. He stopped a bit when he noticed that the ship girls were with him in the kitchen now, he cocked his eyebrows a bit before Belfast stepped up and looked at the ingredients laid on the counter.

"…What can we do to help, master?" Belfast asked William while she smiled.

"To be honest, lots of things Bel" William said to Belfast while he shrugged.

"Don't worry, we'll help. I'll handle the vegetables" Hood said to William after she took off her gloves.

"I'll handle the meats" Prinz said to William after she took off her gloves.

"Leave the seasoning to me" Belfast said out loud as she took off her gloves.

"I will prepare the table" Illustrious said out loud as she grabbed several plates.

"Thanks everyone" William smiled as he turned on the stove.

Illustrious hummed as she went over to the table where Diana was seated and set the table with the plates and utensils, before she return to the kitchen to help the others however she decided to sit beside Diana who then proceed to stared back at Illustrious with questioning gaze.

"So, did we pass the test?" Illustrious suddenly asked Diana while she smiled.

"…With flying colors I might add" Diana said to Illustrious while she smirked.

"Ufufufu, I suspect it might be one" Illustrious said to Diana while she smiled.

"How do you know, Illustrious?" Diana asked Illustrious curiously.

"You've been constantly keeping your eyes on us the entire time we talked regarding him cooking for you" Illustrious said to Diana while she smiled widely.

"Oh dear, looks like my intention got found out quite easily" Diana said to Illustrious while she put a hand over her mouth.

Indeed, Diana did do that while she gauged the reaction of the ship girls around her. Did the ship girls really cared about him? Looks like they do since not long after that the ship girls moved to the kitchen when they realized that cooking for so many would be quite taxing for William especially when he's not even fully healed yet. William was glad the girls helped him since the work become much easier, Hood skillfully cut the vegetables into pieces after washing it, Prinz tenderized the meat easily while she hummed 'The Rides of The Valkyries' as she occasionally cut the meat into shape with knives, Belfast received the byproduct that were processed by Hood and Prinz and she put the right seasoning on it making sure the taste would be quite bold but not overly powerful, William was busy cooking large batch of scrambled eggs, the vegetables and the meat by using three pans at the same time…one intense cooking session later, the food was served on the table and everyone smiled with the dish. It's a little bit of an oddity, a pile of scrambled eggs, hamburger steak, salad patch and mashed potato accompanied by ice tea…

"We are done and done, dig in everyone" William said out loud.

"Hmm! Delicious!" Diana commented while she grinned and savored the taste.

"I'm surprised we didn't ruined any of the taste with how many people working on the dish" Prinz said out loud.

"Does that mean we are quite natural in working together?" Hood asked Prinz while she smiled.

"I thought so" Illustrious said out loud.

The dinner was splendid and Belfast alongside Hood volunteered to wash the dirty plates, Illustrious and Prinz left since they had something to do back in their dorms. William and Diana sat while they talked with each other, William was about to pull out a cigar before he looked at Diana with caution…did his mother knew that he occasionally smoke? William didn't think so, carefully William put the cigar package back on his pocket and opted for the wine instead. Hood and Belfast might be currently washing the dirty plates, but they put their enhanced hearing to good use to eavesdrop the mother and son speaking.

"I mean, that's my fault but it's successful!" William said to Diana.

"Really? Blowing up the fences between our neighbors with your experimental bomb really worth it? Your father was so furious about that one" Diana asked William while she folded her arms.

"There's a reason I did that outdoor am I? He's glad that I didn't blow the house, though he's pissed because his backyard shack was blown in half" William said to Diana while he shrugged.

"Yeah, what kind of third year student that decided to create a bomb for his school science project?" Diana asked William while she smiled softly.

"I mean, the teacher didn't mind when I brought a sample to school. She gave me an A+ for that" William said to Diana while he grinned.

"Hahahaha…ah, I'm just glad it's considered an experimental explosive test for local mine or the MI5 would've already got your arse behind bars" Diana said to William after she laughed.

"Ah, fun times" William said to Diana then sipped on his wine.

"…Will, any plans to visit London?" Diana suddenly asked William.

"…I was thinking on going after the commission to Furushima but, well, things haven't been exactly well. I want to meet Serina directly" William said to Diana while he frowned.

"Good, did you contact her?" Diana asked William.

"I tried, somehow I never received a reply" William said to Diana while she frowned.

"Really? That's strange…I'll ask her later, I know she's been busy but she shouldn't neglect your messages" Diana said to William.

…That really bothered him, why didn't his sister respond to his messages? Looks like Diana could still communicate with her normally…After William took Diana to her room he went outside to take a short walk as he stared outside toward the stars in the sky…Funny, Sirens were considered aliens but their higher ups looked exactly like a human. What are the chances some species out there could developed exactly like a human in the vastness of universe? Bah, he didn't really believe the chance. But Sirens is a direct threat to the survival of humanity and that's a fact William couldn't ignore, how long would this war last he wondered? There's a big chance that it won't ever end, the possibility that this will turn into an endless war until all of humanity would be wiped out is quite frightening. Oh well, William choose to be a soldier, it's his duty to stand between anything that threaten the civilians and if that's a highly advanced alien forces then so be it…After a hearty breakfast served by Belfast, Diana packed her bags and say good bye to many of the ship girls and told them to give her regards for the others since majority of the ship girls are currently packing their own luggage for the trip.

"The car will take you to the airport mum, if there's anything you need you could always call. Though you may have to rely on Hood for a bit since my phone is unrepairable, but still, call if you need something" William said to Diana while he smiled.

"Don't worry, I understand. I never rode a car with the Manjuus though" Diana said to William as she eyed the car.

"They're great driver, on occasion" William said to Diana while he shrugged.

"On occasion?!" Diana asked William in disbelieve.

"I mean, they did pretty well even during combat situation so they'll do well normally…Trust me, they're reliable" William said to Diana while he smiled.

"If you say so. But if I ended up in the hospital, I will get something with large enough surface so I could spank you in the arse! Got it?" Diana said to William while she frowned.

"Hahaha, not looking forward to it all but sure, I give you my word. Take care of yourself on HQ, mum" William said to Diana then he hugged her.

"That's my word you stole there, I'll be fine within the HQ. You however, had to be in constant danger out here" Diana said to William then she released the hug.

"That's what I'm trained for and what I'm built for, experience and genetics played the part" William said to Diana while he shrugged.

"Hahaha, what are you saying young man…Alright then, once we settled things with Serina, you should probably invite her here" Diana said to William.

"I don't know if I could bring in civilians to this place without Lena or Lucas approval, but those two would probably allowed it if it's her" William said to Diana.

"Pretty sure that would be the case. Okay, I'm leaving" Diana said to William as she entered the car.

"Yeah. Hey mates, be extra careful" William said to the Manjuu who's on the driver seat.

The Manjuu chirped at William before throwing him a salute, William take that as a sign that it understand so he closed the car door and the car immediately headed for the airport. It might be a short visit but William was glad that Diana could visited him, it reminded him that he still have his family and that only fueled his resolve to keep fighting those aliens. After watching the car goes, William turned around and headed back to his room. When he opened the door he was shocked to find Belfast already taking out many clothes he have on the wardrobe, Belfast turned her head around when she heard the door being opened and she smiled at William.

"Master, I took the liberty to sort out your clothes but I can't open your luggage. Could you tell me the code for it?" Belfast asked William while she smiled.

"No, you don't need to use that. There's a duffel bag on the bottom of the drawer, just use that instead" William said to Belfast while he pointed at the duffel bag.

"If you say so, master" Belfast nodded as she returned to pack William's clothes.

William looked to the side before he sighed a bit in relief, it was fortunate that Belfast didn't try to open the luggage which he used when he first arrived here because of one thing…remember Marry? William put the grenade sized gas canister there and he did it without the ship girls knowing, they will be very upset if they know William actually had the last sample of Marry with him so he can use it to kill Ronald. Hah…he couldn't think any other place than his luggage, Belfast has free reign to clean his room and putting it somewhere else pose even greater risk. William changed his clothes to the more casual one, he changed into a blue t-shirt, green cargo pants and sneakers before he checked himself in the mirror…he's set to go for a vacation somewhere on a tropical island in the middle of Pacific ocean. He carried the duffel bag around his shoulder and Belfast carried her suitcase as both of them walked out of the administration building then headed to the pier, all of the ship girls on the base have gathered around the pier as they waited for the ship to dock. William immediately searched for Hood and he found her chatting with King George V for a bit before she left, Hood noticed William was approaching her and she waved for a bit.

"…Hood? Have you briefed the ladies?" William asked Hood.

"I already did, all of us would only need to wait for the ship" Hood said to William.

"Nice…the ship should arrive any moment now…" William said to Hood.

From the corner of his eye William noticed a large ship slowly turned toward their port after emerging from behind the small forest of the base, the ship is painted white and it's at the size of a modern day battleship minus the guns which led William to a conclusion that this must be a converted ship. The ship docked on the pier and extended small bridge to the pier and several of the shipmates disembarked to greet the ship girls, William alongside Belfast and Hood walked ahead of everyone as he want to greet the ship's captain personally.

"Whoa! It's quite big!" Abercrombie said out loud.

"Did commander emptied his pocket for this entire trip?!" Enterprise asked out loud.

"…Lucas, just how rich are you…Alright! Listen up! Board the ship in orderly manners! I don't want any accidents!" William said out loud.

"You must be Commander William Blaze" A man suddenly approached and said to William.

"Yes that's me, are you the captain?" William asked the man.

"That I am. It will take twelve hours to get to the island from here, you may want to get comfortable" The captain said to William as he shook his hand.

"That far huh? Alright, we're counting on you captain" William said to the captain while he smiled.

"For sure, sir" The captain said to William while he smiled.

William, Belfast and Hood went onboard the ship and the three of them stayed near the bridge as they watched the ship girls boarded the ship one by one while carrying their luggage. Queen Elizabeth brought an entire trolley full of luggage which is being pushed by Sheffield and Edinburgh, Bismarck brought two suitcase one for her clothes and one for her tools, Carabiniere brought her musket alongside her luggage, Hornet only brought one large bag on her back, Avrora smiled widely as she got on board the ship with large briefcase beside her luggage which William was sure it's filled with Vodka, few Eagle Union girls had to drag Long Island who still wore her NEET clothing while she occasionally barked to let her brought her console with her, Laffey also still asleep and had to be carried by Javelin alongside Z23 as they made their way on board the ship…William had mixed feeling regarding the ship girls when they passed him, so many of them didn't look prepared for this trip! But that's to be expected, the notice only came yesterday after all and so they had to pack hurriedly. After making sure no one else will board the ship, William nodded his head before he turned to ask Belfast who held a paperboard clip for roll call.

"Anyone left behind?" William asked Belfast.

"I've checked the list, everyone should be on board" Belfast said to William.

"Alright, anyone who didn't will have to catch up because I don't want to delay this long trip. We are ready to depart, captain" William said to Belfast then to the captain.

"Aye aye sir! All aboard! Reverse slow!" The captain saluted before he used his radio.

The ship started to move, reversing out of the port slowly before making its way directly for the island of Eden. Belfast went inside the ship first so she can put her luggage and do her next task, that leaves only William and Hood who remained on the ship's starboard side still looking at their base which get smaller and smaller the further their ship goes.

"…It feels like we are moving faraway" William said out loud.

"It's just for a week, though I get you. Leaving the place you thought as home is always a sentimental thing to do" Hood said to William while she smiled.

"All of the ladies are stocked to the brim, right?" William asked Hood.

"Yes. Ammo and fuel at full capacity, if we had to be involved in combat then Sirens will had to face the full might of ALASUC" Hood said to William.

"Good…Why don't you put your luggage on your room?" William asked Hood.

"I still want to accompany you here" Hood said to William while she smiled.

"Appreciate it, but I need some time alone now" William said to Hood while he smiled.

"As you wish, Will…See you at lunch?" Hood asked William while she smiled understandingly.

"See you then" William said to Hood while he nodded.

.

"I already told him regarding the visit to Eden" Lucas said out loud on the phone.

"Oh you did?" Lena asked Lucas on the phone.

"Yup, so get this sweep done and pack your bags. You're going with me on a few days' vacation" Lucas said to Lena on the phone.

"Got it…Hey, thanks for arranging it" Lena said to Lucas on the phone.

"Don't mention it, we all need some break once in a while. Good luck on your mission" Lucas said to Lena on the phone.

"Yeah, thanks" Lena said to Lucas before she hung up the call.

Lena sighed as she put her phone back on her pocket, she then put on a full faced gas mask and a combat helmet then fastened the straps. Lena looked around and saw several other people dressed just like her inside a Blackhawk helicopter, she watched as each of them prepared themselves for the mission by checking their equipment and weapons. The man that sat beside Lena offered her a SPAS-12 Shotgun which Lena took and sheathed on her back, she then inspected the black colored Vector SMG on her hands which is equipped with holographic scope, suppressor, vertical foregrip and the butt stock. Lena turned on the gas mask integrated night vision and her view immediately brightened in green, she then tapped the man next to her.

"Major, what's the status of the SAS unit that went to the second safe house?" Lena asked Major Ackerson.

"They're five minutes out ma'am, we'll be the first to arrive" Ackerson said to Lena.

"Got it…Alright everyone, let's get this done. I want clean and throughout sweep, any Intel materials are to be bagged and tagged" Lena said out loud to everyone on the radio.

""""""""""Yes ma'am!"""""""""" Everyone responded on the radio.

"Thirty seconds!" The pilot said out loud on the radio.

Three Blackhawks flew in close formation under the cover of moonless night, the helicopters flew above the dense forest on the southeastern side of London. Two helicopter stopped on one spot while the third one continue to fly a little far than them before hovering on the spot, each helicopter have arrived at their designated landing zone. The pilot and copilot searched around with their infrared vision mode integrated on their helmet to see if there's any ambush or obstacles on their landing zone, when they didn't detect anything the pilot gave a thumbs up to Lena and the others on the passenger seat which prompted Lena and Ackerson to opened the helicopter's door then dropped the ropes.

"Go! Go! Go!" Ackerson said out loud on the radio.

Two dozen strong Azur Lane Special Forces Commandos attached to Task Force Pluvia descended from the Blackhawks in orderly manners, men and women dressed in all black and armed to the teeth immediately dispersed around the landing zone to secure it. Ackerson dropped down and followed by Lena closely, after both of them were down on the ground Lena waved her right hand in circular motion which prompted the helicopter to fly away and waited on a safe spot for further orders. Lena looked around her surrounding environment dark forest before she checked her watch, it's currently 10.43 PM which means they are earlier than scheduled…Great, the sooner they get this done the better.

"Commence Operation Full House" Lena said to everyone on the radio.

"Roger, commencing Full House. Alpha, you're on point. Beta, make sure our flank is secure" Ackerson said to the squad leaders on the radio.

"Copy that" "Yes sir" Alpha and Beta Squad Leaders said to Ackerson on the radio.

"Athena, this is Overwatch. Situation report. The facility we've monitored for the past twelve hours are still bustling with activity, I saw numerous armed personnel armed with SMGs and rifles alongside some unarmed technicals in the perimeter. Not sure how many of them inside" Overwatch said to Lena on the radio.

"Understood, keep us posted Overwatch" Lena said to Overwatch on the radio.

"Yes ma'am" Overwatch said to Lena on the radio.

The two squads saw a compound surrounded with brick wall in the distance, it's the one that Overwatch have been keeping eyes on. The commandos slowed down their advances as they watched the compound's outer perimeter to see if there's any guards around them, when they saw no one is guarding the wall the commandos advanced and hugged the wall. Ackerson peeked at the gate section and noted that there are two guards on the guard post, he looked at the commandos and nodded his head.

"…Beta, go around the back and take the secondary entrance to the north" Ackerson said to the Beta Team Leader.

"Sir" Beta Team Leader said to Ackerson before he and his team moved.

"We'll go in first. Crow, Panther, you're up" Ackerson said to the remaining commandoes.

Two commandos nodded their head, Crow leaned on the wall and boosted Panther so she can climbed over the walls. Panther stopped and watched the surrounding area first before she dropped down to the other side of the wall, one by one everyone goes up the wall with Crow's help. Lena was the last to go up before she lowered her hand to help Crow scaled the walls, now Alpha Team are all inside the compound…The compound is crowded, there are lots of people around the compound and many of them are armed with firearms. Team Alpha remained hidden behind stack of boxes and containers as they watched the main courtyard where there's several trucks lined up while being loaded with a khaki green cargo box with the forklift, the team could hear some shouting that told the employees to hurry up with the loading process. Lena's training immediately kicked in, she took in as many information as she could, how many armed hostile presents, their equipment, vantage points, light source, possible cover and any point of interest that might serve their mission.

"Wow, it's a convention out there. Seems they are preparing for something" Panther commented on the situation.

"Overwatch, any details you can see clearer?" Ackerson asked Overwatch on the radio.

"…It's like a convoy delivery or something, given this place masquerading as online store storage it made sense to have delivery in and out" Overwatch said to Ackerson on the radio.

"They're moving out now. Orders, ma'am?" Ackerson asked Lena.

"Echelon, this is Athena. Incoming convoy, I want them stopped and neutralized" Lena said to Squad Echelon on the radio.

"We're on it ma'am" Echelon Squad Leader said to Lena on the radio.

"Beta here, we've infiltrated the perimeter and we're in position" Beta Team Leader said on the radio.

"Roger that Beta, Alpha is moving to position now" Ackerson said to Beta Team Leader on the radio.

Lena's plan for this operation is quite simple, she already prepared four squad of Azur Lane Task Force Pluvia Commandos totaling forty personnel on board four Blackhawk helicopter designation Alpha, Beta, Delta and Echelon. Their target is a delivery service company and their base of operation is located in the southeastern part of London near the dense forest area which MI5 have identified as one of the Crimson Cleanser safe house in London, Alpha and Beta will go in while Echelon will act as blockade for any possible incoming or outgoing vehicle near the compound and Delta will serve as a backup team in case things get more heated than it should. Alpha Team alongside Lena and Ackerson begun to move toward the compound's generator, Panther used her suppressed Vector SMG to take down two guards carrying an M4A1 and their dead body were dragged away from their position. The rest of the team provide cover as one of the commandos got close to the generator's console, he connected a wire to his wrist terminal and proceed to work on hacking the generator's system.

"Remember, swift and clean…Viper, kill it" Lena said to Viper.

"Killing power now…Power's out, go!" Viper said to Lena.

"Alpha moving" Ackerson said on the radio.

"Beta moving" Beta Team Leader said on the radio.

The commando codenamed Viper killed the entire power to the compound and immediately the entire place went dark which gave the signal that the attack is a go, Beta Team went inside the warehouse while Alpha Team went toward the motor pool. Lena immediately shown that she's just as lethal as William when it comes to gunplay when she didn't hesitate firing her Vector toward anyone who carried a gun, the commandos that's with her also proved that they could keep up as they cleared the other part of the motor pool and in less than one minute they managed to clean the entire building from hostile and in complete silence. Beta Team also didn't seemed to have any problem in clearing the warehouse part of the compound and that place has even more guards than the motor pool, it's a testament to just how deadly Azur Lane Commandos are and the reason why William killing off his entire task force should warranted him a death sentence for causing such manpower loss for Azur Lane despite the reasoning behind his action.

"Motor pool clear" Ackerson said on the radio.

"Warehouse clear" Beta Team Leader said on the radio.

"Advance to the living quarters and the admin building, move it" Lena said on the radio.

The next step after powering down the whole compound is to secure the living quarters and the administration building which is the last two building that they have to secure, Alpha and Beta teams moved outside and started gunning down the guards on the open using the cover of darkness as they each moved in toward the administration building and the living quarters. Beta reached the living quarters first and they breached the door, they met with some organized barricade but managed to clear them nonetheless due to their night vision. Alpha followed closely and breached the administration building, Lena and her commandos moved carefully to clean each room. The team cleared the first floor with no problem as there's only few stranglers on the first floor, the team then proceed to the second floor where they reached a the main corridor with the main office at the end of it. The commando that led the team's advance as point man suddenly raised his left fist and the whole team stopped moving, Ackerson was about to ask on what's stopping him when the entire building's light turned back on which blinded the commandoes who wore their night vision.

"Damnit! We're compromised!" Ackerson said out loud.

BRATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

Bullets started flying and Alpha team scrambled for any viable cover while turning off their night vision off, Lena gritted her teeth as she flipped off a metal table which served as temporary light cover and readied her Vector. When the intensity of enemy fire lessened because of them reloading their weapon Lena emerged from cover and immediately emptied her magazine toward the hostile, there's at least five guard that she could briefly see and her spray managed to kill three of them. Lena ducked down to reload her weapon when she heard some shouting and footsteps, looks like the guards are calling for some backup. Lena watched as several of the commandos led by Ackerson started to fire back at the guards, which served them well to keep the guards behind cover.

"Viper?! What the hell is going on?!" Lena asked Viper on the radio.

"Power's back on! Must've been their backup generator separated from the main one!" Viper said to Lena on the radio.

"Damnit! Nero!?" Lena asked Ackerson out loud.

"Flash out!" Ackerson said out loud.

BANG!

A flashbang grenade that Ackerson threw exploded and the entire Alpha team opened fire as they advanced toward the guards who couldn't return fire without getting shot from the relentless fire, the guards was about to make their retreat when two frag grenades were tossed at them. The grenades exploded and killed the rest of the guards, Lena and the others fired at the dead body once or twice to confirm whether they're dead or not. After making sure all of the hostile are dead, Lena nodded her head and decided to check the current situation.

"Clear. Status?" Lena asked out loud.

"Ajax and Hunter are down, they need immediate medical assistance" Ackerson said to Lena.

"Shit…Goliath Four, this is Athena. Drop Delta Squad and run perimeter guard, I don't want any of these terrorist escaped. Joker, Crow, bring them to that room and stabilize them. Panther, Skull, Fox, you three clear the rest of the building" Lena said to a helicopter pilot then to the commandos.

"Yes ma'am!" Joker said to Lena as he and Crow dragged their downed teammates.

"Got it! Alright folks on me, let's move!" Skull said to Panther and Fox.

There's only Lena, Ackerson alongside two commandos who were with them now and Lena pointed toward the door that's the entrance to the main office. Ackerson led the two commandos as they stacked up on the door and get ready to breach, one of them ducked and used the snake camera to check out the view behind the door…after she made her observation the commando stood back up and stared at Lena who moved toward her back.

"This is the admin's office. They're waiting for us, I count ten armed hostile"

"Figures, we do make a lot of noise before…C2 breach then gas them" Lena said to the commandos.

"C2 and Gas, copy" Ackerson immediately set the C2 breaching explosive while the other commandos prepared a gas grenade.

"On your word, Admiral" Ackerson said to Lena.

"Wait a bit. Delta, what's your status?" Lena asked Delta Team on the radio.

"We're on the ground and plugged all exits from the admin building, some of us also helped Beta with the living quarters" Delta Team Leader said to Lena on the radio.

"Understood…Alright Major, hit it" Lena said to Ackerson.

"Detonating C2" Ackerson said out loud.

BOOM!

"Gas out" One of the commandos said out loud.

The door that was breached by C2 created a shocking effect and that was followed in by two tear gas grenade, there's a reason why they had gas masks on. The gas caused the hostile inside the room to cough heavily and tearing up at the same time while the commandos moved in then shouted at them to get down on the floor, those who didn't comply immediately got shot in the head. At total from ten hostile, six of them complied and Lena alongside the commandos immediately put on a cuff on them. Joker and Crow joined in after securing the downed teammates, the other two commandos moved the captured guards away from the room while Joker and Crow immediately searched the room for any valuable Intel.

"Athena, this is Delta. We caught three civilians trying to run, they surrendered and we got them on custody" Delta Team Leader said to Lena on the radio.

"Roger. Bring them to the admin's office" Lena said to Delta Team Leader.

"Yes ma'am" Delta Team Leader said to Lena on the radio.

"Alright, I want every info we can get from this place" Lena said out loud.

"You heard the lady, get on with it. Turn on those computers and search those files! Bag and tag everything!" Ackerson said out loud.

"Already on it sir" Joker said to Ackerson.

Two Delta Team member brought the three civilians to the main office, a man and two woman. Lena looked at the civilians who the team captured and she told the commandos to put them on a seat, after the civilians were seated Lena ordered them to be searched for anything that could indicate them as a member of the Crimson Cleanser. After the commandos managed to get their cellphones and their wallets filled with IDs they started to go through it while Lena decided to talk with the civilians herself, her interrogation skills always need some polishing.

"What's your name?" Lena asked the male civilians.

"Maurice, ma'am. We're just employees here, I don't even know that these lots are terrorist! Our boss said they are mercenaries hired to protect this compound! I swear! I'm not involved in this!" Maurice said to Lena with a pleading tone.

"Alright Maurice, I believe you for now so convince me. I need you to cooperate here" Lena said to Maurice while she nodded.

"W-What can I do? The three of us could help!" Maurice said to Lena.

"Have you seen this man?" Lena shown him a picture of Lockwood.

"No ma'am, I haven't seen him" Maurice said to Lena while he frowned.

"What about you two?" Lena asked the two woman next to Maurice.

"No I don't" "No ma'am" The two woman said to Lena while they shook their heads.

"…How about him?" Lena switched the picture with Ronald's face.

"…Hey, isn't he that inspector!?" Maurice asked the two woman.

"Yeah, he is!" One of the woman said to Maurice.

"Inspector?" Lena asked them with cocked eyebrows.

"He came to this place two days ago! Want us to deliver a specific cargo today, the convoy leaves just a moment ago" Maurice said to Lena.

"Tch! Echelon, tell me that convoy is stopped!" Lena contacted Echelon Team Leader on the radio.

"Yes ma'am, we stopped them. We interrogate the drivers and they said that they're heading for the nearby harbor, to deliver this cargo to the ship HMS Darwin, a civilian cargo ship" Echelon Team Leader said to Lena on the radio.

"Investigate the content of those trucks, lieutenant" Lena said to Echelon Team Leader.

"We're already on it ma'am" Echelon Team Leader said to Lena.

"Major, take Beta with you and investigate that HMS Darwin" Lena said to Ackerson.

"Yes ma'am. Goliath Two, new orders…" Ackerson said to Lena as he moved out of the building.

…Lena sighed hard, they missed their shot with Ronald but at least they managed to secure this safe house and based on the looks of it the cargo that were loaded here would be a great help in their effort to take down that terrorist organization. Also, Ronald himself was here few days ago and that means he got something important to do on London. Lena managed to identify his habits from the past encounter and learning his pattern, it would seems Ronald take a very careful approach on this entire madness and only shown up himself when he wanted to get something done. Like when he murdered Jenny, he personally show up to make sure the assassination is a success and the terror attacks work as intended…If he himself shown up on London, something is about to go down here and Lena got a feeling it's not going to be just some simple incident.

"…Echelon, what's the content?" Lena asked Echelon Team Leader on the radio.

"It's white phosphorus ma'am!" Echelon Team Leader said to Lena on the radio.

"White phosphorus?!" Lena asked out loud in disbelieve on the radio.

"Yes, still in raw form and not weaponized yet but the amount…ma'am, it could set enough fire for entire London to burn for days" Echelon Team Leader said to Lena on the radio.

"…Secure them for transport, Echelon. Major, status?" Lena said to Echelon Team Leader then asked Ackerson on the radio.

"We're already on our way. We heard it, we're going to look for HMS Darwin destination and manifest" Ackerson said to Lena on the radio.

"Copy that" Lena said to Ackerson on the radio.

"White phosphorus?" One of the woman asked Lena.

"A chemical that is used in incendiary weapons, highly flammable and destructive. It'll burn through your skin and can't be extinguished easily" Lena explained to the woman.

"…Oh my god…what have we done?!" Maurice asked out loud with horrified tone.

"There's no helping it, you three didn't know" Lena said to Maurice to reassure him.

"Ma'am, we got something" Joker said to Lena.

"What is it?" Lena asked Joker as she approached him.

"We found the manifest regarding the source of the cargo. It came from Northern Parliament" Joker said to Lena.

"What?!" Lena asked out loud in surprised tone.

"Yes, it came from a company located on Voronezh. Perhaps a cover up company like this one" Joker said to Lena while he shown the computer screen he's inspecting.

"Compile the data involved with the cargo, all of them" Lena said to Joker.

"On it" Joker said to Lena as he get back to work.

…White phosphorus, London and a cargo ship, all of this didn't sound great in the slightest. If the trucks they saw back then all carried white phosphorus then Echelon Team Leader was right, it could set fire on entire London. Lena immediately considered to warn British officials to increase the security of London and possibly lock the city down, they just opened a can of fresh worms. They would also need to warn the Northern Parliament regarding that company in Voronezh, they need to move fast if they want to catch any clues on what the hell is this all about. Lena immediately brought out her phone and stepped outside the main office, she immediately called Lucas.

"…High Commander, sir?" Lena asked Lucas on the phone when her call was answered.

"What is it, Lena? You're being overly formal?" Lucas asked Lena with confused tone.

"You may want to contact the Russians, we got a situation on Voronezh and we need their Spetznaz to move ASAP" Lena said to Lucas on the phone while she frowned.

"…Shit…the other teams also reported the same thing. Voronezh and White Phosphorus…these Crimson Cleansers are playing a very dangerous game. I already notified the Northern Parliament officials, they're making their move as we speak" Lucas said to Lena on the phone.

"I don't understand. Why Voronezh? It's still a big city isn't it? These guys could set up an entire compound on the edge of Siberian Tundra and it could took a long time to search with the vastness of Russia? They could've hide better" Lena said to Lucas with confused tone.

"I don't know yet Lena, but I know one thing…we're not going to like what we will found there" Lucas said to Lena with grim tone…Looks like their vacation wouldn't be that simple.

* * *

…**Can't one thing goes smoothly for once regarding this entire thing with those terrorist, whenever Sirens got dealt with they always shown up with something. This one is a bit…I don't know, just a short interlude before the next one where everyone had some fun away from the war in a tropical island in the middle of pacific ocean. So thanks for the follow, favorite and review everyone, we're going to see if the vacation for the week is a major success and served them well to revitalize everyone before jumping back into the fray. I don't have estimation for the next chapter though so stay tuned everyone.**

**See you next time!**

**-Dasmara**


	26. Trip on man made heaven

"…Damnit, what a trip" William said out loud.

"The captain was right, it was twelve hours long trip" Belfast said to William.

"And nothing interesting happened during the journey, I almost wished for the Sirens to shoot at us" Prinz said out loud while she pouted.

"Okay don't jinx it Prinz, we are so close to the island I don't want a battle in the middle of the night" William said to Prinz with half closed eye.

"Attention to all ship girls, please wake up. We have arrived on Eden, sort out your belongings as we are going to disembark. Please gather on the port side, thank you" An announcement by Hood rang through the intercoms.

William threw away the cigarette that he's been smoking to the trash bin as he stared at the dark island with thousands of lights illuminating it from the buildings around the island called Eden, they have arrived in the middle of the night after the exhausting twelve hours trip through the Pacific Ocean. Most of the ship girls already fallen asleep, William himself is also sleepy but he's determined to sleep when they reached Eden…he's not the type that could fell asleep easily after he's woken up so he really valued his sleep. Someone bumped onto William and yelped in surprise, he turned around only to find Illustrious staring back at him.

"Oh, milord. Have you seen my sister?" Illustrious asked William while she frowned a bit.

"No I haven't, have you checked her room?" William asked Illustrious.

"I have, she's not there" Illustrious said to William.

"I'm sure she'll turn up soon, we have arrived on the island after all" William said to Illustrious while he smiled a bit.

…The ship docked on the pier and William alongside the ship girls disembarked, it's half an hour past midnight and William could see that everyone is tired from the long trip. Many of the ship girls were sleepy as they walked with him while dragging their luggage, some had to be supported by the other girls because they are in no way wake enough to walk properly on their own. Man, he definitely understood their predicament so he hoped they'll get cozy bed and great bathroom because damn that's what he need the most right now and he's sure the other girls too. Near the end of the pier he saw a woman stood wearing casual Hawaiian shirt and shorts, a woman with long black hair plus Caucasian features and she smiled then waved at William who quickened his pace to meet with her.

"Commander Blaze?" The woman asked William while she smiled.

"That I am, and you are?" William asked the woman.

"The manager for the facility on Eden, the name is Rosa Bordeaux" The woman named Rosa said to William while she smiled.

"…You're from Iris Orthodoxy?" William asked Rosa while he smiled a bit.

"Oui monsieur, Carville Le Chevalier brought me straight from the state back during the war and gave me job here" Rosa said to William.

"Carville? Oh, Lucas…Good to meet you then Ms. Bordeaux, the name is William Blaze" William said to Rosa as he offered his hand.

"Likewise Monsieur Blaze, now if you would please follow me to your suite. We have prepared the special suite for you and the ship girls', currently every guest on this island already went home and this entire islands is yours for the next week" Rosa said to William as she shook his hand.

"The entire island?" William asked Rosa.

"Well, the surroundings too but the main facility is on this island. You are free to explore and use our facility as you see fit, completely free of charge. Now please follow me, I will guide you to our hotel room" Rosa said to William while she smiled.

"…Remind me to thank Lucas when he arrived" William said to Belfast who stood next to William.

"Noted, master" Belfast said to William while she smiled.

Rosa led William and the ship girls all the way to the hotel, a massive building shaped like a cruise ship on land. William briefly stared while he smiled, it's definitely an interesting choice for the design and why did William suspected that Lucas himself was the one that requested this shape for the hotel building? They walked through the stairs then entered the hotel where they are faced with extravagant and vast lobby area, the ship girls looked around as they marveled the interior design while William stood with Rosa as she turned around.

"Here you are. Each room could fit four people, it's your call on the management. There are more than 500 rooms available on this hotel building and they are free to use" Rosa said out loud while she smiled.

"Dibs on the closest one to the bar!" Prinz said out loud.

"Hey! Don't run around in the corridors!" Fletcher said out loud to her sisters.

"How about we share the room?" Illustrious alongside Formidable asked Wales and George V.

"Splendid idea Illustrious, four of us could just share one" Wales said to Illustrious while she smiled.

"Commander, who are ya going to share the room with?" Hornet curiously asked William.

"…To make it fair for everyone, I will have the entire room for myself" William said out loud while he grinned.

""""""""""BOOOO!"""""""""" Many ship girls said out loud when they heard his statement.

"Of course he'll say that" Enterprise said out loud while she shrugged.

"Too scared getting attacked in the middle of the night, isn't he?" Atago asked out loud.

"Knock it off, all of you! Now line up on the reception to get the cards and get to your own rooms! I want everyone to be ready for breakfast tomorrow!" William said out loud with tick mark on his forehead.

...The ship girls quickly lined up and get the card for their room, it seems all of them can't wait to sleep on a comfy bed this hotel has. William made sure that every ship girl got their room, then he went toward Rosa who just finished instructing several employees to do something. William need to know what the facility Eden has so he could at least formulate a schedule for their activity, that way he could at least control the ship girls movement pattern and…well, try to prevent them from causing any trouble that could potentially damage this entire island beyond repair...William shuddered at the possibility, the amount of money he had to pay to Lucas if that happened is no joke.

"Ms. Bordeaux, a word if I may?" William asked Rosa.

"Oui, how can I help you monsieur?" Rosa asked William back.

"Can you explain to me about the facilities and the attraction this island has?" William asked Rosa.

"Sure. To sum it up, we have carnival, banana boat, clean beaches, several water attractions like jet skis, water jets, scuba diving and surfing activity, go kart course, full set gym, fully stocked bar, off road activity, paragliding, golf course, tennis field, milsim activity and movie theater" Rosa said to William while she smiled.

"That's…a lot to go on for a week" William commented as he rubbed his chin.

"If you did two activity for each day, I think you'll have the entire week booked" Rosa said to William.

"Indeed…Well, thanks for the explanation now I could form up some kind of schedule" William said to Rosa while he smiled a bit.

"Glad to be of service monsieur. I suggest you get some rest, good night" Rosa said to William while she nodded her head.

"Night, thanks again" William said to Rosa.

So many activities they could do for this week alone, William thought that there's no way he wouldn't be busy until the next week and he started formulating some basic plan on what to do in his head. William approached the receptionist behind the table, William was contemplating on what room he want to use but before he could say it the receptionist looked like she already prepared everything.

"…Commander Blaze? Mr. Carville already reserved a room for you, it's on the second floor which is room 0212. It is reserved only for a very special VIPs according to Mr. Carville, here's the keycard" The receptionist said to William while she smiled.

"Thanks" William said to the receptionist as he took the card that she handed to him.

William quickly walked toward his room that Lucas seemed to have prepared, he passed by several ship girls along the way who still trying to get their business done before going to sleep. After few turns William finally reached room 0212, he entered it and he was taken aback with what he saw. The room is painted in crimson red with gold lining pattern, there's a king sized bed, personal bar, sofa set with the coffee table, huge flatscreen TV on the wall in front of the bed, kitchen and the bathroom is a full set. This doesn't looked like a hotel room, it looked like to be complete set of luxurious apartment.

"…Bloody Mary's virgin blood…Lucas, you started to creep me out with all of this" William said out loud as he grimaced.

William dropped his duffel bag on the side of the bed then he went to the bar, looking at the assortments of the alcohol provided it would seems William won't even have to go to the bar on this hotel. William casually opened the small refrigerator beneath the rack and took out a bag of ice cube, he took a glass out and a bottle of whiskey before pouring it in to the glass which he had filled with ice cubes. Then William took a good long sip…

"…Now we are talking" William smirked as he stared at the glass.

.

…Morning rolled by and it's a clear one, the phone on William's room ranged while the man sprawled on the king sized bed. William was about to opened his eye but the call died down, he shrugged as he returned to tuck himself underneath the blanket…five seconds later another call rang from the phone on his nightstand and this time there's no way William could fell asleep again, he sat on the bed while he rubbed his right eye under the hounding of the phone call.

"…Argh…fucking hell, I'm up! I'm up! Hello?" William asked the caller on the phone.

"Will, what time is it?" It was Hood who called him.

"…Seven thirty?" William asked Hood as he looked at the clock on the nightstand.

"Breakfast is at eight" Hood said to William.

"…So?" William asked Hood with cocked eyebrows.

"Be glad that I woke you up, I've requested a spare keycard for your room from the receptionist so I won't have to trouble myself coming downstairs just to make sure you're still alive on your room. Next time, please be more aware when we knocked on your door" Hood said to William…

"Ouch Hood, so harsh in the morning. You're on your period?" William asked Hood while he grimaced.

And the response Hood gave was a beeping tone of a call being hung up, William widened his eye as he put the phone down and ruffled his hair as he planted his face to his pillow. What the actual fuck William Blaze? Do you have to be that rude to a lady despite her disturbing your sleep? She only wake you up so you won't miss breakfast!

"…Way to fuck up Will, way to fuck up…Ahhhhh…me and my big mouth when my brain isn't even awake yet…fuck…" William groaned as he lamented what he just did.

There's a knocking on the door and William quickly stood up from bed while he semi-run toward the door, William twisted the handle and saw the head maid stood in front of him while she smiled. Oh it's only Belfast, what could she wanted this early in the morning? And why did she kept wearing her maid uniform?

"Belfast?" William asked Belfast.

"If you're concerned about Madam Hood, please don't worry master…she's just mad that her morning isn't going well" Belfast said to William while she smiled.

"What happened?" William asked Belfast curiously.

"Abercrombie pulled a prank on her which ruined her morning tea and her dress" Belfast explained to William while she smiled awkwardly.

"…And how's Abercrombie?" William asked Belfast with half closed eye.

"In her room, she's unconscious" Belfast said to William while she smiled.

"Phew…glad Hood still held back somehow. Anyway, let's go to the mess hall" William said to Belfast.

"Yes master. But first, you need to make yourself presentable" Belfast said to William.

With that, the head maid forced herself in while she pushed William gently and closed the doors behind them...Around fifteen minutes later William and Belfast exited the room, Belfast smiled in satisfaction while William dressed casually but completely fresh after morning bath. Both of them stared at each other before Belfast led William toward the restaurant area which already filled with ship girls eating their breakfast, William walked while greeting the ship girls toward an empty table while Belfast get him a full plate breakfast. As he ate, Hood, Enterprise and Hornet joined him with their own plate of food. After exchanging short greetings they proceed to ate together with William telling Belfast to get her own plate and joined them for breakfast, Belfast smiled as she comply then went to get herself a plate.

"…Hood, I'd like to apologize for what I said" William said to Hood.

"Yes, so do I, milord…I realized that I got mad at you for such petty reason" Hood said to William while she frowned.

"Sir, what's the plan? I've seen the entire island from the top of the hotel, we have so much to do!" Enterprise said to William.

"Ho, you're quite enthusiastic Enterprise" William said to Enterprise while he smiled.

"When sis heard that we're going on a vacation trip, she immediately packed her bags ya know?" Hornet said to William while she grinned.

"Hornet! It's not like that!" Enterprise denied as her cheeks reddening a bit.

"Bah, don't ya bother hiding it! Everyone knew how enthusiastic ya are!" Hornet said to Enterprise while she grinned.

"You have free period for today, go explore the island, get a grip on your surrounding environment. I'll sort out what we should do today" William said out loud.

"Are you sure about letting the ladies run amok along the facility?" Hood asked William with skeptical gaze directed at him.

"…Well, now that you mention it…" William said to Hood while he pursed his lips.

"Komandir! Komandir!" Avrora enthusiastically approached William's seat.

"What is it, Avrora?" William asked Avrora.

"Can I go play by the beach?" Avrora asked William while she rubbed his shoulders.

"Have you had your breakfast?" William asked Avrora.

"That I did! Can I?!" Avrora asked while she smiled widely.

"Alright, go on, have fun" William said to Avrora while he smiled.

"Spasibo! Mwah!" Avrora said to William then she kissed his right cheek.

Avrora quickly walked away alongside Saratoga and the others to the beach area, it looks like the group is quite large as majority of the ship girls also left following them after they were done with breakfast. William smiled a bit before he noticed that Enterprise, Hood, Hornet and Belfast stared at him continuously with half closed eyes…

"…What?" William asked out loud.

"Nothing...Anyway, what are you going to do today?" Enterprise asked William.

"I was thinking on touring around the island" William said to Enterprise.

…A quick walk around the island and William found himself stumbled upon the firing range for the military simulation activity, he stood in front of the entrance with Belfast to his side as he stared at the name of the establishment 'Heaven's Guard' written in a large plank on top of the building. Belfast sighed a bit when William stopped here, she should've known.

"Of course, you had to visit the gun range first" Belfast commented while she frowned a bit.

"Well…" William got nothing to counter that.

"Ah! Welcome, are you the rumored commander?" Someone said out loud.

William looked around and saw one man approached him, a bald, buffed Caucasian looking man with thick light brown beard approached them from within the building dressing up in camouflage cargo pants and black t-shirt. The man extended his hand and William grabbed then shook it as he stared back, William would assume that this guy is the one who managed the establishment.

"That I am. William Blaze" William said to the man.

"Horatio Watterson, welcome to my pride and joy The Heaven's Guard!" Horatio said to William while he smiled widely.

"Interesting name you got here" William said to the man while he smiled.

"This place might be a heaven, but who said the devils won't want to invade? If those Sirens dare to touch this island then they're in for a surprise…Oh, and we also provide recreational activity. Come in! Come in!" Horatio said to William as he led William and Belfast inside the building.

The interior of the building is like what anyone would expect of an armory, neatly placed rows of shelves, racks and several gun cages. There's another door which led to the firing range and the playing arena, overall the establishment is quite huge in size and William could say that dozens of people could use the facility at the same time with either shooting training or even playing military simulation…William decided to head toward one of the racks and he grabbed an AK74 Rifle when he noticed one thing, based on the weight, texture and mechanism…this is real guns.

"This is real guns. Are you using TTR?" William asked Horatio as he inspected the AK74.

"Tactical Training Rounds, yes. We have ass load of those and we have enough for sustained activity for a month" Horatio said to William.

"That so…Hmm, Experimental Model 8? I thought they stopped producing these guns few years back?" William said out loud as he put down the AKM and grabbed the XM8 Rifle.

"Ho, you know your stuff. I managed to salvage some from scrapping, beautiful gun though it still requires many improvement. Apparently Eagle Union's didn't want them to replace their M16's…I'll be honest, I thought you're just an average officer who deals with paperwork and strategies" Horatio said to William while he folded his arms.

"Arthur Pendragon Military Academy, 32nd Graduate for Bellerophon Future Warrior Curriculum and served four years on Azur Lane Special Operation Forces Commandos Division…Sorry to say but paperwork isn't my strong suit" William said to Horatio as he put down the XM8 back on the racks.

Both Horatio and Belfast widened their eyes when they heard what William just said, but each of them got a different reason on why. Belfast was surprised that William was more than willing to provide his background to a random person, not to mention he actually graduated from Arthur Pendragon Military Base which she heard had produced many competent field commanders and officers across Britain. Horatio however was more shocked to hear the later, Bellerophon Future Warrior Curriculum is some kind of a gamble and according to some people is a waste of resources and time.

…When it's first proposed, many generals and leaders considered it to be overly complicated and time consuming. Bellerophon Program was conceived to create the best of the best in a soldier, each cadet had to fit certain qualification before they could be considered passing the graduation process. The requirement is quite simple in theory, each of them had to pass the combat and theoretical lesson then examination. In practical however, it's much more complex. Usually the officer cadet would be trained in basic combat but focusing more on theoretical aspect alongside strategy lesson, to make them fit to lead a large scale forces and getting them used to the pressure on commanding one. Bellerophon Program however, up the ante quite a lot.

In addition to the theoretical and strategy lesson being drilled to the cadets six days a week? The cadet also has to undergo intensive combat training, literally. Each cadet was trained as usual for the first year where they deemed passable as a regular soldiers and officers, the next three years was when the hell really started. They are immediately put in constant combat drills served to train Special Forces and often with live ammo, hammered six days a week by instructors physically and mentally. The instructors put on many simulated scenarios and even trained the cadets outside the academy to prepare them for anything.

Freezing lands on Northern Norway for Artic Warfare? Check. Scorching hot Northern Africa and West Asia for desert warfare? Check. Dense jungle of Borneo, Central Africa and Amazon Rainforest for guerilla styled warfare? Check. Hundreds of aerial combat drop to get them used to HALO and HAHO jumps? Check. Underwater SCUBA operation training alongside the Navy SEALs? Check. Simulated Zero Gravity Combat? Check. Aircraft piloting? Check. War machine training course with tanks and other vehicles? Check. Technology class so they could use them effectively? Check. Naval Warfare class so they could command a ship? Check. Intelligence work and espionage? Check. Covert infiltration deep behind enemy lines with nothing but a knife to survive? Check.

As anyone can see, four years training that each cadet undertook cost a lot of money. Many of the cadets couldn't keep up with this grueling training, few of them were mentally broken due to the constant stress and most even outright gave up along the way even though the state provided them scholarships and some 'incentive' for participating on this grueling program. Few of them even died during training accidents, handful of them who were luckier were 'permanently' injured not being able to function as a soldier and most of them accepted desk job for their future employment. However despite all that risk and money, it paid off in the end even when the results in a sense is…disappointing in numbers.

There's only seven worthy candidate that could be said passing this program after four years out of two hundred cadets, seven all rounded cadet who's ready to be placed in any front. Helena McAllen was deemed the best out of them, scoring remarkably in her leadership, strategy formulation, tactics implementation and problem solving method as she's the one who often led the other cadets during their training and all of them undeniably considered her as their leader. She also quite proficient in combat, not easily losing her composure and even managed some levelheaded thinking when faced with a critical situation…then, how about William?

William Blaze were considered not as smart as Lena when it comes to brain games and he's rated second behind her, but among the six others he's the most lethal when it comes to combat and field operations. His Close Quarter Battle skills are undeniably the best among them, very adept at stealth and infiltration, deadly proficient with firearms, capable as a hacker and tech specialist to some degree, decent pilot and vehicle operators, his physical strength served him well at any situation and he got the same leadership aura that the others immediately put him as Lena's second in command…other than he's a competent man for the job he's also the one who could understood her easier than the others, the fact they're dating each other back then is also an adding factor…

The seven of them were quickly split up in anticipation of the great war with Lena and William being recruited directly by Azur Lane High Command to serve in the newly formed Task Force Nimbus, those cadets are proven to be very valuable asset during the war and each of them were in constant demand in many fronts. Although close comrades, the seven of them didn't kept in touch with each other due to one single thing. They are highly independent from each other, they were taught to survive on their own and as results even though the seven of them could work well together they didn't have the time for any reunions and shit with their current task. One of them is a high ranking Admiral, one is the commander of the international ship girls division, two served in classified mission that only Eagle Union higher ups knew, one served in a secret installation and the other two were killed in action during the great war…communication between them also sparse due to the sensitive nature of their work with the exception of Lena and William.

"Bellerophon Future Warrior Curriculum?! Holy shit dude, you're in that experimental program!?" Horatio asked William in disbelieve.

"Yeah, that was tough and memorable four years…You know about em?" William asked Horatio while he smiled somberly.

"Heard about it during my time serving in Fort Knox…And Azur Lane Special Operation Forces Commandos Division! Bro, you sure got skills! How did you end up leading the ship girls?" Horatio asked William while he smiled.

"Lots of stuff involving black ink and some shite happens, but I don't regret it" William said to Horatio while he shrugged.

"Heh, who would when that ends up with you in the company of fine ladies like them eh?" Horatio asked William while he smirked.

"Damn straight" William answered while he also smiled.

But behind his smile William immediately took a cautious gaze at Horatio, it's clear that he's from Eagle Union and the fact he knew about experiments like Bellerophon Program means Horatio is some high ranked personnel back on Fort Knox. What is he doing here then? Did something happened to him? Lucas obviously knew if he let Horatio opened this establishment on his private island and surely he's familiar with Horatio…But he decided to get to that later when he could speak with Lucas himself, he got a lot of question to ask to be honest.

"So, what would you like to do? The guns and the ammo are all yours to use…just don't empty the entire armory, we'll need some to keep the cash flowing" Horatio said to William.

"Hahaha…Well, I was thinking on training my aim for a bit" William said to Horatio.

"Go ahead brother, pick your gun" Horatio said to William.

"Bel? Uh, you don't have to be here if you don't want to" William said to Belfast with a somber smile since he's kind of…neglecting her.

"But I want to watch how you perform, master" Belfast said to William while she smiled.

"Is that so…" William said out loud.

William approached the rack and he pursed his lips as he choose the gun he want to use, there's wide selection of them but he thought going with something familiar would be a good start as they would be here for the entire week after all. William took out the HK417 from the rack, he checked the mechanism before he deemed it's in good condition.

"You have some good taste" Horatio said to William.

"I don't know how, but Ironblood do make good guns" William said to Horatio while he shrugged.

"Have to agree with you there. Follow me to the firing range" Horatio said to William as he took out two magazines for HK417.

William took the magazines and he alongside Belfast followed Horatio to the firing range, they stood in one of the booth where Horatio handed them earplugs. After putting them on he turned on the firing range target mechanism and checked it for any abnormalities, once he's sure that everything works fine Horatio stared at William.

"Alright, stationary or reflex training?" Horatio asked William.

"Reflex" William said to Horatio.

"Sure thing, hope that left hand of yours won't slow you down. One minute, target stayed up for three seconds and new one pops out as soon you hit one…ready?" Horatio asked William.

"Hit it" William said to Horatio.

"Good luck" Horatio said to William.

Horatio then stood beside Belfast behind the safe yellow line as they waited for the five second countdown to finish, William regulated his breathing and ensured his grip is firm then setting his firing stance. They could hear a long beep which means the timer has started and the first target popped out, but not even one second later the target were splattered with paint that came from the gun William used and the target retracted itself before popping another. William continued firing at each target that popped out with each one being downed faster and faster than the previous one, the more he got used to the rifle the more reactive he became. The rifle is out of ammo and William took out the magazine, inserted a new one, released the bolt from its locked position and resumed firing…it didn't take him one minute to emptied two magazines which also means he took down sixty target so quickly he basically had to stop because Horatio only gave him two magazines.

"…Heh, now that I've seen it, you're definitely the real deal, man" Horatio said to William while he grinned.

"Thanks…Though, I was a bit slow to reload there" William said to Horatio as he returned the rifle to him.

"With your current left hand? It's still impressive you managed to reload your gun under two second" Horatio said to William.

"Master, that was impressive. How did you do that?" Belfast said to William while she smiled.

"Eight years holding and firing a rifle Bel, that's the result…So, how about you practice? The P228 I gave you could serve well for backup, right?" William asked Belfast.

"That's right…perhaps it would be best if I could learn from you directly" Belfast said to William.

"Do you mind if we use your range for a bit?" William asked Horatio.

"Oh no, not at all. Feel free to use the range, I'll be on the counter if you need me" Horatio said to William as he returned

"Thanks. So, what would you like to learn?" William said to Horatio then to Belfast.

"How about handguns?" Belfast asked William.

"Alright. Pick what you like" William said to Belfast.

Belfast and William returned to the armory section and he let Belfast browsed the selection for a handgun she'd like to use to train, she skimmed many handguns along the way until one managed to caught her attention which is a Colt Python that William recently used often. She took the gun from the racks and inspected it, the chrome metallic paint shine as its hit by the light coming from the lamp and Belfast carefully weighted the gun on her hands.

"This?" Belfast shown William the gun.

"A revolver?" William asked out loud.

"You often used this, am I right?" Belfast asked William.

"Yeah, alright then. Got to warn you though, this gave a nasty kick and if you aren't prepared then someone or even you could get injured" William said to Belfast.

"Understood" Belfast said to William while she nodded.

Belfast went ahead to the firing range first while William followed her shortly, she stood on the line and try to aim the pistol downrange. William suddenly grabbed her hand from behind which shocked Belfast as his huge hands gently positioned her hands to fire the gun, it's almost like she's being hugged from behind. However it didn't last long because as soon William corrected her fingers he stepped back and put on the earplugs for Belfast then himself, the head maid clicked her tongue a bit as she wished he would just stay like that a bit longer.

"…The trigger will be heavy to pull if the gun's hammer isn't retracted, so pull it to make the trigger lighter" William said to Belfast.

"Yes, I understand" Belfast said to William as she pulled the gun's hammer.

"Alright. Aim at that target, center of it" William said to Belfast as a human like target popped out.

"Not the head?" Belfast asked William.

"Well, even though you're quite good with a cannon it's a different matter when it comes to a handheld gun. Baby steps Bel…Now that you aimed at it, squeezed the trigger" William said to Belfast.

BANG!

"…Good, you managed to land a solid hit. Hit it again" William said to Belfast.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

Belfast managed to shoot six times in quick succession, she found that the recoil is quite huge for the first time but Belfast managed to quickly get used to the huge recoil. William was impressed that Belfast managed to shoot the gun quickly and still managed to hit the target, keep this up and she would be just as good as him with firearms.

"Nice shooting there for a beginner Bel, reload the gun with this" William said to Belfast as he handed her a moon clip.

"What is this?" Belfast asked William as she stared at the clip.

"Moon clip speed loader, much faster than loading the revolver with individual rounds" William said to Belfast.

"Yes" Belfast took out the used casings and reloaded the weapon.

"You know, keep this up and I might give you a hand cannon for yourself" William said to Belfast.

"Ufufu…I like the revolver, but I preferred the semi-automatic pistol after all" Belfast said to William as she handed him the revolver.

"I see…well, here you go" William said to Belfast as he handed her a P228.

Belfast smiled widely at the weapon before taking the weapon she's familiar with, she quickly head back into the firing range and disengaged the safety. William watched as Belfast took aim before she fired her gun and emptied its magazine quickly, it looks like Belfast got a quick trigger finger and that is something that will certainly benefited her if she had to use firearms. Belfast smiled in satisfaction when she kept hitting the target and even more accurate with the P228, she then handed the gun back to William.

"This is easily controllable" Belfast said to William.

"…Whoa, you're quite good" William said to Belfast while he smiled.

"Thank you master…We should bring Sheffield here, she would love this place" Belfast said to William.

"I thought so too. Then why don't you invite her? We still have six days to waste, Sheffield could surely relax in here" William said to Belfast.

"I shall invite her here then. Where are you going next?" Belfast asked William.

"I think I'll head for the beach, a little sunbathing shouldn't hurt" William said to Belfast.

"Understood…Master?" Belfast said to William.

"Yeah?" William asked Belfast.

"If you don't mind, can you teach me more about firearms, later?" Belfast asked William while she smiled.

"Sure, when I'm free" William said to Belfast as he smiled back.

William took the two handgun and he handed it back to Horatio who's looking at his tablet, Horatio stared at William when he put the handguns on the table in front of him. Horatio tilted his head to the right a bit to see Belfast still browsing the weapons available on the nearby rack, he had noted that most of the time her eyes trailed over to the man in front of him ever since they entered Heaven's Guard.

"…She got the hots for you, man" Horatio said to William in a low tone.

"Hehe…I know" William said to Horatio while he smiled.

.

William decided to change into a red Hawaiian t-shirt, short green cargo pants and sandals before grabbing a cooler box from the bar section of his room then stuffed some canned drinks alongside ass load of ice inside it. He walked out of his room and headed straight for the beach area where the ship girls have changed into their swimsuits and played around in the water or in the sands, William smiled widely at the scene before he grabbed one of the spare large umbrella from the beach supply house and walked to find a good spot to relax on the beach.

"Ah…clear blue sky, crystal clear water, white sands…this is magnificent" William said out loud while he smiled.

After briefly walking around and greeting some of the ship girls who spotted him, William did found a place which really fits the bill. But he's not the only one there because a ship girl already claimed the spot, she is Wales who donned in her white swimsuit with red linings while she sat on the sheet she already put beneath her while reading a book. William walked over towards her, Wales noticed that something large have shielded her from the sunlight and she instantly know who did it judging from the body size alone.

"Mind if I join you, Wales?" William asked Wales while he smiled.

"Oh dear, why of course not milord" Wales said to William as she smiled.

"You look nice by the way" William said to Wales while set up his umbrella next to Wales.

"Thank you, I want to say likewise but…you're still being half mummy" Wales said to William while she smiled softly.

"Heh, well, that won't stop me from enjoying the sunshine. Even though we also have a beach back at base, everyone immediately hit the beach just after breakfast" William said out loud.

"It might still be a beach, but it's quite different than the one in our base. It's something new that are worth trying" Wales said to William as she returned to read her book.

"Right" William said to Wales.

Wales relied on palm trees above her to shield her from the glaring sun, since William won't definitely fit under that small shadow casted by the tree he immediately set up the umbrella beside Wales, put on some sunscreen to his exposed skin, laid down his own sheet and laid himself on top of it as he put on a sunglasses. William immediately opened the cooler box that he brought and took out a can of soda to enjoy, around fifteen minutes later Wales closed her book and she scooted over to the side to stare at William.

"Milord, might I assume that you don't want to swim?" Wales asked William while she smiled.

"…I'd love to, were it not for this damn bandages and gauzes" William said to Wales without moving an inch.

"Ufufufufu, then could I trouble you a bit by taking care of this? I'd like to go for a dip" Wales asked William as she shown him her book.

"Go ahead, your book is safe with me" William said to Wales as he took the book from her hands.

"Thanks" Wales said to William before she head toward the water.

"William Shakespeare Love Poems Collection? Heh, quite sappy aren't you, Wales?" William said out loud as he stared at the book's cover while he smiled.

…William spend some time just laying down after that while shutting off his eye, this is a long vacation he should make the most of. Anyway, how about the schedule for the ship girls? He thought that military simulation might be a good game to improve their teamwork and perhaps settled some grudges, but he also want them to have fun with the carnival's ride, Movie Theater or even go karting…They got free day today so maybe he should arrange a go kart tournament tomorrow? Suddenly he heard couple of ship girls approaching him, William sat up and saw bunch Sakura Empire Destroyers and Submarines converged on him.

"Shikikan! Come with us!" Fumizuki said as she grabbed William's right hand.

"Oh? Where to?" William asked Fumizuki curiously.

"Come on! Just follow us!" Fumizuki said to William as she pulled him up.

"A-Alright, don't pull so hard now. I'm coming" William said out loud as he followed the girls.

They led him to a spot where William could see several bright yellow folding of something on the ground, he honestly had no clue on what that is until the girls unfolded it. It's seems to be several floats, couple of destroyers held it on their hands before they stared at William with hopeful gaze.

"Shikikan, please help us blow this" Kisaragi said to William.

"…You wouldn't happen to have any air pump around, right?" William asked out loud while he cringed.

"…We don't have them" Kisaragi said to William while she frowned deeply.

"…Goddamnit…Alright, alright. I'll blow it on" William said out loud as he took the floaters.

…After blowing seven floaters, William laid down on the white sand as he panted hard for being out of breath. Seven fucking floaters, by mouth! He shouldn't do this again, next time he better searched for some air pump despite those cute destroyer's sad face! The destroyers and some submarines excitedly took the floaters with them and ran off to the beach area.

"Yay! Arigatou nee shikikan!" Mutsuki said to William.

"Yeah…yeah…Go on" William said to Mutsuki as he catch his breath.

"Fufufufu, ah Will, you can't stand seeing them that sad aren't you?" Someone said to William.

"You're right…Eh?" William said out loud when he noticed something blocking his vision.

"Hmm? Is something wrong?" The person asked William.

William took a second to process what he saw and he sat up right to get a better look at the beauty in front of him, the one who stood in front of him right now is Hood who decided to wear her swimsuit. William had never seen Hood in such revealing outfit but he was right about one thing, Hood is very sexy. Her breast are well endowed, not too large but not small, her hips are very nicely shaped, her thighs just got the right thickness and my god…those ass. He couldn't believe that there's someone that as beautiful as the woman in front of him, he felt blessed knowing someone like her and the fact she's someone he really liked.

"…Hood?" William asked out loud with disbelieved face.

"Yes, it's me" Hood said to William while she smiled.

"…Whoa…you looked magnificent" William said to Hood as he stood up.

"That's all you have to say?" Hood asked William while she playfully pouted.

"…Your beauty is enhanced by the sunlight and your choice of swimwear is both elegant and sexy at the same time, it really shown that you actually hide so much beneath your usual dress and the fact that you have a very beautiful and proportionate body type is an absolute plus which added with your brilliance like a sun…there" William said to Hood as he stared at her right in her eyes while he smirked.

"…You can be quite…descriptive, when you want to, hmm? I'm in a good mood so I'll accept this praise of yours~" Hood said to William while she smiled softly.

"That I am…Well, how about joining me under the cover of umbrella that I've set up back there? We could chat while enjoying the clear weather and beautiful seaside view" William asked Hood as he pointed toward his previous spot.

"I'll take up on that offer~" Hood said to William while she smiled.

William nodded his head as he offered her his right hand which Hood gladly took, the both of them walked toward the spot which is quite some distance away hand in hand as they occasionally watched the other ship girls played in the water or sunbathing. Both of them arrived underneath the umbrella and William sat closely with Hood, both of them were silent as they just enjoyed the scene in front of them. William however was feeling a little parched after his blowing session and he opened the cooler to take out something to drink, he took out another soda can before he looked at Hood.

"Cold drinks?" William offered Hood for some drinks.

"Anything non-carbonated?" Hood asked William.

"May I offer you some orange juice?" William took out a canned orange juice.

"Thank you" Hood took the orange juice.

Hood and William drank together before they continued talking with one another leisurely, both of them occasionally commented on the things they see such as Rodney who had to persuade Nelson to play in the water, Hipper who looked furious as she chased Prinz around while she laughed, Avrora who energetically building a sand castle with Saratoga and San Diego, Javelin alongside Laffey and Ayanami who consoled Z23 regarding something, Zara who spoke with Honolulu which resulted with William confusing between the two due to their almost same physical characteristic and Kongou class sisters who walked together alongside the beach as they chatted…Hood noticed a book that was put close to the cooler box, she took it and smiled upon seeing the cover.

"My, you read this book?" Hood asked William as she took Wales' book.

"Um-" William wasn't given any chance when Hood opened the book.

"Ah, this line…Shall I compare thee to a summer day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate... So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, so long lives this, and this gives life to thee…Such a beautiful verse, could you read this for me?" Hood asked William while she smiled softly.

"Errr, didn't you just read that?" William asked Hood with cocked eyebrows.

"Please, humour this silly wish of mine?" Hood asked William while she smiled softly.

"Ah well…Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate... So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, so long lives this, and this gives life to thee" William decided to said the line while he stared at Hood.

"…I was right" Hood said to William as she gazed softly at him.

"On what?" William asked Hood.

"Hearing you saying it, it feels so much differently than when I read it…Thank you for going along with it, Will" Hood said to William.

Oh, the mood was great, the atmosphere was so perfect that if they kissed right now it won't matter if the other ship girls watched them for they don't care about anything else other than the both of them. But before the both of them could lean on each other they noticed someone walked toward them from the periphery of their eyes, that person is Wales who's soaked to the bone after she's done with her swimming. William turned toward her and his eye immediately glued toward her chest where her white swimsuit in the damp condition revealed her pink nipples that were seen through her swimsuit, he's in dilemma whether to tell her or pretended he's oblivious to it…but, Wales noticed them first and she smirked at William when she realized that William was staring at her chest which resulted with him throwing his gaze to the side.

"Dear me, you're voice are quite manly when you read that poem" Wales said to William while she smirked.

"Ah Wales, you're back" William commented without looking at her.

"I'm really sorry for interrupting you milord, Hood" Wales said to both of them while she smiled.

"It's fine Wales, I got what I came for" Hood said to Wales while she smiled back.

"We're going to hold a volleyball tournament between Royals and Eagle Union, do you want to join us?" Wales asked Hood while she smiled.

"I'll be there when the field's ready, Wales. I still have something to do" Hood said to Wales.

"Got it. See you later, milord~" Wales said to William while she winked at him.

"Yeah…what did you have to do?" William said to Wales then asked Hood.

"I forgot to apply some sun screen earlier, do you mind helping me applying it to me?" Hood said to William as she took out the sun screen that's near William's cooler box.

"Is that so? Well, lay down" William said to Hood.

Hood turned around a bit and shown him her backside, William gulped a bit at the thought he had to caress her bare skin and he wondered if he could held himself back from touching anywhere inappropriate? He will be presumptuous, Hood doesn't seems to mind if he wants to do it but he should at least go on a date with her first before he initiate anything like that.

"Try not to cop a feel, alright~?" Hood playfully said to William while she winked.

"Ooh, I'm hurt. You have that little trust for me…don't worry, those kind of things is reserved 'after' date" William whispered to Hood's right ear while he smirked.

"My, you have ways to make me anticipate it eagerly" Hood said to William as she smiled softly.

William applied sizeable sunscreen's cream to his right hand since his left is still injured and he won't want to stain it with sunscreen, he carefully applied some to Hood's backside. Hood flinched a bit due to the coldness of the cream, but overtime she started to enjoy his big hand moving around her back. William squeezed some more and started applying to her hands, her thighs and legs, he carefully applied some to her chest region after asking for her permission which she gave without missing a beat where he's being very careful as he grazed her breast, then he applied some and he gently caressed her face as he applied the sunscreen at the same time…Hood was smiling widely the entire time, William didn't know what was she thinking but if she seemed happy then that's fine.

"There, done. Having big hand does have its merits" William said to Hood.

"Ufufu, thank you Will. I'll be going now, wish me luck dear~" Hood said to William.

"Yeah, have fun" William said to Hood as he waved.

William watched Hood went toward the volleyball field including the nets that have been set up by the time he put on sunscreen on Hood, he watched as the ship girls played with each other on an intense volleyball match. Now he felt his stomach rumbling and he started to think regarding lunch, it might be a good idea to get a full course meal where he could stuff himself full. Yeah, some roasted chicken or beef would be a good meal…William was so deep in thought regarding his meal that he failed to realized a volleyball flying in high speed was coming at him, the ball is coming straight to his face.

"WATCH OUT COMMANDER!" Someone shouted out loud.

BUAK!

"Son of a…" William held his face after the volleyball hit him straight in the face.

"A-Are you alright?!" Some ship girls converged at him.

"…My nose isn't broken but still, how did you ladies managed to get the ball to my spot?!" William asked out loud.

"Um, we were fiercely defending and one of the saving grace resulted with the ball thrown your way" Brooklyn said to William while she frowned.

"I see…well, here" William gave the ball to Brooklyn.

"Thank you and we're sorry about that" Brooklyn said to William.

"Don't mind about it" William said to Brooklyn.

While the ship girls returned to the volleyball match William decided to take a stroll around to try and find someplace to eat, but he stopped along the way when he noticed that Arizona and Pennsylvania who dressed in their usual clothes stared at Enterprise who for some reason had her rigging equipped. Out of pure natural curiosity William approached them, Arizona noticed his footsteps and she turned around to greet William.

"Good day commander" Arizona greeted while she smiled.

"Good day, Arizona…So, any idea what's Enterprise going to do with her bow?" William asked out loud.

"She said she want to try flying" Arizona said to William.

"Like Prinz? How?" William asked Arizona.

"Well, Prinz do have her advanced rigging so she can hover, Enterprise couldn't fly on her own so she like to test some theory" Arizona said to William.

"…Why do I get a bad feeling about this?" William asked out loud as he stared at Enterprise.

"…She's going to fail" Pennsylvania said out loud while she frowned.

"You're that certain?" William glanced at Pennsylvania.

Enterprise turned around and saw William standing beside the two battleship, she head toward William who alongside Arizona and Pennsylvania looked confusedly at her. They thought Enterprise is about to cancel her experiment until she grabbed a rope from her bag beside Pennsylvania, she tied the rope to herself before she stared at William.

"Commander, can you do me a favor?" Enterprise asked William.

"What is it?" William asked Enterprise back.

"Please record this experiment, I want hard evidence on what I can improve later on" Enterprise said to William as she handed him her phone.

"Sure" William took the phone as he set it to recording mode.

"Test number one! Enterprise, launch!" Enterprise said out loud.

Enterprise summoned an arrow which she tied with the rope connected to her body, William immediately got an idea on what Enterprise will do and frankly speaking he found it to be absolutely moronic. But he got no heart to tell her that, instead he silently watched as Enterprise launched her bow upwards and she got pulled from the raw force of the arrow being launched which resulted in her 'technically' fly to the sky. Without any sort of control however Enterprise quickly dived back toward the sea and landed face first toward the sea, William, Pennsylvania and Arizona cringed when they saw that and watched as Enterprise rose up and walked back toward them with wet clothes.

"Told you so" Pennsylvania said out loud.

"Oh dear, that must've hurt" Arizona said out loud.

"…Shoot, how can that fail? I must improve that technique…Thank you for helping me, commander" Enterprise said to William.

"I don't feel like helping much to be honest" William said to Enterprise while he pursed his lips.

"But you still help" Enterprise said to William.

Both Arizona and Pennsylvania helped Enterprise by checking if she got any wounds while they took off the rope around her waist, after making sure Enterprise is alright the both of them left to get some meal. Enterprise was still contemplating on the failure from that flying strategy alone, she thought about trying it again and determined to land on her feet before William tapped her shoulder.

"…Enterprise" William said to Enterprise.

"Yeah?" Enterprise asked William.

"That technique of yours might not be applicable as a 'flying' method but it still has its uses. You could scale a large obstacle with it or even use that technique as emergency maneuver, or you could even use it to get close to an enemy to hit them in close quarter strike. Try to experiment with it, I'm sure you'll find a lot of use for it" William said to Enterprise with serious face.

"…Hehehe…that helps a lot, commander. Thank you for telling me that" Enterprise said to William while she smiled.

"Don't worry about it, as your commander it's my duty to make sure you're skills continue to grow…and as a friend, it's my job to humor you when failure kicked you down" William said to Enterprise while he smiled.

"Friends huh?" Enterprise said out loud.

"Yup, friends" William said to Enterprise while he nodded.

"…Then having a friend like you, really puts me at ease" Enterprise said to William while she smiled.

…Both of them decided to get lunch after that, after hearty meal William head back to the beach area to find some girls did continue playing on the beach. Boy they sure got the energy to spend, William was even feeling tired after all that activity and eating a good meal…he's getting old huh? He's only twenty six but he felt like an old man already, William decided that it might be just because he's full now so it's completely within reason to feel sleepy. Just as he was about to head back toward his previous spot, he noticed Cleveland waving and calling him from near the water. William shrugged a bit as he head over to her, he wondered what Cleveland want with him.

"Commander? You're not swimming?" Cleveland asked William.

"I can't get these bandages and gauze wet, Cleve" William said to Cleveland while he shrugged.

"Don't worry, we got this air mattress so you can just sunbathe in the water" Cleveland said to William as she shown him the neon green air mattress.

"Wow, that's a good idea" William said to Cleveland while he smiled.

"I also tied some rope to this rock so you wouldn't just float off to the sea, commander. We noticed you're quite miserable with being confined to the land, this way you could be in the water without having to get wet!" Cleveland said to William while she grinned.

"You're very thoughtful Cleve" William said to Cleveland as he patted her in the head.

"Ehehehe, thanks" Cleveland said to William while she grinned.

William put the mattress on the water and he immediately set sail for the sea, he laid down on it as he took off his Hawaiian t-shirt and used it as a makeshift pillow. The waves, the heat of the sun, the perfect humidity and full stomach have really make William sleepy. He closed his eye as he relaxed himself, sleep would soon overtake him and he hoped somehow that he won't get sun burned despite the sun screen he used.

"…Ah…life is good" William said out loud before he drifted to sleep.

Back on the beach area, the ship girls still played around the area. George V and Warspite walked and talked together while heading toward Queen Elizabeth who sunbathed while being accompanied by Belfast, Sheffield, Edinburgh and Suffolk. George however didn't exactly looked where she was going and so she tripped on something and fell to the sand, Warspite was quite surprised that George would fell so suddenly.

"Are you alright, George?" Warspite asked George worriedly.

"Yes I'm fine, but who put this rope here? It's quite dangerous! I shall cut it so it won't trip anyone ever again" George V said out loud as she summoned her sword and cut the rope.

"Good riddance. Now let's meet with her majesty" Warspite said to George.

…Akagi strolled around the beach in a swimsuit as she constantly looked sideways, she have been searching for William the entire afternoon but she haven't found any trace of him in the slightest. Some girls said that William head back to the beach after lunch but when she got there, he's nowhere to be found. Really, William should buy a new phone so it will be easier for the girls to contact him…After walking for a bit, Akagi stumbled on Zuikaku who's taking some pictures for Takao and Atago.

"Akagi-senpai?" Zuikaku asked Akagi as she approached her.

"Zuikaku, did you see shikikan-sama?" Akagi asked Zuikaku.

"No I haven't, except during breakfast" Zuikaku said to Akagi.

"Nee-sama, have you seen shikikan-sama around?" Akagi asked Amagi who happened to pass nearby.

"Iie, he was on the beach before but I haven't seen him again since then" Amagi said to Akagi while she frowned a bit.

"Where could he be? It's almost dusk and no one saw him yet" Akagi said out loud.

Yeah, the sun is about to set and William was nowhere to be found. Belfast, Hood, Wales, Enterprise, Hornet have helped searching for him around the island and they still haven't found any trace of him. Where could he go? Just as the three Sakura ladies thought about all the possible place William could be in this quite large island Cleveland approached them from the side, she seemed curious on why did these three ladies looked quite confused and all serious.

"Hey, something bothering you girls?" Cleveland asked out loud while she smiled.

"Cleveland-san, have you seen shikikan-sama?" Amagi asked Cleveland.

"Hmm? Ah, commander is taking sun bath near the pier. Now that you mention it, isn't he taking too long?" Cleveland said to Amagi before she rubbed her chin.

"…He probably fell asleep" Zuikaku said to Cleveland.

"Maybe. Follow me, I'll guide you to where he is" Cleveland said to the ship girls.

Cleveland led the three Sakura ship girls to the spot where William boarded the mattress to sunbathe in the sea, it seems he's taking too long to wake up so they should just dragged him back to the beach and then wake him up since it's almost dusk and he won't want to miss the appetizing dinner consisted of sea food. However Cleveland was shocked, William was nowhere to be found near the area and she scratched her head as she thought on where could have he gone.

"Commander? Eh? Where is he?!" Cleveland asked out loud.

"Isn't he supposed to be here?" Akagi asked Cleveland.

"I don't know, maybe he went somewhere else? No wait…Where is the rope?!" Cleveland asked out loud in panic as she searched for the rope.

"Rope?! What do you mean, Cleveland-san?!" Akagi asked Cleveland in shock.

"…Ah shit, someone cut the rope! It's the only thing holding that air mattress to the beach and shikikan is aboard it!" Cleveland said out loud while she grabbed the remains of the rope that have been cut clean.

"…If that's the case, then shikikan is-" Zuikaku said out loud with her eyes widening in realization.

…William wide awake as he stared at the orange sky and the sun that almost set on the horizon, several sea gulls flew in circles above him and William noticed that some are resting on him and the mattress. William sat up which caused the seagulls to fly away, William looked around and noticed that Eden was very far on the horizon which means he have been drifting to the middle of the sea…With Eden being even tinier than his pinky finger, it means he's quite some distance from the island. William took a deep breath before he let out the loudest curse he ever utter in his twenty six years of life…

"…FFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!"

.

…After an exhausting swimming trip back to Eden, William entered the lobby area with sands around his wet body, damp gauzes and bandages, wet and hard hair due to sea water, exhausted state and very pissed off regarding what befell him. He approached the receptionist who looked stunned at what he saw, he's in no means expected that the only male guest would suffer something like this. The receptionist worried even more when William stood in front of the desk while he gathered his bearing and breath, he looked like he has a lot to say…

"…Um, sir?" The receptionist asked William.

"Do you…have any water?" William asked the receptionist with hoarse voice.

"H-Here" The receptionist handed William his bottle of water.

William didn't hesitate to snatch the bottle and downed its entire content in a consecutive big gulps that the receptionist and the other employee could only stare at him, what the hell happened to that man? William emptied the bottle, put it on the desk before he exhaled in relief…After ten seconds of gathering himself, William stared at the receptionist with serious face.

"Thanks…If anyone ask for me, I'll be on my room and I don't want to be disturbed. By anyone" William said to the receptionist.

"C-Certainly sir" The receptionist said to William.

…Most of the ship girls are on the restaurant having dinner, but William didn't have the appetite nor the emotional stability to face anyone right now after the misfortune that befell him. He don't know how the hell the rope that anchored him failed to do the job, but he put that in the past as his only concern now is to take a bath and then just go to sleep already…He entered his room, quickly ditched his damped clothes, took a soaking warm bubble bath, put on his bandages and gauze from the room's first aid kit, dressed in a black t-shirt and red sweatpants before he threw himself to his king sized bed…However, not too long after that, he heard knocking on the door...William pretended that he's asleep but the knocking just didn't stop, someone behind that door is quite persistent. William raised himself and opened the door quickly while he scowled, Prinz and St. Louis who wore their pajamas jerked a bit when the door was opened but they quickly collected themselves as both of them smiled at him.

"…Yeah?" William asked both of them in annoyed tone.

"Up for some poker, commander? We haven't see you for the entire day" St. Louis asked William while she smiled.

"We have booze too" Prinz said to William while she smiled smugly.

"…After the incident this afternoon, I'm not in the mood to play games or interact with anyone. I just want to sleep" William said to both of them while he scowled.

"Oh we heard about it from the receptionist…But commander, maybe couple of games will put your bad mood away so you can sleep soundly?" St. Louis asked William while she smiled.

"Come on, we'll be gentle~" Prinz said to William while she smirked.

…To be frank, maybe. But poker isn't something that could put a bad mood away just like that, it even has potential to make it worse…But William do feel bad if he just straight up refused because Prinz and St. Louis only want to hang out with him, he should just let them. Making sure the girls stays happy is also one of his responsibilities as their commander, he's getting soft to be honest…back then, no matter who deal with if he didn't want to participate then that's it…looks like the girls changed him bit by bit.

"…Alright fine, come in. Set the table Lou, I'll get some snacks here" William said to both of them as he head toward the telephone.

"Got it" St. Louis said to William.

"…Hello? Room service?" William called the receptionist.

"Yes, how can I help you sir?" The receptionist asked William.

"I was wondering if you can deliver some snacks to room 0212" William asked the receptionist.

"Ah yes of course, what kind of snacks would you want sir?" The receptionist asked William.

"Something crunchy and salty" William said to the receptionist.

"Certainly, we will deliver it to you shortly" The receptionist said to William.

"Thanks" William said to the receptionist then hanged up the call.

William saw that the table is already set to play, cards are being shuffled, chips are being placed, alcohol from the minibar have been served, it's game on…William sat on one of the empty seat as Prinz shuffled the card, he then stared at the cards that were being distributed.

"…So, how are we going to play this?" William asked out loud.

"Simple, it's our regular poker with some penalty in the end" Prinz said to William.

"And what's the penalty?" William asked Prinz.

"You have to strip if you lose" St. Louis is the one who answered.

"…Can I wear some more clothes then?" William asked St. Louis while he frowned a bit.

"Oh my, not confident in your poker skills? Or are you just afraid?" St. Louis asked William while she smiled confidently.

"…Alright, fine. Obviously my contingency plan if I was challenged to a game like this won't work…Bring it on!" William said to St. Louis with serious face.

"Splendid. Now, let's see you gamble for your clothes commander~" St. Louis said to William.

…The game was on, William looked at his card to find jack of hearts and two of spades…Bitch, this is a double edged blade card and the potential to win is very dependent on the other cards. William noticed that he's the one who had to make the first move, he throw a chip to the front as he made his move and dived into a game where one opponent is quite luck while the other one could be quite sly…he's fucked either way.

"Call" William said out loud.

"Call" St. Louis said out loud.

"Raise" Prinz said out loud confidently.

Three cards were placed in the center, two of diamonds, ace of hearts and five of clubs…Alright, he could at least hold on with one pair, if he's lucky then someone here might only have high cards…William felt confident, he throw another chip into the bet.

"Call" William said out loud.

"I'll raise" St. Louis said out loud.

"All in~" Prinz suddenly said out loud.

"…What the fuck…Fold" William said out loud as he pushed his card.

"Hah…fold" St. Louis said out loud after she sighed.

"Fufu, you two are so cautious~. At this rate, I'll be the only one with clothes on" Prinz said to both of them while she smirked.

Prinz revealed that her card is all high cards! For fuck sake, William still have a chance to beat her if he also went all in but he's being a pussy for the fear of losing on round one and had to continue naked! St. Louis shrugged as she took off her hair band which let her hair loose while William removed his t-shirt…Bah, William felt his blood rushed a bit…this game is proven to be interesting, he will see this through to then end and seeing both voluptuous St. Louis and the sexy Prinz Eugen naked will be his worthwhile rewards! William deal the next cards and watched as St. Louis and Prinz made their move, William decided to play this strategically so he put his knowledge and tactics to the test.

"Check" William said out loud.

"…I'll raise" St. Louis said after she saw the cards.

"I'm folding" Prinz said out loud as she pushed her cards.

"Call" William said out loud.

"Call" St. Louis said out loud.

After back and forth betting William placed all five cards on the table, both of them revealed their cards at the same time. St. Louis got three of a kind while William got straight. Its instant win for him, William pumped his fist a bit as he took the spoils of war with him.

"Wow kommandant, you're in luck" Prinz said to William while she smirked.

"As we promised, take it off ladies" William said out loud as he folded his arms.

"My, what a lewd request~" Prinz said to William with teasing tone.

"Your psychological warfare tricks won't work on me" William said to Prinz with serious face.

Both of the ladies decided to untangled their pajama shirts, St. Louis wore a black bra while Prinz have a white camisole underneath her yellow pajamas…Ooh, both of them show no hesitation whatsoever when they untangled their shirt and William could say he liked what he's seeing. But before they continue the game, there's a knocking on the door and William opened it to see that their snacks have arrived. After thanking the attendee he took the snacks in, put it on the table as they continued playing while enjoying the snacks and drinks…Few rounds passed and the match is more intense than ever, cards are thrown and chips were placed in the end of the epic round.

"I'm folding. I suppose all the luck is taken by Louis" Prinz said out loud as she threw her card down.

"Oh well then, call" William said out loud.

"Fufu, raise" St. Louis said out loud while she smiled.

"I thought so" Prinz said to St. Louis while she smirked.

"Two pair, what's yours?" William said to St. Louis as he revealed his cards.

"Four of a kind~" St. Louis said to William as she revealed her hands.

"…Bollocks" William clicked his tongue.

"Don't worry, I'm just quite lucky after all" St. Louis said to William as he took off his pants.

"Okay, let's keep going" Prinz said out loud while she smiled smugly.

"I don't know, we're down to our underwear after all" William said to Prinz.

All three of them have downed to their underwear, William with only his boxer, St. Louis with her black bra and panties alongside Prinz with her white camisole and white panties. The stark contrast between the two of them is quite interesting to see, but William avoided looking for too long less his brain quickly activated 'breeding mode' and raised his main gun without his consent…

"Are you a risk taker? Or are you too scared?" St. Louis asked William while she grinned.

"I don't know, how about you two? I'm fine being naked" William asked back while he smirked.

"Oh we know, you did show us already…Mind showing it again~?" Prinz asked William as she smirked.

"…Heh…alright, let's get this over with" William said out loud as he dealt the cards.

The final round for William begins because if he lose this one he'll be completely naked, well it's not Prinz and St. Louis would mind about it but William still like to keep his dignity in front of the ship girls intact. They played once more, William got a good card this time with two aces and he could win with three of a kind. Yeah, those girls will expose their breast first before William had to throw away his boxers! The moment of truth came with William possessing three of a kind, St. Louis with straight and Prinz with Full House…In that instance, William believed that god is somehow involved directly in his losses.

"…What" William said out loud as he threw his cards.

"Oh my, looks like someone's going naked" St. Louis said to William while she smirked.

"Damnit…oh well" William said out loud.

Well, a loss is a loss. William quickly untangled his boxers and threw it away across the room and there he is seated in front of the girls while he's in his naked glory, but despite his bravado William's cheeks went red a bit because frankly speaking he's not used getting naked in front of women…with some exceptions in the past.

"Fufufu" St. Louis giggled as she stared at William.

"…Okay enough, we need to go to bed, it's late" William said out loud as he went to grab his boxer.

"Oh yes, we need to go to the bed alright" Prinz said out loud.

And just like that, Prinz and St. Louis both approached William, grabbed him then threw him toward the king sized bed. William was quite surprised by the sudden attack from behind and he got no time to react before he found himself laid on top of his bed with two ship girls crawled toward him in all four, there's this hungry look in their eyes, a faint blush on their cheeks and they smirked as if they just got their prey cornered. Honestly? Their stare is quite arousing and it quickly quickened his heartbeat, this entire situation just went somewhere he honestly didn't expected.

"L-Ladies, I think you're both too intoxicated!" William said out loud while he smiled awkwardly.

"Don't you know? I have a very high tolerance" Prinz said to William while she smirked.

"And I didn't drink that much" St. Louis said to William while she also smirked.

"Also kommandant, I'm feeling quite…hot. Care to cool me down?" Prinz asked William while she smiled…seductively.

"How?" William asked Prinz with cocked eyebrows.

"I think you know" Prinz said to William while she still smiled seductively.

"That's…" William's cheeks brightened red when something clicked on his mind.

"C'mon, we know you want it" St. Louis said to William while she smirked.

William wasn't able to respond because as soon as St. Louis finished speaking Prinz immediately assaulted his lips, kissing him lustfully and hungrily while she caressed his thick muscly chest. Prinz pulled back and William caught his breath but before he could utter anymore word St. Louis took her turn by also kissing him, she isn't as hungry as Prinz with her kiss but with the way her tongue inviting his to tango with each other it was clear that she's very much in heat! William widened his eye when something grabbed his crotch, Prinz have moved toward his pants and stroked his quickly hardening big cock to make sure it stiffened as quickly as possible. She moved her hands methodically, stroking the shaft gently but with ferocious speed.

"This is your true goal isn't it?!" William said out loud after St. Louis stopped kissing him.

"Sheesh, took you long enough~" St. Louis said to William as she moved toward his crotch.

"I mean, a week-long vacation, stressful job and a hot man flaunting his naked body in front of us? What girl won't want to be a little…frisky~" Prinz said to William as she stared at him with half closed eyes clouded in lust.

"This also a thanks for what you've done for us all this time, commander. Don't worry…sit back and enjoy~" St. Louis said to William.

Prinz have stopped her hand job but she switched her hand with her soft, pinkish tongue, she took the big head of the penis to her warm inviting mouth and William inhaled sharply from the sensation alone. Man, the last time he got a blowjob it was Belfast who did it and she's quite a pro! Prinz tongue circled around the head slowly, methodically, making sure every corner received her gentle licking while she occasionally sucked him in. St. Louis opted to take his shaft by lightly kissing it, she slowly licked and sucked it at the same time as if she's licking the leftover of the ice cream on a stick. Being assaulted from all sides by two formidable tongue? William could only laid in silence as he revel in pleasure, he sharply inhaled again when St. Louis started to fondle his testicles.

"A-Ah!" William groaned a bit.

"Double blowjob, you're a lucky man~" St. Louis said to William while she smirked.

"You two are too good at this" William said out loud.

"Why thank you~" Prinz said to William while she grinned.

Both of them continued their assault, this time both of them moved up and down on each side of his cock and they're going at it ferociously. Both of them also has their hands stroking his shaft and William quickly felt that he's going to burst soon, who wouldn't when they got assaulted by double blowjob? William was certain that he could last longer but it would seems the two girls on his cock was determined to milk him as soon as possible, William felt his cum quickly rising toward the tip of his penis and he warned the two of them quickly.

"I'm cumming" William said out loud.

And he came, shooting out jellylike white liquid which hit St. Louis by the face which caused her to yelp in surprise. However she quickly put his penis inside her warm mouth as William fired off another burst of cum inside her mouth. Prinz forcefully grabbed his cock from St. Louis and stuffed her mouth with his cock, William quickly shoot out more cum inside Prinz's mouth which she moaned in surprise but immediately swallowed despite the large load of it in single burst. Prinz wasn't satisfied yet and she stroked his penis to bring out more of his cum and William shoot out his last load inside her mouth, after he was done with his burst fire Prinz sucked on his cock to bring any remaining cum on his pipes. Prinz released his penis with an audible pop, just after she did that William last remaining cum for the orgasm spurted out a bit though it doesn't have the force as his previous burst. His cock was stained with his own sperm and St. Louis quickly get to work by giving him another blowjob, she thoroughly licked his entire cock to clean it and make sure none of his cum got wasted.

"It's quite thick…how long since you have sex, kommandant?" Prinz asked William while she smirked.

"Well…it's been a while" William sheepishly smiled.

"Ufufufu, kyaa!" St. Louis suddenly yelped in surprise.

"My turn…sit on my face, Lou" William said to St. Louis.

William have recovered from the attack and it's time for his counter offensive, he quickly grabbed St. Louis by her waist, raised her up and put her groin on top of his mouth. William ripped off St. Louis' bra which revealed her voluptuous breast then her black panties which revealed her bare pink pussy with some wispy blue pubic hair near her clitoris, he spared her barely any time to react as he dived in and pushed his big tongue into the tiny entrance of her vagina and St. Louis' legs immediately lose any power it has and she sat on top of his face while she grabbed his head and pulled it toward her crotch. It's the first time she experienced cunnilingus and safe to say she wanted more, William immediately understood her and he pushed his tongue further in which caused his nose to brush her clitoris.

"Oh!" St. Louis moaned as surge of pleasure coursed through her body.

"Well then, guess this Excalibur is mine to take~" Prinz said out loud.

Prinz has untangled all of her clothing, she's bare naked as she took position above William's already stiff as a steel cock. Prinz slowly lowered herself while she positioned her vagina with his cock, she slowly try to get used to the big size of his penis head before she lowered herself. The tip of William's penis hit something like a barrier, Prinz took a deep breath before she lowered herself completely and took his penis entire length with her. Sharp painful sensation coursed through her nether regions and Prinz winced in pain, when William heard her painful wince he stopped licking St. Louis pussy and lifted her up a bit to see Prinz's condition.

"Ngh!" Prinz winced again as she still try to get used to his sheer size.

"Blood?!" William exclaimed out loud when he saw the base of his cock is coated in crimson.

"What do you expect? Of course it's my first time" Prinz said to William while she smiled smugly despite the pain she felt.

"Hey, don't stop now Will~" St. Louis said to William.

St. Louis lowered herself back and William continued with his work, Prinz who got used to the big size of his cock then started moving her hips up and down. William inhaled sharply, Prinz's pussy is tight! It enveloped his entire penis and he have brushed her cervix with each thrust! Prinz begun to steadily move her hips while she occasionally moaned in pleasure, William was still busy with St. Louis who stared down directly at William's right eye with her own half lidded eyes as her vagina being ravaged by his tongue…William however felt that Prinz is moving slowly so he released his hands from St. Louis thighs, she opted to used his head so she could steady herself. William moved his hand downwards as he grabbed on Prinz's creamy white thighs, he then pulled her down while he thrust his penis upwards at the same time, hitting her cervix and pushing the tip of his cock through the entrance to her womb. Prinz widened her eyes as she stared upwards while she took in the completely new sensation, she quickly lose any strength she had left on her lower body.

"AHN!" Prinz moaned out loud in ecstasy.

"Oh…Ngh…" St. Louis moaned seductively.

William started to move too while keeping Prinz in her place by grabbing her thighs, Prinz's hands used William's stomach to supported herself while she slowly caressed his very prominent abs. William's cock penetrated her cervix with each thrust and it caused her vagina to tighten even more, her sweet moans successfully caused him to moved even faster as he feel his second orgasm coming. William switched from grabbing Prinz by the thighs toward her plump ass, he gave it a nice squeeze and Prinz moaned cutely with widened eyes.

"Prinz, I'm close!" William said to Prinz.

"I-Inside!" Prinz said to William.

William quickened his pace and kicked the gear into turbo speed, jamming his cock into her vagina as fast as he could before he jammed his cock as deep as he could into her which resulted in his cock piercing Prinz's cervix. Prinz moaned loudly as William shoot out his second load of thick cum directly into her womb and quickly filling it with his nonstop burst of orgasm, Prinz's mouth is soundlessly agape as she could feel her womb being filled to the brim by his warm cum coming from his cock which pulsating with each burst of cum being pumped into her…After his orgasm died down, William released his iron grip from Prinz and she fell back toward the bed on her back as she panted hard. Her vagina is gaping, convulsing with thick torrent of white cum leaked out in constant steady stream few seconds later which quickly formed a puddle of cum underneath her vagina. There's streak of red which is her blood that's resulted from her deflowering process...The cum falls didn't stop even after half of a minute leaking out of her, a prove on just how much William stuffed her womb with his semen.

"Looks like she need to rest for a bit. Hey…do me too~" St. Louis commented to William.

"You ask and you'll get it" William said to St. Louis while he grinned.

"Kyaa! Huh? You're already rock hard again" St. Louis yelped a bit after she's put on her back by William.

"If there's one thing you can't underestimate, it's my sex drive" William said to St. Louis while he grinned.

William positioned St. Louis so she could be as comfortable as possible, using his pillow as her headrest. He slowly opened St. Louis' legs, revealing her very wet cunt in combination of receiving cunnilingus and her own nectar which leaked out due to her horniness. William positioned his erect cock to her vagina, he then slowly pushed inside St. Louis who squirmed as foreign object entered her most sacred place. William could feel another barrier before he managed to push further in, William stared a bit at St. Louis who quickly gave him a consensual nod to go ahead. He nodded back and pushed his penis all the way to his base, St. Louis shut her eyes as she squirmed and her legs stiffened as it wraps around William.

"Guh!" St. Louis groaned in pain.

"Does it really hurt?" William asked St. Louis with concerned tone.

"Y-Yeah…a bit…move slowly, please" St. Louis said to William while she smiled a bit.

"Okay" William said to St. Louis while he nodded his head.

William slowly moved his hips as he make small and slow thrust with his cock, St. Louis squirmed and moaned as she her deflowered pussy is taking its time to get used to the cock that took away her virginity. He realized that even the seductive and flirty ship girls like Prinz and St. Louis was a virgin, does that mean he will have lots of deflowering to do in the future? He guess so…William maintained the slow pacing, he decided to ease the pain for her by fondling her left breast, playing with her pink nipples softly and kissing her as he thrust slowly. St. Louis moaned in delight with the gesture, it certainly helped her easing the pain and getting used to his cock…

"Ahn…Ah…y-you can go faster" St. Louis said to William while she smiled.

William only nodded as his hand went to move toward St. Louis' waist, he only just realized that he used his left hand for this threesome but he didn't feel any pain due to testosterone rush? Is that even a medical term…fuck it, even if it will take longer to heal he'll use every inch of his body to satisfy these girls! He pounded into St. Louis in a steady pace, the girl beneath him moaned in pleasure with her vagina being thrust by a huge cock. William occasionally looked toward his cock which is buried within St. Louis' vagina and he wondered on how to make her feel more pleasure, that's when William used his right hand to pinch her clitoris. St. Louis threw her head backwards in surprise and rush of pleasure, William grinned at the respond and he fiddled with her clitoris using his huge thumb as he started to thrust faster…his third orgasm is closing in.

"I'm cumming!" William said out loud.

"Ahn! Inside! Fill my womb with your thick cum!" St. Louis said to William while she moaned.

"Alright!" William said to St. Louis as he jammed his cock deeply inside her.

"AAHN!" St. Louis moaned loudly in pleasure while she jerked her head backwards and gripped the sheets underneath her tightly.

The dam broke loose and William unloaded his cargo straight toward her womb, filling it for the first time with flooding the inside in a flash flood of white thick cum. St. Louis also reached her limit as she experienced her first orgasm in her life, her vagina walls clenched tightly as it coated William's cock in crystal clear fluids which also wet his groin due to its powerful spray out of her vagina. William groaned as he pulled a bit before ramming her cervix again as he sprayed her womb with more cum and filling it completely with his thick, battle ready and fertile sperm…he did so couple of times to shoot out as much cum as he could inside her while St. Louis legs locked him up in place and preventing him from pulling out…After his orgasm died down, St. Louis legs loosened and William pulled his cock out.

"Ahn…" St. Louis moaned slightly when William pulled out his cock.

Just like Prinz, her vagina is gaping wide while pulsating and two seconds later steady flow of white cum leaked out of her well fucked, creampied cunt slowly. The steady stream of semen continued to flow and formed a large puddle underneath her with some streak of crimson as her blood which is direct result of her deflowering, she got no strength left in her and frankly speaking William also in exhausted state. But the sight of her gaping pink cunt with his cum slowly leaking out of it as a prove to his hard work managed to roused him for another round, he realized that his cock is on fire and it's ready for another round of combat. Prinz who have managed to get her bearings moved toward his groin from the side, she gave his cock thorough licking to clean it before she gave a deep, wet kiss to its tip.

"Urgh…" William groaned in pleasure when Prinz kissed his cock, he's still sensitive after cumming hard.

"You still have more in these balls, right?" Prinz asked William while she smirked and fondled his testicles.

"One way to find out Prinz, come on" William said to Prinz.

Prinz got on all four on top of St. Louis who's still trying to catch her breath, she shook her ass slightly as an inviting gesture toward William who bitted his lower lip a bit in arousal as he responded to the mating call. William positioned himself behind Prinz before he jammed his entire length in one go, she got no hymen this time so he'll be as frisky as he wanted to. It didn't take too much effort to reached her cervix in doggy style position especially with a huge cock like his, William spread Prinz's legs a bit farther from each other before he started thrusting vigorously.

"Ngh! So deep! Oh!" Prinz said out loud as she moaned.

"You like it?" William asked Prinz on her right ear as he thrust deeply inside her.

"AHN!" Prinz widened her eyes as his cock penetrated her cervix again.

"I'll take that as a yes" William said to Prinz then kissed her right cheek.

Pounding Prinz from behind is quite the privilege, he got to see her plump ass moving around following the rhythm of their fucking, he got to see his penis going in and out of her while spreading her pink pussy widely, her sweet moans served as a fuel to his libido alongside his ego and her pink anus puckered slightly every time William thrust into her vagina…Oh? William curiously caressed her asshole with his thumb, Prinz was surprised at the gesture and when William heard her cute respond he grinned as he prodded into her asshole with his thumb repeatedly while thrusting into her.

"Ahn! William, you perv!" Prinz moaned seductively as she raised her ass a bit.

"That's the first time you call me by name!" William said to Prinz while he grinned.

"Why of course I will call you by name, you make my wish come true after all~" Prinz said to William while she smiled.

"Damnit, you're just too sexy! I just want to fuck you all night long!" William said out loud before he raised his right hand.

SMACK!

"Ahn! Oh! Louis?!" Prinz moaned in delight before he looked down.

In addition to having her ass smacked by William, St. Louis who managed to collect herself started playing with her pink nipples, nibbling her right while using her fingers to play with her left. The two flank assault quickly managed to weaken Prinz's defenses as both are quite relentless in their sexual charge, William held her waist firmly as he started to quickened his thrust also with his penis started pulsating which means he's going to ejaculate soon and Prinz was pretty close to her first orgasm in her life. William groaned as he thrust deep inside Prinz and he cummed inside her for the second time, Prinz orgasm quickly triggered and her vagina contracted powerfully as she cummed and squirted out which caused William's groin and lower stomach to get wet with her orgasm fluids.

"AAAHHNN!" Prinz moaned loudly while she cummed.

In addition with the powerful sensation of her first orgasm, she's having her womb being filled for the second time of the day with thick load of sperm. William slowly thrust in and out to bring out as many cum as he could from his scrotum, he still managed to filled up Prinz's womb with sizeable load despite it's being his fourth orgasm…William pulled out his cock and Prinz collapsed to the left side while she regained her breath and composure with cum flowing out from her vagina to her ass, man William was pretty proud of himself for managing to blow a load that much for a fourth shot to her inviting womb…But he's close to passing out now, any more than this and he will be out like a light.

"Hah…hah…hah…hah…damnit" William said out loud after he regained his breath, what an exhausting experience!

"Hey Will~, do me again" St. Louis suddenly said as she held his shoulder from the front.

"I need some time Lou…I'm quite exhausted" William confessed as he still try to breathe regularly.

"Don't worry, I'll do the moving" St. Louis said to William as she licked her lips.

St. Louis pushed William backwards and he sat on the bed, she quickly get on top of his crotch, positioned his half erect cock to her entrance before she lowered herself abruptly. Her moans of pleasure, the suddenness of penetration with his still sensitive cock and St. Louis grinding his cannon in pure lust caused his right eye to rolled backwards a bit in pleasure. Her movement successfully revived his cock vitality which caused William's penis to quickly get fully erect and ready for the fifth round, William knew it will be his last and he decided to go all out.

"Ngh!" William groaned as St. Louis jammed his cock deep inside her.

"You're quite a stud aren't you? Four shots…ngh…and still raring to go" St. Louis said to William while she smiled seductively.

"Lou, faster" William said to St. Louis as he groaned.

"My? Recovered already?" St. Louis asked William with surprised tone.

William grabbed St. Louis by the ass which caused her to yelp in surprise, he turned around, laid his head on top of the pillow, brought St. Louis closer to him that her breast touched his chest and he started to jackhammer her pink vagina with constant thrust from his cock. St. Louis moaned in pleasure and she could barely move herself because William held her in place firmly, all she could do is to feel the pleasure of being fucked while staring at the roguishly handsome face of her commanding officer.

"You have a nice ass Lou, these big perky boobs, these pink lips, your sensual voice…I can't get enough of you!" William said to St. Louis while he gritted his teeth in pleasure.

"Ahn! Then, if you want to…we could do this…whenever you want to, Will" St. Louis said to William while she smiled seductively.

"What an offer!" William said to St. Louis.

"…Ah! Will! I'm close!" St. Louis said to William.

"Alright, together!" William said to St. Louis as he nodded his head.

William hugged St. Louis tightly as he pushed his cock inside her for the last orgasm of the day, both moaned in pleasure as they cummed in unison. William dumped all of his remaining cum he have inside St. Louis womb without any restraint whatsoever, he filled her with his last load of sperm and he didn't even stop until he got the last drop inside her. When his cock stopped pulsating and both of them were done with their orgasm, St. Louis collapsed to William's left side while Prinz is on his right…The three of them are panting, sweaty and reeks of sex after the intense threesome they had, but that was all worth every pleasure they experienced. The three of them didn't even bother to clean themselves, they just pulled out the blanket and just went to sleep due to exhaustion…

…Morning rolled in and William woke up with sore hips and legs, man the last night threesome is quite a blast! It's the first time he ever experienced it, apparently handling two woman at once is quite the experience he won't mind to repeat at all. William felt that Prinz and St. Louis is still asleep while hugging his arms, still in their nude glory after their activity. William grinned like an idiot at the thought before his grin fell…Oh my god! He creampied both of them multiple times! What if they got pregnant?! He blow massive loads straight to their womb after all! Wait, won't that be beneficial for them and Lucas who's interested in the results? Bah, William just remembered that the chance of fertilization between human and ship girls is 0.8 percent so he got nothing to worry about. Even birth control pill only has around 95 percent chance to prevent pregnancy, it's safe to cum inside them…most of the time.

William sat up on the bed while he rubbed his eye, then he noticed that there's someone with him other than St. Louis and Prinz. He properly looked to his left side and he saw a very upset looking Hood and Belfast who stared at William with deep frown while she folded her arms, William smiled a bit that he's just dreaming before he realized that he's currently wide awake and his head snapped back toward them with horror and mixed of other emotion mixed on his face.

"…Very enjoyable night, I take it?" Hood asked William with low tone while she scowled.

"H-Hood?" William called out her name.

"Yes, it's me and I'm not a hallucination" Hood said to William with monotonous tone.

"Master, the three of you were so loud last night…" Belfast said to William emotionlessly.

"…I-I can explain, Bel" William said to Belfast as he stuttered.

"On what? This? This, doesn't need any explanation…" Belfast said to William as her eyes gazed sharply at him.

"Milord…" William could heard Illustrious' crestfallen voice.

"Uwah…two at once?" That voice sounds like Shoukaku.

"C-Commander?" There's Enterprise voice too.

"Ara ara…maa, ecchisugi shikikan-sama" It was Amagi's voice.

"Mein gott, kommandant…" Even Bismarck's voice could be heard.

William fearfully and slowly turned his head toward the entrance and his nightmare is realized in an instant, with addition of Hood and Belfast there's also Illustrious, Shoukaku, Enterprise, Amagi and Bismarck who stood on the entrance of his room while staring at him who got caught with pants down literally. Each of them have mixed expression but William know one thing for sure, there's no way this will end well unless he started some damage control!

* * *

…**Phew, last quarter of the story turned into pure sex scene. Now I understand that the scenes are a bit unrealistic if compared to how real world sex works (**_**doesn't matter Dasmara, they got laid!**_**), so from now on let's just treat every sex scenes on this story as something like **_**Hentai **_**level of sex…God, what am I saying, I need to laid off the instant noodles it gave me weird ideas…Also, I'd like to inform you guys that I'm a complete novice when it comes to Lemons so forgive me if I made some mistake…Other than that, YES MAN! You fucking did it! You banged the girls! I'm so proud of you Will…Thank you for the follow, favorite and review readers, couldn't get this far without you guys. And so, William got the pleasure but what about the price he has to pay? Find out on the next chapter!**

**See you next time!**

**\- Dasmara**


	27. Premonition?

William was speechless! How can he explain THIS situation to the ship girls!? Man, talk about being caught with pants down literally! William struggled to formulate any kind of words, he's really in a bind and all of his training didn't prepared him when he got caught in a scene like this one! Illustrious puffed her cheeks as she pouted before she uncharacteristically stormed off from the scene, she looked crestfallen and as upset as Hood. Some ship girls who heard the commotion looked out from their doorways to their room, seeing Illustrious walking with upset face and the girls who saw bunch of ship girls in front of their commander's room they could immediately tell that something outrageous is happening inside. Bismarck walked in quickly toward the Prinz and St. Louis, she shook Prinz awake and Prinz started to stir in her sleep. When she saw Bismarck stone cold face however her eyes immediately opened up, she knew that Bismarck wasn't in the mood for some jokes…despite her constant teasing, Prinz did knew when to draw a line.

"…Fraulin Bismarck" Prinz greeted Bismarck.

"I suppose I will hear about this in details later. Get dressed, Eugen" Bismarck said to Prinz.

"Jawohl, but I need some time to move…Kommandant haven't been that kind last night, my hips are sore~" Prinz said out loud absentmindedly.

That newsflash immediately caught the other girl's attention, William was being rough during sex? Oh boy, Hood, Belfast, Amagi, Shoukaku and Enterprise imagination quickly kicked in and many of them has their cheeks starting to heat up from the conjured scene inside their mind. Bismarck managed to clear her thoughts however and stared at her with 'hurry the fuck up' stare which quickly get Prinz to stand up and started to pick her clothes off the floor, in complete nude. St. Louis woke up due to the noise and she widened her eyes when she saw there's so many people in the room, she covered herself with the blanket while she stared at them.

"Um…W-What's going on?" St. Louis asked out loud while she smiled awkwardly.

"Ms. Louis? I suggest you dressed up, now. Ms. Enterprise, please help her out" Hood said out loud.

"A-Alright" Enterprise said to Hood.

Enterprise walked in and get the clothes that didn't belong to Prinz before handing it to St. Louis, the woman stood up awkwardly from the bed due to her sore hip and started to put on her clothes. William glanced toward Prinz who were just done putting on her clothes, he glanced to the right to see St. Louis putting on her clothes. His eye wandered to her smooth white backside then travelled all the way to her bare, plump ass which is covered by her panties a second later. Hood cleared her throat loudly on purpose and that snapped William's attention back to her, she's not looking happy in the slightest and William staring at St. Louis rear just served as fuel for the fire.

"Well kommandant, we're heading back~" Prinz said to William while she smiled smugly.

"Thanks for last night, commander~" St. Louis said to William while she winked.

William could only nodded his head as both Prinz and St. Louis walked out of the room, they limped a bit as they returned to their own room. Bismarck sneaked a glance toward William who's still don't know what to say before she turned around and left wordlessly, Shoukaku and Amagi considered that the show is over and both of them also left for their own destination as they discussed upon what just they saw, Enterprise glanced to the bed and saw two dried blood patch on two different position…and lots of dried puddle which must be dried cum. She felt her cheeks warmed up and she awkwardly leave the room without saying anything while Hood and Belfast still stood looming over beside his bed, the longer William stay silent the deeper Hood's frown become.

"Anything you want to say?" Hood asked William while she frowned deeply.

"…It's complicated, let me-" William finally said while he looked at anywhere but her face.

"Not now, you will explain yourself later because we have something to do now. I want you take a bath, dressed up nicely and head to the conference room. High Commander Lucas and Admiral Lena has arrived alongside three Royal Navy ship girls, I expect you to be there in less than fifteen minutes. Understood?" Hood asked William while she folded her arms.

"Y-Yes ma'am" William said to Hood nervously.

"Get moving then, clock's ticking. Belfast, we will welcome them first" Hood said to Belfast as she turned around to leave.

"Understood, Madam Hood" Belfast said to Hood.

Hood and Belfast left the room, Belfast grabbed the door's handle and closed it rather harshly. William sighed, cringed and facepalmed…Well, he didn't regret having outstanding sex with Prinz and St. Louis, he just regretted that he didn't think this thoroughly by remembering that Hood did have a card with her so she can barge in here anytime she wants…Oh well, shit happened and so with every mistake he made he also have to live with the consequences. William cleaned himself, put on fresh batch of clothes, sprayed some perfume on himself and walked out to meet with Lucas and Lena who apparently arrived with three ship girls…

He met with Lucas and Lena who wore their casual clothes downstairs, they only converse briefly before they entered the VIP conference room. William got to meet with the Royal Navy ladies, there's Victorius which is the little sister of Illustrious and big sister of Formidable, there's Ark Royal who's quite proficient in combat according to Lena and there's Newcastle who's the former head maid of the Royal Navy which also the mentor of Belfast…Lucas listened to William's speech with half closed eyes because he sensed something is off, Hood may stood beside him but he haven't even see her smiled since they met and Belfast didn't even said a word to William. The three of them looked and acted awkwardly with each other, after looking at them for quite a bit even Lucas couldn't take it anymore as he raised his hand.

"Excuse me! Could anyone explain to me on why the hell is this room atmosphere is so awkward right now?! I can sense tension everywhere! Will, you're being uncharacteristically meek! You ladies couldn't stop eyeing him with judgmental eyes either! What happened!?" Lucas asked out loud.

"Lucas, we'll talk about it later…we're welcoming the ladies" William said to Lucas through his smile while gritting his teeth.

"…Okay, if you say so" Lucas said to William as he shrugged.

"As I was saying. I'd like to personally welcome the three of you to our unit Ms. Victorius, Ms. Ark Royal and Ms. Newcastle. I hope you all could continue your duties well and get along with everyone here, are there any question? Oh, yes, Ms. Newcastle?" William asked Newcastle as she raised her hand.

"Any reason on why I heard about the rumors of you sleeping with two of the ship girls on this unit, commander?" Newcastle asked William while she smiled.

"…Yes, there is…and I didn't want to go into details. Next?" William said to Newcastle as his eye twitched.

"So, is that the reason why our head maid looking so upset right now?" Newcastle asked out loud while she smirked.

Belfast opened her eyes widely in surprise, as expected of the former head maid who's also her mentor beside Edinburgh of course she knew that Belfast isn't in good mood right now. Despite her poker face, the former head maid could see through her ironclad defenses. William sneaked a glance at Belfast who returned to her composed face seconds later, William widened his right eye when Belfast pulled off her usual smirk at Newcastle as an approval or some sorts…He could never understand what were the ladies thinking on many occasions.

"…Perhaps. Anyone else want to ask questions?" William asked out loud when he saw Lucas raised his hand.

"Me" Lucas asked William with serious face.

"…What?" William asked back while he felt a bit nervous.

"Holy shit man, two at once!? Really?!" Lucas asked William while he grinned.

"That's it. You three are free to go exploring or doing what you wish for now, I will notify everyone if there's an activity later" William said out loud.

"Certainly milord, it is a pleasure to meet you" Victorious said to William while she smiled.

"We need to report to her majesty too" Newcastle said to Victorious and Ark Royal.

"Ah, that's right. Let's go…We thank you for your time, Lord Blaze" Ark Royal said to William while she smiled.

The three ladies bowed a bit before they left the conference room, now there's only William, Lucas, Lena, Hood and Belfast inside the room and the silence among them is very awkward. Lucas and Lena stared straight at William as if expecting an answer from him regarding the thing they just heard, William stared back as he contemplated on whether to tell them straight on or not…But with Hood and Belfast beside him, there's no way he could bullshit his way out with both of them ready to argue the moment William opened his mouth.

"…Yes, I was ambushed in my room and things heated up from there" William said out loud with half closed eye.

"Oh, so you're not the one who laid your hands on them?" Hood asked William as she snapped her head toward William.

"I didn't even think of that when they challenged me to a strip poker!" William said to Hood while he frowned.

"Didn't any of your alarm senses tingled when they proposed that game!?" Hood asked William with furrowed eyebrows.

"Well I let my guard down because it's you girls and I trusted all of you!" William said to Hood while he scowled.

"That's what you get for being too trusting!" Hood said to William while she folded her arms.

"Why are you so angry about this, Hood?!" William asked Hood with confused tone.

"The fact that you promised to go on a date with me yet you screwed two other girls before that? What kind of woman who won't get angry because of that!?" Hood asked William while she scowled.

"Well what else can I do then?! Refuse their advance!? They will just pin me down to bed, you didn't see how forceful they were last night!" William said to Hood while he also scowled.

"But that shown that you lacked the strength to resist them!" Hood said to William while she scowled.

"This argument is getting ridiculous!" William said out loud.

"Master William" Belfast suddenly said to William.

"Y-Yeah?" William turned around as he stared at Belfast.

"If I remember correctly, I have offered those kind of services to you long time ago. Could it be that you have to be forced to before you could take any actions? For someone who's quite aggressive in the battlefield, you seems to be submissive in bedroom matters. Or, was it me who's the problem?" Belfast said to William while she stared at him.

OUCH! Belfast do put him on a checkmate with that question! How else he's supposed to answer that? If he said no then he have the potential to make Hood even more upset, if he didn't answer her then he has even greater potential to make Belfast upset. To anger his personal secretary or to anger his maid, which one would yield the most painless death in the end? Lucas and Lena stared at each other after the argument they just witnessed before both of them shrugged, perhaps they should help William out with this one as the man is in very deep shit.

"Alright, we've heard enough. Ms. Hood, Ms. Belfast, maybe William didn't do any of that to you is because he want to commit once he crossed the line and the situation prompted William to act more reserved than he could. While he did get laid last night, I believe his words that he's not the one who initiated it" Lucas said out loud with serious face.

"How so, High Commander?" Hood asked Lucas while she frowned.

"All this time I know him, William didn't strike me as horn dog who'll lust after random woman out there" Lucas said to Hood while he shrugged.

"That's right, he will only take actions once you gave him permission or when you advanced relentlessly and not giving him any room to maneuver. Works every time~" Lena said out loud while she smirked.

"Ooh, you heard her ladies. That's the pro speaking" Lucas said out loud while he grinned.

"…Is it true?" Hood asked William as she glanced at him.

"I've been saying that to you since the beginning but you won't listen" William said to Hood with half closed eye.

"I see" Hood said to William as she averted her gaze.

"Let's just drop this" William said out loud, Belfast sighed before she reluctantly nodded her head.

"Anyway, we're about to discuss few things. You two are welcomed if you want to join" Lucas said out loud.

William and Hood sat with Lucas and Lena on the couch set as Belfast served them tea and cookies for snacks, both Lucas and Lena looked serious and when they do that William knew what they're about to talk about is no laughing matter…oh could he got some good news for once? With what their world currently experienced though, William might have to get used to hearing bad news most of the time. He took a long sip from his cup of black tea then put it down on the small plate, he's ready for a headache.

"…So, what kind of bollocks happened this time?" William asked Lena and Lucas.

"Yesterday, we launched coordinated simultaneous assault to the identified Crimson Cleanser hideout. We found tons of white phosphorus" Lena said to William.

"…Which city are they planning to burn?" William asked Lena with cocked eyebrows.

"That's what our operatives investigating right now. One of them in London is about to be transported into a cargo ship HMS Darwin, their destination is Hamburg. Naturally, we thought the city would be a prime candidate for the white phosphorus attack so we warned Erich…We thought that's the end of it, until we found out the nasty shit that happened on Voronezh which is the place where those white phosphorus came from…The Spetznaz unit we sent there took heavy casualties, all caused by five 'hostiles' who fled the compound where those stuff came from" Lucas was the one who answered William while he frowned.

"Five of them? They are pretty skilled…" William said out loud with a surprised face.

"Our operatives managed to uncover their identities before going dark…Victor Smith, Terrence Jackson, Stanley Oliver, Maria Anderson and…Ronald Mitchell, I think you found those names familiar" Lucas said to William while he frowned deeply.

…Hood and Belfast turned to look at William when he gave no response and they immediately found out why, William's face was white without a single shred of hint of any color and he sat there stunned in silence when he listened to what Lucas just said to him. Hood worriedly put her hand on his left shoulder which seems to wake William from his stunned state, he stared at her for a bit before he looked down to the coffee table in front of him. Hood saw how his eye looked, it's filled with shock and disbelieve…

"…Yes…all of them are former member of our Task Force, those who you failed to kill…They're the ones known as Gemini Squad" Lena said to William with calm tone.

"…They're alive and Ronald banded them together…Oh god…" William muttered to himself as he held his forehead which started to sweat.

"…Master?" Belfast worriedly asked William.

"…You trained those guys to be just like Lena and you, bunch of very skilled commandos and now they bit us in the arse…It was them who were responsible for Eldridge kidnapping, I'm scared to know who else they're going to kidnap" Lucas said to William.

"I won't let that happen again" Lena firmly declared out loud.

"…To think all this time, my past are haunting me closely" William continued to mutter to himself.

"Milord, is this about Task Force Nimbus?" Hood asked William with low tone.

"…Yes" William said in low tone as he nodded his head.

"Hood, you already knew about the little details with it but there's more to it than that…Will had to spend his time in prison because of that act, he's sentenced for twenty two years in prison. Were it not for the Sirens running amok on Earth, we wouldn't be able to free him…That's what happened in the past, ladies" Lena said to both Hood and Belfast which caused the two ship girls to looked at her in shock.

…That's the blanks he haven't told them yet regarding what happened to him after his task force was officially disbanded, it turned out he was in prison all that time. Now Hood remembered on why many people on the Headquarters seems to despise him, William was known to murder his own men which according to what she heard from Lena turned traitor on them…Belfast also realized that William never spoke about his past activity as member of Task Force Nimbus with anyone on the base, he only gave them few parts of it and won't continue the talk any further. Is that why? A reason why William so determined to kill Ronald Mitchell, the one traitor he failed to finish off back then? And now there's other four of them, the stakes just went up even further.

"…This can't go on, Lena" William said to Lena.

"I know. We're trying our best to locate them, however this cat and mouse game would last for quite a while…In the meantime, I want you to focus on the Sirens first" Lena said to William.

"Yes, I agreed with her on this one. We'll deal with them when the time comes…Thanks to you, the ship girls and many brave actions of our soldiers, we managed to collect much data we could use to accelerate our research and improved our forces. However, it will take some time before the upgrade could be distributed worldwide" Lucas said to William.

"How long?" William asked Lucas while he frowned.

"Given the current logistics situation? I'd say, one or two years soonest" Lucas said to William.

"…You sure we could last that long on this fight?" William asked Lucas with uncertain tone.

"Yes" Lucas confidently answered.

"What makes you say that?" William asked Lucas with cocked eyebrows.

"I've learned couple of things about these aliens, Will…If Sirens wants to conquer this planet, they would've already relentlessly pushed into our main lands. They haven't done so yet, attacking us in random location and often leaving devastating damage once they're done. Want to know my thoughts? They're underestimating us, they're taking their time to wear us down first and once we are tired of war we are more than easy to just get steamrolled by them" Lucas said to William.

Yes, Sirens have all the power and resources to do that and yet they didn't. Attacking many of the remote locations for starter, there's Terrania Isle where they shown their mass produced fleet strength, there's Furushima where they managed to build bases, laid waste the Isle's population and killed many of Sakura Empire troops…In all of those major battles, Lucas sensed that they didn't do this to conquer the planet with rapid advances strategy. Their invasion targets seems to be random and their forces movement pattern is unpredictable due to the use of their portals, their attacks were focused on causing as much damage as possible but the intensity is quite random…

Lucas have thought the Sirens either underestimated the entire humanity where they knew if they brought down their full might then entire Earth would fall in few hours and it would be boring for them or they used humanity for other sinister plan of theirs, so what's the plan? Lucas for sure as hell don't know, but what are the chances that this entire war is only orchestrated by those Sirens to test their own technology? How many civilizations they have vanquished in their quest to obtain such knowledge and power? Lucas may don't want to know the answer.

"That makes sense…" Hood said to Lucas while she frowned.

"Yeah, that's why growing stronger is an absolute paramount in preparation for one day when those Sirens had their fun. At least by then we managed to hold them long enough before initiating our emergency plan" Lucas said out loud.

"And what are those plans?" William asked Lucas.

"Classified" Lucas said to William while he smirked.

"Even to me?" Lena asked Lucas with surprised face.

"Even you" Lucas said to Lena while he smirked before he sipped his tea.

"…Fine, I'll trust you on that one" William said to Lucas as he gulped down his tea.

"Good. Now, if you don't mind, I think it's time for me to go out and enjoy my vacation" Lucas said to William as he stood up.

"I also need to unpack my stuff. Catch you at lunch?" Lena asked William while she smiled.

"Yeah" William said to Lena as he nodded.

"Great. See you Will, Hood, Belfast" Lena said out loud while she smiled.

Both the two high ranking commander left the VIP conference room which leaves only William, Hood and Belfast inside…as soon as they left, William regressed back to the state he's in before when he heard those names. Hood put down her cup of tea, she scooted closer toward him, grabbed his head gently then brought it down toward her chest in a comforting hug. Belfast also walked toward William and she massaged his shoulders to release any tensions he had inside him, that seems to work as they could hear William sighed in relief…

"…Is that why you are so obsessed with taking down Ronald, master?" Belfast asked William.

"Yes…as long as he's alive, my past will always chained me. It was my fault that he's still alive alongside the four others, I failed to give them a quick death…I made things worse, I might be even the cause of all of this mess…the terror attacks, Jenny's death and even the poison attack on our ship girls…it's my fault" William said out loud in low tone.

"You didn't know, William. Don't blame yourself, you didn't even know he's alive before all of this" Hood said to William softly as she stroked his hair.

When William thought back about it, how arrogant of him to thought that the four of them finished off their entire task force without leaving a single survivor…they never double checked them, the fact that William regret even to this day. Five of them are alive and safe to say they wanted revenge against them, they've succeeded with killing Michael, Yuri and Charles with William as the only one they haven't kill yet and they intend to finish the job by the looks of it. With Gemini Squad being directly affiliated with Crimson Cleanser and working alongside Antonio Lockwood, this up the ante significantly…If they want to focus their forces to fight the Sirens then they need to put these criminals on their proper place first, it would take a while given that they are trained to avoid detection and operate for long period of time behind the frontlines…but they will bound to slip up, and William have determined to fix that mistake of his when the time comes because this time he would make sure they are truly dead.

.

…After thanking both Hood and Belfast for giving him the comfort he needs, William walked down to the restaurant area to get some lunch. Food have always been a source of comfort to him as it could give him the calming effect he needs after that revelations, beside he's quite hungry that he never got the chance to get breakfast after…what happened this morning. As he entered the restaurant and lined up on the buffet area William could feel the ship girls are staring intensely at his back, their laser like gaze did made him uncomfortable and he turned around to ask what's wrong with them. But as soon as he turned around the ship girls returned to their own business and that honestly put him on edge…He have a suspicion that the news about his last night 'workout' have spread even to the other ship girls and he have complicated feelings about it. William walked toward an empty seat with Lena on it, she have been eating her deluxe Sardegna Empire lunch with a smile on her face until William sat in front of her.

"I regret coming down to the restaurant…" William said to Lena as he put down his plate and drinks.

"News travelled fast it seems…" Lena said to William as she looked around, she know what he meant.

"Lena, seven girls saw me in a condition like that and caused quite a ruckus! Of course this would happen!" William said to Lena while he frowned.

"Look on the bright side, more of them are going to be…bolder now" Lena said to William while she wiggled her eyebrows.

"I preferred if I don't get squeezed dry like a cow almost every day, thanks…Also, where is Lucas?" William asked Lena.

"He want to check on couple of things, he said he'll get lunch later" Lena said to William while she shrugged.

"And that's how we end up like this, just the two of us" William said out loud.

"Yeah, Prinz and St. Louis can't walk properly since you fucked them hard and those girls that saw you with them are feeling quite awkward to go near you for now. It's natural" Lena said to William while she smiled.

"Pfft. Yeah, natural" William scoffed then said to Lena.

William started to go down on his meal of two grilled chicken breast, few slices of bacon, few sausage rolls and some beans. He quickly stuffed his mouth with food as he try to temporarily forget this whole thing and calmed himself which is working quite effectively due to the great taste of the food, William then switched his concern from him toward Lena who still seemed fine at a glance but William could tell she's actually had a lot in her mind. For example, she looked downwards most of the time, she lacked the usual energy she has when she talked and the fact that she looked distracted even with her ex-boyfriend eating in front of him and looking concernedly at her…whatever's troubling her, William won't know unless he asked her himself.

"…Lena, you mind telling me what happened?" William asked Lena.

"What do you mean?" Lena asked William.

"You're being too busy means you have problems you'd like to ignore, you're also quite emotionally unstable recently from what I've heard" William said to Lena.

"Of course you'll notice. Of course Lucas would blab about it" Lena said to William while she folded her arms.

"But still, what is it about?" William asked Lena.

"…Will, I can't go on living like this. I'm in a dull marriage with someone who's as busy as I am and a bastard of a father who won't stop meddling with my life like I'm some sort of his investment or something, added with the fact that we're at global war against aliens who are more superior than us in almost any way…" Lena said to William after she hesitated for a split second.

"…Well, first of all I think that's the curse of being the daughter of a millionaire" William said to Lena while he smiled.

"That didn't mean shit to me if I'm unhappy!" Lena said to William firmly while she scowled.

"Whoa, calm down…What happened now?" William asked Lena as he raised his hands.

"My husband, Garry? We talked and it turns out he felt the same as me, both are people being used by their parents in order to strengthen their company's conquest. We want to go our separate ways and frankly we could do it by being married in name only, but our family kept meddling with us" Lena said to William while she deeply frowned.

"Like how?" William asked Lena with narrowed gaze.

"They actually have the gals to get involved within our personal life, even going so far to make sure we are behaving like they want…We are being constantly watched" Lena said to William.

Oh really? William never thought that the things that happened on dramas are actually also happened in the real life. Sending someone to watched over and stalked Lena and Garry? Wow, he thought Mr. McAllen is a bastard but now William's convinced he's a true bellend. Lena already had it rough with having to break up with him, marrying someone else and now she's been constantly monitored when it's her down time from all the nonsense she had to face at work? She should've just reported him for harassment, but that won't work if she didn't get proof which is quite hard to get…Furthermore, there's a reason on why didn't she took up that route even when she can.

"Damn…that's quite rough…You said that you and Garry felt the same, have you two try to do something about it?" William asked Lena while he frowned.

"We have…Leaving the family is our agreed choice" Lena said to William.

"Leaving? Well, I also think that's a great option…So, what's the problem?" William asked Lena.

"…You thought we could just leave like that and all thing's good?" Lena asked William back with cocked eyebrows.

"Frankly speaking yes given your military background, current rank and the power you have, but why do I sensed that your family might resort to a more…drastic measure?" William asked Lena while he cringed.

"Exactly. My father especially, he'll go great lengths to make sure his company stay safe. What would he do? Put me in an accident? Kidnapped me and kept me secluded then broke me so I will do whatever he wanted? He never treat me as a daughter, bet he wouldn't mind in a slightest" Lena said to William while she scowled.

…Well, now that William thought about it, those things seems plausible to happen to Lena in case she refuse to listen to her father…Okay, did anyone curious about this Mister McAllen? To sum it up, McAllen is the current CEO of the company and he is ruthless when it comes to his way in doing business. His wife left him because she's only married to him as a way for her parents to pay for their debt, short while later Lena was born. Lena was around three years old when Benjamin was born, it was clear that McAllen favored Benjamin more than Lena since he wanted a son from the start as the heir for the company. It was remarkable that despite their upbringing and basically broken family, Lena and Benjamin could still relate to one another like your typical brother and sister. He even followed in her footsteps when he graduated high school to join the military, a decision that wasn't taken kindly by McAllen.

Which is why when Benjamin was killed in action, McAllen didn't grieve but furious with the outcome. Lena and William was blamed for Benjamin's death, he called them both out for ruining his plans and eventually forced Lena to break up with William after he's sentenced to prison. As to make sure the company could still be in control of the current McAllen family line, Lena was wed in an arranged marriage with another company heir in order to strengthen their business and she's expected to give birth to an heir as soon as possible. While Garry was a bit open with the idea, Lena didn't and she made every possible attempt to make sure she won't give what her father wants. Garry eventually fed up with the way McAllen treated him and Lena as tools then he expressed his concerns to her…Both of them agreed to break this marriage but with the method that will leave their two family no option to involve them again.

McAllen would do whatever it takes to make sure his legacy is secured and if that means forcefully impregnating his own daughter with a random man he picked? There's no doubt he will do just that, the man is dangerous and he have the will and resources to make sure it's done…William never liked the man, he knew how dangerous he is and he's not going to hesitate to help Lena out in case she's in a tight spot. Even with her training and the fact that she have become an Admiral on Azur Lane Navy, he didn't doubt that McAllen will found a way to make sure his plan goes off without hitch.

"And you're afraid of that? Lena, you are the best among us" William said to Lena while he frowned.

"In brains, in brawns you take the cake…What if they broke my mind, Will? I'm a normal human in the end, even though we received training for torture session there's no telling what these people will do…I don't want to take any chances and I don't want Garry to suffer that fate, he's as much victim as I am" Lena said to William in low tone while she looked outside the window.

"…Please tell me you have a plan" William said to Lena.

"I do have a plan ready" Lena said to William.

"Alright, I'm listening" William said to Lena.

"Garry will disappear from this world in an accident, I could get him new ID and plastic surgery easily and he said that he will move out of Britain to disappear forever. With him gone, I will be freed of this arranged marriage" Lena said to William.

"…That's it? It's quite simple" William asked Lena with cocked eyebrows.

"You don't need complicated plan for this, what's important is the details and execution" Lena said to William.

"Right…so, if your father didn't agree and about to marry you with another guy?" William asked Lena.

"That's where I will resist him with all I have, I won't be chained down for the second time" Lena said to William while she scowled.

"If he try something, call me" William said to Lena with serious face.

"I will, so I will give you this" Lena said to William as she gave him a small rectangular device

"Signal tracker huh?" William said to Lena as he inspected the device.

"When I need your help, I'll be sure to activate it. If you detect the signal, I beg you to come running for me" Lena said to William with serious face.

"Got it…it's still deactivated" William asked Lena as he stared at the screen which is devoid of any signal dots.

"Oh yeah, I need your help with that. Cover me" Lena said to William.

"What? Why?" William asked Lena.

Lena moved to William's side that faced the wall directly beside the window, with it she's shielded from the view of the ship girls. Lena raised her dark blue skirt a bit to reveal her groin which is cladded in black panties, William widened his right eye with the implication and he stared around to make sure that none of the ship girls or hotel employee will see this. William then watched as Lena moved her panties aside which revealed her smooth pink pussy and she inserted her left middle finger into her vagina as deep as she could, she rummaged her inside for a bit before William noted that the device beeped few times and shown a signal dot just few centimeters away from his current location…

"…You put the signal emitter inside your vagina?" William asked Lena with disbelieved face.

"Near my cervix to be more exact, you know many of our infiltrators hid those kind of things on their nether regions since it's quite unlikely to get checked down there except for someone who's quite paranoid. It'll turn me into a homing beacon without even carrying my phone" Lena said to William while she smiled.

"Ingenious, really. But what if your hands quickly get tied up or something?" William asked Lena as she fixed her clothing.

"Oh? That's where the voice command speaker near my teeth came in…Mortem" Lena said to William.

And just like that the dot on the device disappeared, William stared at the device and he confirmed that the signal emitter is deactivated. Lena used Latin language as the keyword for the device since it's a dead language and no one will speak it in actual conversation, which means she already got everything covered and all that remain is for William to rush in when he detected the signal…Hang on a second, if she could activate or deactivate it with voice command, why did she have to touched it directly?

"If it's voice command capable, why did you activate it by touching it?" William asked Lena.

"Hmm? Of course, that's just for show~" Lena said to William while she smiled.

"For show?!" William asked Lena in disbelieve.

"…Believe it or not, this bad boy over here? I am the first to conquer it, now that I heard more will seek it I find myself quite…desiring for relieve of the good old days, when I was the only one who owns it, who could toy with it as I see fit and who can ride it however I want~" Lena whispered to William's right ear and placing her hand on his groin while caressing it softly.

"Your skill in words never fail to impress, hard to believe you're a timid girl back in high school" William said to Lena while he smirked a bit.

"Well, ten years is a long time for some character development" Lena said to William while she smirked.

"Lord William? Can I speak to you? If I'm not interrupting of course" Someone suddenly said out loud.

King George V immediately seek William when she arrived on the restaurant area after she's done with her lunch which she cooked on her own room, she have heard regarding what happened to William yesterday and she immediately knew she have to apologize because she's the direct cause of his misfortune. Lena was quick to switch her face from being horny to a professional military commander in span of split second, she stared at George as she smiled and stood up to leave.

"Oh no, not at all. I'm just done with lunch and my talk with William, go ahead Ms. George" Lena said to George V.

"Thank you, admiral" George V said to Lena as she sat beside William.

"…What do you need to talk about, George?" William asked George after he recovered from Lena's verbal assault.

"Um…You know about yesterday incident where you float off the sea?" George V asked William with an awkward smile.

"I'm quite 'intimate' with the event, why?" William asked George V back with half closed eye.

"Allow to me apologize…I was the one who cut the rope because it tripped me, I'm really sorry about that" George V said to William while she frowned.

"…Alright, you're forgiven" William said to George V.

"Really?" George V asked William with surprised face, she's forgive that easily?

"You didn't do it to spite me, right?" William asked George V.

"Heavens no! Why would I do that to someone who kept us organized and alive in this war against those Sirens?" George V said to William while she stared at him.

"Just making sure George…" William said to George V as he shrugged.

William just hoped that none of the ship girls secretly despised him or something, pays to be paranoid for a bit. He resumed eating his lunch as George V stared at him from the side, he seems to be enjoying his food. She scooted closer a bit to him as she leaned to his right ear, she wanted to ask this without triggering the whole cafeteria.

"…By the way, is it true that you slept with Prinz Eugen and St. Louis?" George V asked William in whisper tone.

"I don't want to talk the details but yes, I did. Why do you ask? I thought everyone knew since it's a huge incident" William said to George V in low tone.

"Not everyone, most of the younger or oblivious girls are not aware to that feat" George V informed William while she whispered.

"…I see" William said in low tone while he grimaced.

"Pay no heed to it, of course you would feel awkward after getting caught like that. What important now is the fact that other girls may attempt to do the same" George V said to William.

"Wait what?" William asked George as he stared at her.

"You heard me, the others will certainly try to 'seduce' you" George V said to William while she smiled.

"…Oh great" William said to George V with a poker face plastered on him.

"Why do I smell sarcasm there?" George V asked William while she smiled.

"Nothing, just thinking that chaos will rain on my bedtime soon. Thanks for letting me know, George" William said to George V as he frowned.

"Don't worry milord, as the leader of the royal knights its my duty to inform you if there's anything that would involve you...Although, should you want me to accompany you in bed too, I won't mind" George V whispered to William while she smirked.

"W-What?" William stared at George V with widened right eye.

"A man who can cook is a plus in my eyes and I heard you could cook well…Looking forward your meal invitation, and desert~" George V said to William while she smirked.

George V stood up from the seat the leave the restaurant to continue her activity for the day, William however still sat stunned at his seat with half eaten lunch on the plate in front of him. Even King George V, the one who looked serious, honorable, saw him as a military commander instead of a romantic interest just proposed for some banging activity to him! He never saw that one coming, at all! If she's open to the idea, how many other girls who looked like they don't care but actually won't mind to partake in sexual activity?!

"…Even George? Who else is serious looking yet horny among these girls here? Seriously!" William muttered to himself.

.

…Lucas sighed as he sipped on his ice cold lemonade he ordered while he stared at the ship girls playing together on the beach, what a sight that's enough to charge his battery and he feels like he's ready to tackle on the Sirens on strategy duel after he saw those ship girls cladded in swimsuits playing around. William was done with his lunch and he's currently walked around the island to make sure he burn some of those calories, he stumbled upon Lucas who's grinning ear to ear as he sat on one of the seaside café chair.

"Gorgeous!" Lucas said out loud as he sipped his lemonade.

"…Why do I have the feeling that you've been here for hours and staring at the ship girls with boner in your pants?" William asked Lucas while he folded his arms.

"Well you're exactly right, except for the boner part" Lucas said to William.

"Ooh, I'm so sorry that I mentioned your erectile dysfunction! Old age is a bitch huh?" William said to Lucas while he shown his half assed apologetic face.

"Har har, fuck you…Sit down" Lucas said to William after he flashed him his middle finger.

William snorted in amusement at Lucas respond as he sat in front of Lucas who returned to enjoy his glass of ice cold lemonade, looks like William did hit a sore spot with his jab there. A waitress saw that William has arrived and per her training she approached the table with the menu, she smiled as she put the menu in front of William.

"Can I get you anything, sir?" The waitress asked William while she smiled.

"Vanilla milkshake sounds good" William said to the waitress after he read the menu content.

"Yes we do. Shall I also offer you some snacks to compliment that, sir? We could provide some fries and nuggets?" The waitress asked William while she smiled.

"Yeah, that sounds nice" William said to the waitress while he also smiled.

"We'll bring your order shortly" The waitress said to William.

"…You basically got a personal resort as your home" William commented at Lucas.

"Yup, got to spend my salary somewhere…Will, I assume you've heard the plan from Lena?" Lucas asked William after he shrugged.

"Yeah, but…isn't that too risky? Why don't just use Azur Lane emergency power to help through legal means?" William asked Lucas with cocked eyebrows.

"Not possible, I'm in heat after busting you up from jail" Lucas said to William while he frowned.

"God! Is everything a political bollocks to you!?" William asked Lucas while he scowled.

"Do you have any idea how many within Azur Lane that wants me to step down from acting as High Commander? The only thing preventing that is because we're at war and I have you alongside Lena which could be said paramount to humanity's victory on this war" Lucas said to William while he folded his arms.

"Wait, what? But aren't you the one who managed to save our arse most of the time?" William asked Lucas with confused face.

"You'd be surprised with how many cunts on Azur Lane who wants power for themselves" Lucas said to William while he frowned.

William furrowed his eyebrows as he leaned on his seat and folded his arms while he think, what Lucas just said sounds really plausible and he know there are lots of them inside the headquarters. But why? Lucas was the one who kept them alive and organized against these Sirens, he proved himself able to led Azur Lane and cooperate with Crimson Axis in effort to make sure humanity continue to survive this calamity. Why would you kick someone like that from being a leader? Who's arrogant enough to think they could do a better job than Lucas who already put his sweat and blood for humanity? Despite his faults and tendencies, the man is a serious badass when things need him to and William is convinced whoever those people are they are blinded either by greed or hatred.

"…Mate, if you're gone, we're finished" William said to Lucas with serious face.

"Hahahaha! That's very touching, while it's true that I'm the primary contributor that our defenses still hold I'm just one mortal in the end. There would be a time where I wouldn't be able to continue on" Lucas said to William while he smiled.

"Then what are you going to do about those people? Have you identified them?" William asked Lucas with concerned tone.

"More or less. I know who will be able to stay true to our fight against them and those who only wants power just so they could do what they please, even in the brink of our extinction these people could only mind their own greed…When the time comes, you will know who they are" Lucas said to William while he smiled a bit.

"Why not just spout out your theory and those you suspected here?" William asked Lucas.

"Will, I need you to focus on Sirens and Crimson Cleanser not this heap political jack shit. You're trained to fight in the battlefield and warzone, not behind desk in political struggle…Blabbering their names to you will only serve to distract you, I didn't have any concrete evidence yet and that will only further complicates everything if I accused them too early" Lucas said to William with serious face.

Lucas knew that William would be concerned regarding the situation back on HQ, with how many ready to seize the power from his hand and they're willing to backstab anyone who might be their obstacles. It's unfortunate but that's just how humanity works, there will always be a traitor among them who will further their own goals instead focusing on the problems they have now. Lucas has no doubt that these people are even willing to surrender to the Sirens if prompted to, what he wouldn't do to remove these pests from the office right now but unfortunately he have to be patient about it.

"…I understand…Hah…greed, hard to believe there are those who still cared about themselves and held power over the combined military despite the literal alien invasion we experienced" William said out loud.

"I know, but unfortunately that's just how humanity always has been…Now, let's talk about something else since I came here for vacation. What do you say about joining me on a fun ride?" Lucas asked William.

"Fun?" William asked Lucas as he cocked his eyebrows.

"Oh yes, fun" Lucas said to William while he grinned.

"But my vanilla milkshake isn't here yet" William said to Lucas before he saw Lucas took out his phone.

"John? Yeah, tell Swan that she should deliver the vanilla milkshake alongside the snacks to room 0212…Yeah, him…Alright, thanks! There, problem solved" Lucas called someone and then he grinned at William.

"…You arse. Fine, what is this ride you speak of?" William asked Lucas.

"You'll love this one, follow me" Lucas said to William.

William followed Lucas for a bit toward the hotel before making a turn toward the vehicle depot, Lucas grabbed something from the counter then led William to an off road jeep which is parked outside. William saw something being thrown at him and he caught it easily with his right hand, he looked at it and saw a car key. Why did Lucas give him a car key? Is this what he meant by having fun? No, William failed to see how driving around the island count as having fun when he's hurt right now.

"This is an off road 4x4, I don't see why this would be fun" William said to Lucas.

"Yeah, to get there we'll need this. Come on, you're driving" Lucas said to William as he ride shotgun.

"Excuse the fuck me? I'm injured!" William said to Lucas while he shown him his injured left hand.

"If that hand of yours could grope a ship girl's ass during last night threesome then you can drive, come on clock's ticking" Lucas said to William while he smirked.

"…No one will let that go anytime soon huh?" William asked out loud, that one's a bullseye.

"Nope, it's prime argument material" Lucas said to William.

"…Where to, cunt?" William asked Lucas as he sat on the driver seat.

"Just follow that road, fuck face" Lucas said to William while he grinned.

William inserted the key and twisted it, the jeep engine revved up and it's ready to go for some action before William pressed on the pedals few times to hear the engine roaring. After he made sure everything is in order William quickly drive out of the facility toward the only road out of it, they're heading for the woods. He really wondered on where Lucas wants to go but so far there are no other roads beside the one they took, it led upwards toward the big mountain on the island. After around half an hour riding up they stumbled upon a cabin in the woods, a pretty big one at that.

"Here we are" Lucas said to William as he exited the car.

"…Ms. Bordeaux didn't tell me about this one" William commented as he turned off the car.

"Of course not, it's my private house" Lucas said to William.

Private house? Man, Lucas is living the life. Steady income from the resort he has and a big nice cabin in the woods on top of the mountain, man he got his retirement plan in order already as he could live the rest of his life here. William and Lucas entered the cabin and William started to look around, the wood cabin design is gorgeous and William won't mind having one back at the base. The living room is quite sparse and cozy, the sparse wooden bed room with a study is located on the second floor, the kitchen are fully stocked and equipped for any cooking activity and the bathroom…wow, the bathtub is even enough to fit around six people at the same time.

Lucas tapped William's shoulder as a sign to follow him, he went to the back where there's a smaller building which looks like equipment shed. Lucas unlocked the door and went inside, William followed him in and he found that Lucas stored a LOT of things on this shed. There's an Eagle Union muscle car, a Harley Davidson motorcycle, bunch of trinkets and few things were covered in drapes. However Lucas ignored all of those as he went to the edge of the shed and took out two backpacks, upon closer look however it's not a backpack. It's a wing shaped jetpack under prototype development on the HQ, he handed one to William who stared at it in awe.

"This is the prototype jet pack your mother developed few years back, quite bulky and it would fit well for the replacement of steady parachute drop. Imagine our infantry jumping down from far away and landed on the LZ with controllable wings like this?" Lucas said to William while he grinned.

"I'd admit it's a good idea, but why didn't she continue this?" William asked Lucas.

"You know it, power issues. This could only fly for ten minutes and it's this bulky, fuel is still a main problem with this kind of thing. Come on, wear this one and get used to the controls" Lucas said to William as he shrugged.

"Wow…Still, I'm proud you, mum" William said out loud as he equipped the jetpack

"Heh, bet you do. Pretty easy to control, right? It works just like a wing suit except that you steered it with the stick on your right hand, the left one is the thrust control. And this one? It's your parachute" Lucas pointed out all the flight control William would need to fly the jetpack.

"Yeah, I'd like to fly high because I'm not that confident yet" William said to Lucas.

"Nah, two minutes in the air and I'll bet you'll try low level dive. Here, for the HUD" Lucas said to William as he passed him a flight helmet with radio installed.

"Alright…Let's do this" William said to Lucas after he put on his helmet.

After Lucas put on his jetpack and helmet both of them exited the shed and Lucas led them to a cliff edge of the mountain near his cabin, William stared down and he could clearly saw the clouds beneath him. Wow, the sight is magnificent and having a jet pack to explore the island? William started to realize on why did Lucas took those prototypes made by his mother, sightseeing from the air is definitely a good way to use the jetpacks.

"So, how tall is this mountain again?" William asked Lucas on the radio.

"Uh, two kilometers?" Lucas said to William.

"I'd reckon its more than enough…You want to go first?" William said to Lucas.

"Why me?" Lucas asked William.

"You're old and way more experienced!" William said to Lucas.

"That's just your excuse you pussy! Hah! Fine! Try to keep up!" Lucas said to William.

Lucas gets a running a start before he jumped off the cliff while activating his thruster at the same time, the jetpack immediately roared to life and he accelerated away from the cliff in mach one under few seconds. William widened his eye, oh boy this is going to be fun! William made sure the control stick works, the thruster works and the HUD functioning…He moved toward the cliff edge and stared down, adrenaline started to pumped around his body as his excitement rise bit by bit. William finally moved back a bit to get a running start, he then ran as fast as he could toward the edge of the cliff before he jumped as high as he could while pushing the thruster lever. If he's going to die at least he managed to get laid last night!

The jetpack produced loud engine noise and William feel himself being propelled forward, he checked his HUD and saw that his current speed is 215 KMH and it keeps increasing. William was successful on his take off, he used the flight stick on his right hand to make sure how agile is the jetpack maneuvering ability which is quite sluggish but quite stable. He grinned as wide as he could as he lowered his speed to dive down the clouds, when he passed the white clouds he could see the forest below William reengaged his thrusters and now he fly on much lower altitude while feeling very confident since the jetpack proved to work nicely.

"YEAAAAHHHH!" William shouted out loud as he increased his speed.

"You like it?" Lucas asked William on the radio.

"Hell fucking yes! Can I brought some back to my base?!" William asked Lucas on the radio.

"Fine, you can make more if you want to. Though it's on your own cash" Lucas said to William on the radio.

"No problem!" William said to Lucas on the radio while he grinned.

William saw something on his right side and he saw Lucas swooped in above him and fly on his left side, he seems concentrated on where he is going. To be frank though this jetpack aren't for shit and giggles since this equipment doesn't have any autopilot features so they have to be on constant alert while flying the jetpacks, both William and Lucas had to keep their hands on the flight stick unless they want to suddenly change course involuntarily.

"Anything lacking?" Lucas asked William on the radio.

"Yeah! Heatseeking missile!" William said to Lucas on the radio.

"Bah! Don't give me ideas! Next thing we know we have flying troopers using this while shooting down Siren jets!" Lucas said to William on the radio.

"I can see that idea came to fruition!" William said to Lucas on the radio with half closed eye.

"Look, it's the beach. Care for a fly by?" Lucas asked William on the radio.

"Works for me! Let's go!" William said to Lucas on the radio.

Both of them then dived in toward the ground with their jetpacks…Back on the beach, many of the ship girls are enjoying their second day at the beach area. Enterprise was sunbathing with Hornet, the sunlight is quite strong for today however so she opted to stay beneath her umbrella with Hornet. Enterprise started to hear something out in the distance and she opened her eyes while taking off her sunshades, she looked around the area while Hornet followed her actions by stood up and looked around the area when she heard the noises.

"Hmm? Jet sounds? Wait, what is that?" Hornet asked out loud when she saw something on the sky.

WHOOOSHHH!

William and Lucas passed the beach on very low altitude around six meters off the ground which caused a huge commotion as the wind from the jet engines caused chaos around the area they passed through, some of the umbrellas flew up in the air, the chairs were upturned resulting in some ship girls falling to the ground, the sands kicked off and created mini sandstorm. The girls below yelped cutely as many of them were caught unaware, Enterprise couldn't believe her eyes upon what she saw…she saw two men, gliding in the air with a jetpack, flying as if they're a mini plane...

"What the?!" Enterprise said out loud.

"Is that a man with a jet pack?!" Hornet asked out loud.

"Commander didn't tell us that there's something like that on this island!" Enterprise said to Hornet.

"They're coming back!" Hornet shouted to the other ship girls as both William and Lucas did their second pass.

"NO! MY SANDCASTLE!" Saratoga screamed in complete shock and horror.

The two made another pass before going up high in the air as they circled around and looked at the resort facility from the air, from up there William could see so many ship girls staring upwards toward him who flew as he circled the facility. William already liked flying fast and now he could fly without even having to board a fighter jet! Wow! He want to be able to do this in a heartbeat…Wait a fucking second! Lucas said that the issue is power, what if this jet thruster is attached to his Albion Armor back side? Won't he got a thruster pack with tremendous amount of power so he could fly around easily!? William Blaze you're a fucking genius! Oh he can't wait to use it while killing Sirens!

"What's the maximum altitude with this thing?" William asked Lucas on the radio.

"With the fuel you should be able to reach around ten kilometers easily, though I won't recommend that without breathing mask!" Lucas said to William on the radio.

"Good point! My fuel is almost up! I'm going to land!" William said to Lucas as the fuel gauge on the right side HUD started to flash.

"Yeah, me too! See you at the beach!" Lucas said to William.

William headed back toward the beach where the ship girls are gathered, he slowed down considerably before he pulled the parachute trigger on the harness' left side and a large parachute is immediately deployed. The forward momentum is immediately halted and William felt himself jerked and then controlled his descend toward the beach area…the ship girls wondered if that guy who's using it would pass on them for the third time but they are surprised when he used the parachute instead, he landed safely on the beach area in front of the ship girls then decided to take off his helmet. The ship girls was surprised to say the least, it's their commander who pulled that stunt?!

"C-Commander William?!" Lexington asked out loud.

"Hey ladies…That was a thrilling ride" William greeted the girls while he smiled.

"Commander William!" Enterprise suddenly said to William.

"E-Enterprise?" William asked Enterprise.

"Commander, tell me, can I try that too!?" Enterprise asked William as she approached closer to him.

"You want to fly that much huh?" William said to Enterprise while he smiled.

"Yes!" Enterprise said to William.

"Err, Lucas?" William asked the man as he landed beside William, further surprising the ship girls.

"What? She want to try this too?" Lucas asked William.

"Yes sir" Enterprise said to Lucas.

"Sorry to say Ms. Enterprise, currently there's only two unit that are usable and they need to be refueled first. Maybe tomorrow" Lucas said to Enterprise with apologetic smile.

"Aww…" Enterprise frowned as she looked down.

"Cheer up, I'll accompany you for the ride first thing in the morning" William said to Enterprise as he patted her shoulder.

"Really!?" Enterprise looked at William with widened hopeful eyes,

"…After breakfast of course" William said to Enterprise while he smiled, the girl pouted a bit after she heard that.

"Commander! I think you owe Sara some ice cream!" Saratoga shouted at William from afar.

"…Why?" William asked out loud in wonder.

"You kind of ruined her sand castle with that low pass, commander" Arizona said to William.

"Ah…shite" William said out loud in realization, he didn't thought about that didn't he?

.

…The night rolled in, the sky turned black with glimmering stars and William felt the mood to go outside and have fun at night. Where to? Of course, the local amusement park. At night, the lights that come from this establishment practically invited him to come out from his room and that's what he did. After dressing himself in his casual clothes of red t-shirt, black pants and sneaker then he immediately head toward the amusement park…The park is lively and William waltz in to enjoy himself, he wondered on what ride he should get on first? Oh yeah, there's one, for a thrill loving guy like him Roller Coaster must be the opening ride!

Judging from the tracks he could see from the distance, it looks like the roller coaster has an intense ride and he couldn't ask for more. William walked to the roller coaster ride but unfortunately he's late as the ride has started and he could hear several screams of the ship girls as the cart begin its downward start after ascending slowly, William sighed as he opted to wait until he could ride. But when he reached for the row of benches, he found a lone woman seated on one of the benches as she stared toward the night sky. Red kimono, brown hair, nine tails and fluffy fox ears? William would've mistaken her for Akagi until he saw the violet eyes of hers which stared back at him when she heard his footsteps.

"Shikikan-sama?" It was Amagi who sat there.

"Ah, Amagi. You didn't want to get in the roller coaster? They already started without you" William asked Amagi as he sat beside her.

"I confessed that my constitution is quite fragile, I get sick easily" Amagi said to William while she smiled.

"Is that so? Well then, you shouldn't push yourself with work too. Alright?" William said to Amagi while he smiled.

"Thank you for your concern, shikikan-sama" Amagi said to William while she smiled.

Well, two is a company. William and Amagi fell silent after that as they stared at their surrounding environment as they search for another topic to discuss…But still, Amagi has weak constitution? William remembered that she got beaten by Purifier back at Furushima physically yet she still could function properly after brief medical treatment. No, wait, she said that she got sick easily not physically weak…Yeah, she should be on the lookout for bad weather and diseases, it's the first time William heard about her condition and he felt reluctant to send her out on commission once they got back to work. But he got a feeling that she will feel underestimated if he did just that and she will be upset with him, he need to think about that later when he assigned her task other than being a tactician…besides, back then on Furushima he witnessed himself on how effective she is as a combatant.

"Well, since I'm alone, do you mind going with me exploring the park? I could use some company" William asked Amagi while he smiled.

"Certainly" Amagi said to William.

"Have you had dinner yet?" William asked Amagi.

"I haven't, when Akagi and Kaga asked me to come I thought I'd get some food here" Amagi said to William.

"Wait, Akagi and Kaga? You shouldn't neglect your little sister, you know?" William said to Amagi with half closed eye.

"Ufufufufu, they're perfectly fine. Both of them said that I could walk around while they enjoyed their rides around" Amagi said to William after she giggled.

"Oh…" William said out loud.

William stood up and offered his right hand to Amagi, she took it and clung on it as both of them started to walk away from the roller coasters. Both William and Amagi looked around as they occasionally converse, Amagi looked for a stall that might fill their belly nicely and her eyes stumbled upon a hot dog stall. She confessed that she's quite curious on the Eagle Union's cuisine and she'd like to try it, Amagi tugged on William's sleeve as she pointed at the stall.

"Shall we eat something then? How about some hot dogs?" Amagi asked William.

"Great idea…Excuse me, two hot dogs please" William said to Amagi then to the staff of the stall.

"You want it spicy, sir?" The staff asked William.

"Amagi, do you want it spicy?" William asked Amagi in turn.

"Hai" Amagi said to William.

"Make it two" William said to the staff.

"Sure. You want some drinks too?" The staff asked William.

"Yeah…two medium sized soda" William said to the staff.

"Got it…Here you go" The staff said to William.

"Thanks mate" William said to the staff as he smiled.

William took the hot dogs and medium sized soda as both him and Amagi find a nearby bench to sit at, they found one that overlooked the game stalls and they sat to enjoy the view each with a hot dog and a soda cup in their hands. William unwrapped his hot dog…err, that came out wrong…William looked at the food on his hand before he took a bite of it, the flavorful sausage combined with just the right amount of buns, ketchup and mustard really put this hot dog on a 'delicious' rating according to him. Amagi also took a bite and her eyes widened at the richness of the flavor, oh she didn't regret this decision at all.

"Um! Delicious" Amagi commented on the hot dog.

"Yeah, agreed" William said to Amagi.

"Ufufu, why do I have a feeling that you would need more than one?" Amagi asked William while she smiled.

"Ho, you know about my big appetite?" William asked Amagi with surprised face.

"The food that Belfast-san brought for you few days ago suggested so" Amagi said to William.

"Ah, you're quite attentive" William said to Amagi while he smiled.

"Such thing is needed for a tactician" Amagi said to William.

Really, she could judge that he eat a lot just from the fact that she saw Belfast carrying a plate full of food? Normally people won't paid attention much to those details, but Amagi did and she could immediately deduced on the reason why. He got a feeling that she might be just what he needs in the future combat against the Sirens when it comes to strategic moves, he couldn't let her talent to go to waste. William was surprised as a napkin suddenly ran across his mouth alongside a beautiful giggle coming from his side, Amagi was the one who hold the napkin with her as she wiped his mouth.

"Ara ara…Handsome giant with a bravery that matched a lion and yet you eat messily~. How cute" Amagi said to William while she smiled softly.

"This didn't always happen but heh, thanks" William said to Amagi as he smiled sheepishly.

"Don't worry about it…Though shikikan-sama, can I ask you something?" Amagi asked William.

"Sure" William said to Amagi as he finished his hot dog.

"What's your thought on polygamy?" Amagi asked William without hint of hesitation.

"…Is this has to do with what you saw this morning?" William asked Amagi while he smiled somberly.

"Hai" Amagi said to William as she nodded.

"…Well, you know, I didn't have plans for polygamy" William said to Amagi.

"Really?" Amagi asked William with surprise coated on her face.

"At first, when I came to this base such thing didn't even cross my mind. What I prioritized the most is my performance to lead the ship girls in our fight against Sirens, but…after spending some time around them it was clear that it's a path I have to take down the road eventually. Well, the Royal Navy ladies didn't seems to have a problem with it, I don't know about the others though…What did Sakura Empire thought about the subject?" William asked Amagi then sipped on his soda.

"To start, it's unheard of among the Sakura Empire to have multiple spouses and the law in there didn't permit it" Amagi said to William as she closed her eyes.

"I see" William said to Amagi as he nodded.

"But, our base didn't subjected into Sakura Empire laws as far as I'm concerned and many of the Sakura Empire ship girls seems to…not caring much regarding such matters~" Amagi said to William as she stared at him and smiled widely.

"Hahahahahaha…yeah, I thought so too" William said to Amagi after he chuckled.

"But you might have to be little careful with them who are devout in their religion" Amagi said to William.

"You mean Iris Orthodoxy ship girls?" William asked Amagi.

"As far as I know, polygamy is a sin according to them" Amagi said to William while she smiled.

"…I would just have to deal with it if the problem arise later" William said to Amagi as he shrugged.

Iris Orthodoxy ship girls? Yup, William got a feeling that they will frowned at him the moment they saw them been involved in a relationship like this since they are quite religious...William sweated a bit at the thought, doesn't mean he won't be able to romance them? They would obviously mind if they have to share…Wait, he's getting too far ahead of himself. He'll figure out what to do when it actually happened, would they even be interested in him?

"Hai, it might be best not to worry too much about it…So, do you want to play some games?" Amagi asked William.

"It's a good idea, let's walk around and let's see if we can find something to play together" William said to Amagi as they walked toward the game stalls.

"…Shikikan-sama, I remember you're being quite proficient with firearms" Amagi said to William.

"Yeah, what about it?" William asked Amagi.

"I found a shooting stall~" Amagi said to William.

William looked toward the direction where Amagi pointed at and he followed along as she dragged him to the shooting stall, it's quite big for a simple shooting stall as the target could be said located more than fifty meters away from the shooting place. William approached the staff that manned the stall and he greeted him with a smile, William was about to ask for the gun before Amagi asked him first.

"…Mister, is there a reason why the firing targets is quite far from the stall?" Amagi asked the staff.

"Ah yes, this shooting stall used real guns" The staff said to Amagi while he smiled.

"Does every shooting attraction on this island use real guns?!" William asked the staff, seriously though!

"Yes, but don't worry, we implemented strict use of it. We won't let our guest used it for any other purpose" The staff said to William with a reassuring smile.

The staff rummaged the table in front of them and he took out a bolt action rifle painted in light blue coloring and handed it toward William who immediately weighted the gun on his hand, he briefly inspected the gun, pulled the bolt and noted that the chamber is empty before he looked back toward the staff.

"…This is Remington M700 Sniper Rifle with custom iron sights, quite light for a bolt action rifle" William said to the staff as he looked at the rifle.

"You know your stuff, sir…Yes, this weapon used the five rounds detachable box magazine equipped with rubber bullets. They're not lethal but a shot to the eye or a nut shot would be extremely painful" The staff said to William.

"I reckon. Can we participate?" William asked the staff.

"Yes of course, all the rides on this island is free for you or the ladies sir" The staff said to William while he smiled then handed him the magazine for the rifle.

"Just making sure…Alright Amagi, what do you like to get from there?" William asked Amagi as he smiled.

"I would be happy with whatever you get me, shikikan-sama" Amagi said to William while she smiled softly.

"Oh, you're being quite modest aren't you? Very well…" William said to Amagi while he smirked.

"Earplugs, sir?" The staff asked William as he shown him the earplugs typically used in firing range.

"No need" William said to the staff.

The man looked at the weapon's magazine and inspected the rubber rounds he's about to use, he then inserted the magazine into the sniper rifle and pulled back the bolt before pushing it forward to load the rounds. William disengaged the safety and aimed through the weapon's iron sight, he steadied his heartbeat and his breathing. Amagi looked at him in anticipation and many of the shooting range staff stopped their activity to witness William in the act, he took his time as he scanned the prize aisle downrange while contemplating on what to get for Amagi.

The prize list are dolls, brand new gaming consoles, rare model collections of military vehicles such as tanks and fighter jets, large sized beverages or even trinkets for decorations…Now, those things were hanged by ropes which has small circle like target on it as the weak point you have to shoot. Rubber bullets hit it, the rope snaps and the prize is yours. The problem is, the more expensive the prize then the more rope is holding it together with the max being five ropes which means the shooter couldn't miss at all if they want to get the prize…William eyes turned toward the 1.5 meters cute faced brown bear doll with several holes on its styrofoam cover, looks like many have tried to get it and failed…he smirked as he prepared himself, let's see if he can impress this tactician lady.

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

Five rounds were fired and the bear doll fell to the mattress prepared underneath it, William grinned as he pulled the bolt of the rifle and ejected the empty casing out of the rifle. Amagi and the staff around the stall could only have their jaws dropped, the man shoot a bolt action rifle five times accurately in under ten seconds and all of the target is a bullseye! William huffed as he looked down on the rifle, it's well maintained and able to fire without a hitch. He thought that this stall would have some tricks or anything on it to make it hard for them to get the prizes, but he guessed that normal civilians who didn't train to shoot guns would have enough difficulty on this stall already so there's that he guess…

"Jesus fucking christ! I'm glad you didn't show up during our usual opening, how the hell you hit those small targets five times in row perfectly?!" The staff asked William with disbelieve on his face.

"Pro tips, the iron sights makes it too easy" William said to the staff as he handed the rifle back at him.

"I won't want to be in a gunfight with you, I really am" The staff said to William while he smiled awkwardly.

"Heh, I still have much to learn despite all that" William said to the staff as he shrugged.

"Oi, don't just stand there! Get the prize!" The staff said to his coworkers.

The staff quickly get the bear doll and handed it to William who nodded his head as his thanks before he handed it to Amagi who received it while still being amazed that her commander managed to pull such feat, but maybe that's what you'll see if your commanding officer is former part of Azur Lane Special Forces. The bear doll has this sweet chocolate like smell, it's quite relaxing and could make someone like William goes hungry again after just one whiff.

"My gift for you, I believe this beautiful lady earned it with how dazzled she looked right now" William said to Amagi while he grinned.

"Shikikan-sama, arigatou gozaimasu~…I like it" Amagi said to William while she smiled sweetly.

"Don't mention it. If I were more of a romantic person, I would've said 'Think nothing of it for I would shoot down the moon out of the sea of stars and gift it to you, for the mesmerizing shine of it reminds me of the shine on your violet eyes as you gaze longingly at me'" William said to Amagi while he grinned.

"…Fufufuahahahahaha!" Amagi took a second before she giggled heavily which turned into full blown laughter short time later.

"And that's exactly why I didn't say it" William said out loud while he smiled somberly as he shrugged.

"Hahaha…Shikikan-sama, that was quite romantic…but cheesy" Amagi said to William while she smiled.

"I reckoned so" William said to Amagi.

"But, what is life without few slices of cheese on occasions, hmm?" Amagi said to William while she hid her lower face as she stared at him, why? She can't stop grinning! Her composure is failing!

"Yup! Yup! Thanks for the diabetes! I'm out of here! Where's my insulin shot?!" The staff beside them said out loud.

Amagi and William laughed at the staff, they left the stalls as they waved at the staffs who also waved back. As they walked around while looking for the next game they're interested to play, Amagi kept hiding her face behind the doll as she walked beside William…Geez, who know going on a pseudo little date like this could make her this giddy especially after receiving a gift from William which she will surely use as a hugging pillow tonight. Amagi glanced to the side to look at William's face who's busy surveying the area for anything that caught his interest, after staring a while he stared back at Amagi while he smiled.

"Where should we go next?" William asked Amagi while he smiled.

"I'm looking forward to show you my own skills in games, shikikan-sama. How about darts?" Amagi said to William while she smiled.

"Lead on!" William said to Amagi while he grinned.

…William returned to his room after a long night with Amagi playing around the carnival, he haven't had so much fun on a carnival since his visit to the one near Thames River during his school field trip. After taking some bath to clean himself William was about to put on some gauzes and bandages when he realized that the wounds around his body have healed to the point he won't need them, all he had to do now is to remove the stiches on the wounds and allow his skin to return as smooth as before…the perks of having Regel, he's glad that the scientist back on HQ discovered them.

His left hand however still looked quite ugly, the wound are still healing quite rapidly because of Regel but all it managed to recover for now are his muscles since his left hand suffered third degree burns and has a lot of charred section on it need to be removed in order for Regel to work. After putting on the Regel and bandages around his left hand, William opened up his fridge to see his order this afternoon are indeed delivered to his room. He took out the nuggets and fries, tossed them inside the microwave and reheated the food as he sipped on his vanilla milkshake.

"Ouch. Ice cold milkshake is a recipe for brain freeze and aching teeth" William cringed as he said it, he's too lustful toward the damn drink.

The microwave dinged and William took out the plate of french fries and nuggets, he started munching on them as late night snack while he occasionally sipped on his vanilla milkshake…The plates and glass were wiped clean five minutes later and the man wanted more, he really do. But considering it's eleven at night right now he might just sleep, he have an activity planned for the afternoon tomorrow and he need to set everything up and be done by noon. Just as he thought of that William heard the door to his room was knocked, who is it?

"Yeah?" William asked out loud.

"Milord? It's Illustrious" Illustrious said to William.

"C-Come on in" William said to Illustrious.

Illustrious opened the door to William's room, entered it and closed the door. She's dressed in white night gown and she approached William who's still seated on the dining chair and stared at her with a hint of nervousness on his face, she stormed off this morning without ever wanting to hear his reason and now she approached him on her own…Oh god, is she going to do what William thought she's going to do? William didn't mind if the situation leads to THAT but he got a feeling that's not why she's here, the woman in front of him hid her hands behind her, fidgeting as she try to speak regarding the things she want to say to him.

"…How can I help you, Illustrious?" William decided to break the ice and asked Illustrious.

"I…want to apologize for this morning, I immediately stormed off without hearing you out first…I'm sorry" Illustrious said to William while she frowned.

"Ah, it's alright…Everything is in the past now" William said to Illustrious while he smiled.

"I…was so jealous of them both, to be able to sleep with you while I hesitated to make any move on you. I was fuming to myself for being outmaneuvered" Illustrious confessed to William.

"Illustrious, you don't need to worry too much of such things alright? I'm here and I don't intend to leave any of you ladies" William said to Illustrious while he smiled reassuringly.

"That's so relieving to hear it from you…Also, milord?" Illustrious asked William.

"Yes?" William responded to Illustrious.

"Do you mind…if we sleep together for tonight?" Illustrious asked William.

"…Um, sleep as in…" William asked Illustrious while his cheeks reddening.

"Oh, while I would be delighted to I'm afraid I can't for tonight…I'm tired because Victorius and Formidable kept dragging me everywhere today" Illustrious said to William while she smiled.

"Yeah, don't worry about it. I'm feeling quite sleepy too, want to head to bed?" William asked Illustrious as he pointed at his bed.

"Yes, I'd love to" Illustrious said to William while she smiled.

…GOOD FUCKING LORD! Did she just dropped a hint that she want to do some banging if she wasn't so tired today? Hoo boy, William was delighted with the prospect but since he just managed to prevent the situation from escalating into a gang rape he may didn't want to tempt fate just yet…Illustrious laid down on his bed which fortunately the sheets already been changed, it'll be awkward to sleep with her in the place where he deflowered two ship girls just last night. After taking off his eye patch William joined Illustrious on the bed, he get underneath the cover and Illustrious shamelessly moved in then snuggled on him.

William looked downwards to see Illustrious staring expectantly at him, he didn't know what she wants so all he could do is stare at her confusedly. Seeing William didn't quite get what she wanted, Illustrious moved in and quickly connected her lips with his…Yeah, that's right, she wanted a good night kiss. The man was shocked a bit before he granted her wish as he started to kiss her back, both of them connected their lips for quite some time before Illustrious satisfied and she released herself from him while she smiled softly at him.

"Good night, Lord William" Illustrious said to William while she smiled softly.

"Good night, Illy" William said to Illustrious as he closed his eye.

The man was content as he drifted off to the dreamland within minutes since he's more tired than he thought, his breathing steadied quickly as he fell asleep. Illustrious however had to keep staring at William with widened eyes and flaming cheeks, she have a hard time trying to shut her eyes after what he said to her…Illy huh? The nickname he picked for her has a nice ring to it, she liked it so much that she may wanted him to just address her like that from now on…Oh dear, she's too giddy to fall asleep. Keep this up and she won't be able to function properly tomorrow…

.

"Morning Will, nice hair" Lucas said to William as he sipped on his roast of black coffee.

"Shut up" William said to Lucas.

Lucas found it odd that William walked down to the restaurant area while wearing a white t-shirt and boxer with his hair stood proud like Goku when he first about to fight Frieza, is that his bed hair? William just took a seat in front of Lucas, a waitress quickly walked toward him with the menu and she patiently waited as he choose his breakfast. Hmm, what do he want to eat? William was baffled at the menu selection to be honest but he eventually settled to eat some bacon and scrambled eggs.

"What would you like to eat sir?" The waitress asked William while she smiled.

"Classic Eagle Union breakfast would do, and some hot tea" William said to the waitress.

"Understood, we'll bring it here shortly" The waitress said to William then left.

"…So, any reason why you look like an off brand Super Saiyan?" Lucas asked William while he smiled amusedly.

"Illustrious messed with my hair" William said to Lucas.

"Oh…my god, you slept with her?" Lucas asked William with widened eyes.

"Technically yes, but we didn't have sex" William said to Lucas as he shrugged.

"Why? It's an opportunity isn't it?" Lucas asked William with confused gaze.

Why not huh? William did a recount on his head, let's see…Illustrious woke up around ten minutes before William did and she spend that time staring at his sleeping face. They exchanged some pleasantry after he woke up before one thing led to another and he found himself wide awake with Illustrious sitting on top of his abdomen. She then showered him with hungry kisses, not sure what made her that aggressive but he supposed it's hormones in the works which means…well, maybe she's in the middle of her ovulation cycle. Her hands roamed around his head, messing his already messy bed hair and he's about to engage his breeding mode when he heard knocking on his room door. Enterprise asked him regarding his promise yesterday and he said he'll go with her after breakfast in which she urged him to eat one as soon as he can, that killed the mood quite quickly and the rest is history…

"Not everyone is as horny and perverted as you, Lucas" Lena suddenly said out loud as she sat beside William with a tray of her breakfast.

"Hi Lena" William greeted Lena.

"Hello Will" Lena greeted William back while she smiled.

"Bohoo! If I didn't know any better you're still recovering from the 'night battle' two days ago" Lucas said to William.

"Really mate…" William said to Lucas with half closed eye.

His breakfast arrived and the three of them spend some time eating their breakfast, after filling their stomach the three of them enjoyed their drink as they chatted. William briefly looked around and he noticed that many girls still on the restaurant, hmmm that's quite odd but William suppose they got bored playing at the beach for two days straight. He should form a bonding event, hopefully Crimson Cleanser won't crash this one.

"Anyway, any news?" William asked Lucas and Lena.

"On what?" Lucas asked William with cocked eyebrows.

"You know, frontlines? Terrorist arseholes? Black hentai aliens?" William said to Lucas.

"Nada for the moment and I'd like to keep it that way" Lucas said to William with half closed eyes.

"Me too. Just let me enjoy this smooth blend of coffee in peace, hah…" Lena said to William before she sighed.

"TIRPITZ!" Victorious could be heard shouted at Tirpitz excitedly.

"Guh! Victorious?!" Tirpitz could be heard answering awkwardly and with tone full of dread.

"Ah! I missed you! We have lot of catching up to do you know?! Ah, hello Bismarck!" Victorious said out loud.

"Hello…Victorious" Bismarck responded to Victorious.

Looks like they got along just fine, William glanced at Victorious who enveloped the awkwardly smiling Tirpitz in a hug while Bismarck and the rest of the ship girls watched. Now he know that Victorious is quite energetic, wonder if she's as energetic in bed…Mother of god, William widened his eye, looked down on the table with a face full of grim realization as he can't believe on what he just thought! Really! Is he that horny that he couldn't help himself to thought about Victorious who dressed skimpily like that in a sexual way? No! He's doing it again…God, so this is the feeling of being cockblocked before the good part…

"Oh yes, we will have additional ship girls coming in today" Lucas said to William.

"…How many did you call?" William composed himself before he asked Lucas.

"Many of them. But the majority will arrive after the base renovation is done, for now it will be just few of them" Lucas said to William.

"I see…How many will arrive today?" William asked Lucas.

"One. Ready your diplomatic smile, this one is quite difficult to handle" Lucas said to William.

"Ha? Who's coming here?" William asked Lucas with cocked eyebrows.

"Ah! I see, so this is the scent that has been driving me crazy which emanates from thy soul. O sinful Commander who tempts me so, engrave my name upon thine heart" Someone said to William.

Within seconds he found someone beside him as they whispered to his right ear, William was shocked and stunned as he turned his head slowly to the right to see a woman with sharp blue eyes, long pink hair and sharp pointy ears staring at him directly in the eye. The woman wore red clothing that just screamed 'Royal Navy' in aesthetics, William immediately knew that this woman is the ship girl that supposed to arrive today…But man, she spooked him! How come he didn't hear her approach?! How come she managed to get a drop on him and not even Lena alongside Lucas saw her approaching?! His question would remain unanswered as the woman bowed down a bit in front of William as she grinned for a bit, that revealed a set of sharp fangs she has while not too long in size to make it awkward in her mouth its still bigger than your average human fangs…

"Duke of York, of the Royal Navy" Duke of York introduced herself while she grinned.

"N-Nice to meet you, Duke of York. I'm-" William said to Duke as he smiled uneasily.

"William Blaze, such perfect name…for thou managed to set my heart ablaze with just a stare of thy fiery eye~" Duke said to William while she grinned and caressed his right jaw with her fingers slowly.

"She's earlier than I expected" Lucas said absentmindedly.

"A vampire? A horny vampire?! Really?!" Lena asked Lucas with low tone but surprised face.

"Hey! I'm not the one who's responsible for her design!" Lucas said to Lena in low tone.

"Ah so you have arrived, York" Wales suddenly said to Duke.

"Ah, Wales. How are thou? Dear sister?" Duke asked Wales as she turned her head at her while she smiled.

"Fine, thank you" Wales said to Duke.

"York, I have been waiting for you. Also, please unhand Lord William, you're making him uncomfortable" George V said to Duke.

"I see…Forgive me for my transgression, milord" Duke said to William while she smiled.

"It's fine. I'm sorry for having to greet you looking like this though, I didn't expect for you to arrive so soon…Well, feel free to unwind, we could talk later Ms. York" William said to Duke while he smiled a bit.

"By your command, milord" Duke said to William before she bowed.

Duke then proceed to meet with Wales and George as the three of them moved to a table near the corner on the other side of the restaurant to talk with one another, William's gaze briefly followed them before he sighed a bit in relief…she have zero hesitation, he like her resolve already. However he didn't expect her to be that direct, William moved his gaze toward Lucas who still waited for his further reaction alongside Lena.

"…A vampire? A horny vampire?! Really?!" William asked Lucas while he frowned a bit.

"Déjà vu…I've been to this place before, riding on the street and I know it's my time to go~" Lucas sang instead answering him.

"…Mate, I'm serious" William said to Lucas with half closed eye.

"You have a problem with her?" Lucas immediately asked William.

"No?" William said to Lucas in questioning tone.

"Then why are you complaining!?" Lucas asked William while he frowned.

"I'm not! But an advanced warning won't hurt! I feel she eyed me like I'm her dinner or something! Also that undressing blue eyes of hers gave me a boner!" William said to Lucas with half closed eye.

"…Wow, I am shocked you admitted that out loud" Lena said to William while she looked taken aback.

"Whatever…Hah, well, at least I know she could function well during day light despite looking like a vampire" William said out loud while he shrugged.

"Yeah, and I heard she's quite formidable in battle too. Look, even Scharnhorst haven't moved an inch since she saw her" Lena said to William.

"…Yikes, she looked like as if she saw a ghost" Lucas said out loud.

William cocked his eyebrows before he turned to the side and saw Scharnhorst still locked staring at Duke's previous position beside William with a widened eyes, mouth agape in terror and blue face while Gneisenau tried her best to shake up her sister…Wow, whatever happened between the two of them in the past it was clear that Scharnhorst is very uncomfortable with Duke of York to downright afraid of her. William just hoped that won't compromise their ability to work together if the situation demands it, but he got a feeling that this will require his intervention of some sort…

"What do you say? Up for some dumb shit today?" Lucas asked William while he grinned.

"No" William immediately said to Lucas as he saw something.

"Oh come on you pussy, it's not going to kill you" Lucas said to William while he grinned.

"Hood would kill me if she saw me, Lucas" William said to Lucas as he continued to stare elsewhere.

"Doesn't matter if she didn't found out, right?" Lucas asked William while he grinned and wiggled his eyebrows.

"If I didn't found out about what?" A very familiar voice suddenly asked Lucas.

Lucas widened his eyes as he turned around to see Hood herself with a tray of breakfast on her hands while staring at Lucas suspiciously, the man immediately sweated in nervousness as Hood continued to eye him for further explanation. William and Lena actually saw Hood coming and the both of them let Lucas to continue asking William to participate in whatever mad plan of his for today, it felt good that they could manage to put Lucas in a trap for once.

"O-Oh, morning Ms. Hood" Lucas said to Hood while he grinned.

"Mind explaining on what did you ask Lord William to participate?" Hood asked Lucas while she smiled...a bit menacingly.

"You're on your own, Lucas" William said to Lucas as he stood up.

"The angry wife showed up, good luck" Lena said to Lucas while she grinned.

"You bunch of traitors!" Lucas said out loud while he scowled.

"Have fun with him" William said to Hood while he smiled.

"Going somewhere?" Hood asked William.

"I promised Enterprise I'll accompany her this morning" William said to Hood.

"I see. Take care" Hood said to William while she smiled.

"Thanks" William said to Hood as he smiled back.

After walking outside, William rendezvous with Enterprise and they immediately head toward the vehicle depot to get a car. Once they got a vehicle, William drove the car to Lucas' cabin. Enterprise eagerly looked around the place during their drive and her smile grew as William stopped the car, it looks like Enterprise is very eager to try flying.

"You looked eager" William commented as he stared at Enterprise.

"Of course I am, finally I'm going to fly in the air" Enterprise said to William while she smiled widely.

"One thing though, do you know how to fly a fighter jet?" William asked Enterprise.

"I do" Enterprise said to William.

"Wait, really?" William asked Enterprise with surprised face.

"Since I'm a carrier, I automatically knew how to fly one…I don't know how that works either, I remembered the scientist blabbered about cognitive psychology or something which affected my sub-consciousness" Enterprise explained to William.

…What in the actual hell is she talking about? Cognitive psychology affecting consciousness? William found himself pursing his lips as he thought that man there's so many things he still don't understand on this world. Oh well, let's leave that one to the scientist for now because there is no way William would understand that topic without extensive reading just to get basics of it. The man took the two jetpacks from yesterday, he equipped one on himself pretty easily and then held the other so Enterprise could look at it.

"…Well, I'll have to test you first then. Do you understand this equipment and how it functions?" William asked Enterprise.

"This is the control stick, this is the engine thrust lever. The wing designs looked like a B-2 Spirit Strategic Bomber and that means this one doesn't have a tail which will affect its horizontal turning performance. It's designed for gliding, which is why to stop you would have to use parachute" Enterprise explained to William as she pointed many parts of the jetpack with her index finger.

"Holy shite you know your stuff, I believe you now" William said to Enterprise, he's convinced now.

"Fufu, thanks. Can we go now?" Enterprise asked William while she smiled.

"Sure. Turn around" William said to Enterprise.

Enterprise turned herself around and William put on the jetpack with its harness on her, William made sure that the harness is attached properly and he performed several pre-flight checks like the thrusters and the flaps on the jetpacks. Once William confirmed that it functions properly William took the nearby flight helmet and put it on Enterprise's head then fastened it as the HUD on her helmet turned on, after he put on his own helmet William led Enterprise to the jump point he used alongside Lucas yesterday…Enterprise found herself grinning in anticipation as she stared at the view below the cliffs, she turned around as she warmed up the jet thrusters while she stared at William as if asking his permission to take off.

"Go ahead Enterprise, this is what you wish for!" William said to Enterprise while he grinned.

"Yessir! Enterprise, taking off!" Enterprise said to William as she mock saluted at him.

Enterprise eagerly run and jumped off the cliff as she pushed the accelerator lever, the jetpack roared to life as it provided the necessary thrust for her to fly in the air. Her smile turned into full blown grin as she used the flight stick so she could maneuver in the air, she dived into the nearby clouds then exited it again while she laughed. Flying in the air felt so great! She didn't mind if she could do this during combat with the Sirens! Enterprise tried all sort of maneuver in the air, she had to admit that despite the designs the jetpack is quite reactive and able to maneuver well. William approached her from the side, Enterprise glanced toward him when she noticed that William was following her closely.

"How do you feel?" William asked Enterprise on the radio.

"I'm feeling great right now, commander!" Enterprise said to William on the radio while she grinned.

"Glad you enjoyed it" William said to Enterprise on the radio while he smiled.

"Can we get some to be used in our base?" Enterprise asked William on the radio.

"I already asked Lucas, we can have some. Maybe we could modify it for our own use" William said to Enterprise on the raido.

"Awesome! Hey commander, check this out! Wohooo!" Enterprise said to William on the radio.

Enterprise dived toward the ground and William followed after her shortly, both of them fly in low altitude and William got a feeling he's experience déjà vu because this was exactly what he's done with Lucas yesterday! Both of them headed back to the resort and saw that some ship girls are indeed on the beach area though their numbers are smaller compared to when they first arrived here, William felt like being an ass for a bit so he contacted Enterprise.

"Want to play tricks on them?" William asked Enterprise on the radio while he grinned

"I'm right behind you sir!" Enterprise said to William on the radio while she also grinned.

"Brilliant, follow my lead!" William said to Enterprise on the radio.

Saratoga was busy reconstructing her sandcastle which was ruined by William yesterday, damn that creation of hers would definitely become so famous on Juustagram! But her 'sometimes' moronic commander pulled that stunt yesterday and ruined everything, at least she managed to guilt trip him into buying ice cream. Now she's remaking her sand castle with St. Louis and Honolulu's help, with the two of them it should be done before lunch. However she heard the low flying jet sounds overhead and intense gush of wind followed split seconds later, after the initial shock because St. Louis had to covered her face and Honolulu struggled to find her unclasped swimsuit, Saratoga looked at the sand castle they've been building for one hour…it's ruined completely as around sixty percent of the structure was erased by that strong wind gush.

"OH COME ON! AGAIN?! YOU'RE A PIECE OF SHIT COMMANDER!" Saratoga shouted as loud as she could.

Fortunately or unfortunately, William and Enterprise was too fast and high to hear Saratoga damning them to hell. The both of them flew for quite some time before the HUD warned them that their fuel tank would be empty soon so the two of them choose to land, their landing zone? The top of the hotel which is currently deserted despite the existence of a large pool in there…wait a second, a pool?! William decided to give it a go later! After pulling their parachute open, both William and Enterprise managed to land safely on the roof and the both of them took off the jetpack alongside the harness. William was told by Lucas that he should just leave it on the LZ as the resort staff will take care of the recovery and refueling, he basically could do this again tomorrow.

"So, you like it?" William asked Enterprise.

"Very much! I may get addicted to flying, commander!" Enterprise said to William while she grinned.

"I assure you, we'll benefit greatly with this piece of equipment. I already thought few ways to make this useful with Akashi's help" William said to Enterprise while he smiled.

"I'm sure of it" Enterprise said to William before she walked toward him, tip toed and pecked him on the cheek.

"Eh?" William is clearly taken aback in surprise because of her action.

"That's…you know, as thanks for fulfilling one of my wishes…See you later, commander" Enterprise said to William as she headed down from the rooftop.

"Heh, you're welcome" William said out loud while he smirked before he followed her down.

.

…**Hmm, William is quite busy despite being in a vacation eh? Spending time with the ship girls, meeting the new ship girls, going on a pseudo date, being seduced by thirsty girls who wanted his touch and all of that was offset by the info that Lucas and Lena brought…I predicted that this vacation arc would last for additional two chapters oh but don't worry, things will be more 'intense' there and I'll leave it to your imagination to what do I mean by that hahahahaha...Thanks of the review, follow and favorite dear readers! Time to rest for a bit before putting on the next chapter.**

**See you next time!**

**\- Dasmara**


	28. On one intense afternoon

"KYAAAAAAAA!"

BANG!

That gunshot silenced whoever that just screamed out in terror and the sound echoed throughout the forest, Suffolk keep her back to the tree she's hiding in while she started to sweat out of nervousness. Suffolk looked to her sides to make sure her friends are still there, Sheffield and Kent are on her right side hiding behind the bushes while Edinburgh and Victorious hid behind the trees to her left. Almost all of them were panting after running for quite some distances, they are tired as they find the spot for the rendezvous with the other ship girls who's on their side.

"W-What do we do!? Our head maid has gone mad!" Suffolk asked out loud with worried tone.

"She's mercilessly finishing everyone off! Where's the commander when you need him!?" Kent said out loud.

"Wait, is it possible that she took him out first?!" Victorious asked the maid with horrified tone.

"No, he will be the last" Edinburgh said to Victorious.

"Why?" Victorious asked Edinburgh.

"I know how Belfast works. She'll save the best things for the last, intimidate him slowly as his allies fell one by one" Edinburgh said to Victorious with grim face.

"H-How did you know that?" Victorious asked Edinburgh as she got even more nervous.

"…This is not the first time she have done this" Edinburgh said to Victorious.

Edinburgh for sure know how deadly Belfast could be on land or on seas, the head maid is the one that Queen Elizabeth herself trust to take care of many problems and she let her do it with her own methods. Furthermore, Edinburgh was the one that often accompanied her during those assignments whenever she could so she knew how Belfast problem solving method works which is in this case…they are the problem. Suddenly they heard rapid gunfire coming from behind them and several bullets whizzed beside them, which prompted the group to turn around and run as they each returned fire with the weapons from Heaven's Guard.

"What was that!?" Kent asked out loud.

"It's Belfast! Move it ladies!" Sheffield ordered out loud.

The group ran as fast as they could while occasionally firing back at the unseen attacker, but everyone would assume that it's Belfast since she's the one that have been hunting them down mercilessly. Suffolk panted as she ran until she felt a sharp pain on her lower right leg which caused her to fell down to the ground, Kent turned around when she heard the sound of someone's falling and she widened her eyes to see Suffolk on the ground.

"Suffolk!" Kent said out loud and she moved to help her.

"NO! RUN! JUST KEEP RUNNING!" Suffolk shouted to Kent.

"Kent! Move it!" Sheffield said to Kent.

"Damnit!" Kent said out loud as she gritted her teeth and continue to run.

"AAAAAAHHHHHH!"

BANG!

Suffolk horrified screams once again put to silence with a gunshot, the girls on the group winced and desperation started to shown on their face as they keep running. They're about to reach the rendezvous point when Sheffield who's in the lead suddenly stopped moving as she look to the rear, when she found no one is chasing them she raised her fist as a code to stop to everyone. Edinburgh immediately noticed and she also stopped without hesitation, but the other ship girls were confused on why they stopped running when they supposed safe haven is only few dozen meters away.

"Wait" Sheffield said out loud.

"You're out of your bloody mind, Sheffield?! Why did we stop!?" Victorious asked Sheffield with cocked eyebrows.

"Sheffield's right. There's something strange, Belfast would've pursue us relentlessly!" Edinburgh said out loud with a grim face.

"D-Don't tell me…" Victorious said out loud with blue face.

"Yes…they are targeting master" Sheffield said to Victorious.

"T-This is so unfair…why do we have to go against them!?" Victorious whined as she held her head.

"Why? It's simple. You didn't surrender when we ask you to"

The ship girls turned around and each pointed their handheld firearms toward someone who just said those words, there stood behind them in the open is William's personal secretary herself who walked toward them while she smiled as usual…but on the closer look, there is this hungry look in her eyes and so despite her usual elegant smile she still looked menacing to the others. The ship girls in front of her sweats nervously but at the same time are intrigued, she's outnumbered four to one and she had the gall to shown herself in the open?!

"Surprised to see me here? Of course, I wasn't known for utilizing stealth after all. That's more like you isn't it, Sheffield?" Hood asked Sheffield while she smiled.

"Please, don't do this Madam Hood!" Sheffield said to Hood.

"Why shouldn't I hmm? But I agree, just tell me where you hide Lord William and I'll spare you all" Hood said out loud while she smiled.

"You liar, you haven't the slightest intention to let us go! Look at that wicked grin of yours!" Victorious said to Hood as she pointed at her.

"Ufufufufu! Ah forgive me, I've lost my elegance for a bit there!" Hood said to Victorious after she giggled then grinned.

What can she say? She couldn't helped herself! These girls had no idea on what's about to befell them and she relished with the idea being carried out quite smoothly, all she have to do now is to make sure her every target is here. Just when she's about to speak the ship girls expression in front of her changed from anxious to relief and that's because of one thing, Hood grin turned into smirk as she heard footsteps behind her which came to a halt very close to her position. Hood turned her head around while she smirked to see Illustrious herself standing behind her with a M37 Itacha Pump Action Shotgun in her hand, she's not smiling in the slightest and she aimed the weapon straight at Hood's backside…Seeing the gentle, patient and kind woman who only wish to bring love and peace to this world holding someone at gun point is very unusual, but at times when the situation called it…she wouldn't hesitate to protect even when she have to dirty her hands, she didn't like it but what choice do she have here?

"I order you to stand down, Hood!" Queen Elizabeth suddenly said out loud.

Queen Elizabeth, London and Formidable appeared from the other directions while pointing their own firearms against Hood. The only one being gun pointed smiled as she calmly looked around to notice just how many girls currently surrounding her, there's at least eight of them ready to put bullets onto her if she's so much as to move her hand toward the Desert Eagle Handgun on her waist. The situation is tense, the ship girls were itching to fire at Hood and all of them looking at each other to wait for the signal from Illustrious…

"Hood, put down your weapon" Illustrious said to Hood calmly.

"My, Illustrious. I see you managed to get a drop on me, quite surprising indeed" Hood commented while she smirked.

"We have you surrounded Hood, please stop this. Just put your weapons down!" Illustrious said to Hood.

"I will only speak to Lord William, so get that handsome man out from behind the tree please" Hood declared while she smirked.

Illustrious glanced to her rear left and nodded her head, someone came out from behind a tree and he did not look happy. William stood beside Illustrious as he stared at Hood who's now turned her body toward the William and Illustrious, she didn't shown any hint of fear despite being gun pointed by multiple ship girls at once…William frowned as he approached Hood even closer all the way until at point blank range, even with the tense situation like now William still believed that things could be resolved relatively peacefully.

"…Hood, just why?" William asked Hood while he frowned deeply.

"Why? Shouldn't you be asking yourself that? I asked you, I even begged you to join my cause Lord William and still you decided to side with them. I was so disappointed, we could've rule above them all!" Hood said to William while she smiled softly.

"You've lost your mind, there is no way I would've abandoned them! You're supposed to be my most trusted person, I believe in you with all my heart Hood! You betrayed me!" William said to Hood while he frowned.

"No, I didn't. You are too blind to see the truth, Lord William. We are our respective leader of our own factions now, there's no hope for the two of us to join our hands together…Don't worry, I'll make this as painless as possible" Hood said to William while she smiled somberly.

"How dare you to even think of that when you are surrounded by all of us Hood, what arrogance!" Illustrious said to Hood while she aimed her weapon as she frowned

"Oh yes, Illustrious. You know I won't say that without meaning it, I forgot to mention this…But we've surround your surrounding team. Do it" Hood said out loud.

Gunfire erupted for few seconds and when it ends almost all of the ship girls on William's side fell to the ground, Hood looked around and noticed that several more girls appeared from behind the bushes. Warspite, Prince of Wales and Duke of York stared at the ship girls who's on the ground after getting hit, they writhed in pain as they could only stare at their shooters…William shielded Edinburgh from the bullets, he stood strong despite being hit several times to the chest. Edinburgh stared at William worriedly before she stiffened as something was pressed on her back, she didn't even have the chance to turn around when a gunshot could be heard and Edinburgh fell to the ground…She winced in pain as she flipped her body, only to see Belfast holding an P228 which is aimed directly at her.

"S-Sister…" Edinburgh croaked out.

"Do forgive me, big sister" Belfast said to Edinburgh while she smiled then squeezed the trigger on her gun.

BANG!

Edinburgh laid motionlessly on the ground, William widened his eye before he stared at Belfast who looked to the side for a bit to check whether Illustrious could still put up a fight or not. When she confirmed that Illustrious haven't moved Belfast turned her head toward William who for some reason isn't armed, he's in front of them and he show no sign of trying to defend himself. How could he? He couldn't bear to raise a gun toward the girls, he don't want to hurt them and this entire situation? It's inevitable, there's nothing he could do…William remained unmoving as Hood approached him from behind, she enveloped him in a tight hug while Belfast approached him from the front. Both of them put on their best smile on their face, a victorious smile.

"…H-Hood…Belfast…" William said their names out loud.

"There's no one else I'd like to have on my side milord, but you refused me…Unfortunately, this is where we part" Hood said to William softly.

"It's been an honor, master. I apologize, but you know this won't happen if you could just make up your mind" Belfast said to William while she smiled.

BANG!

BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG!

Hood took out her Desert Eagle and shot William in the back, the man fell to the ground after the large caliber bullet hit him. Belfast walked closer to William before she unleashed five shots at him, the bullets on her magazine ran out and the pistol went click. Both Hood and Belfast stared at William's unmoving body for quite a bit before Belfast walked away toward the other ship girls, Hood sighed as she turned around to look at Warspite who stared at Queen Elizabeth.

"Did we get them all?" Hood asked Warspite.

"Yes, we managed to down all of our targets" Warspite said to Hood.

"Excellent" Hood said to Warspite.

They managed to get them all, that was quite easy but it might have to do with something with the fact that William is unarmed and unwilling to fight them…speaking of the man, Hood kneeled down beside William as she flipped his body around to see William laid down with closed eye. She smiled as she stared at his face before she shook him, when she got no reaction she decided to be little cheeky and proceed to pinch his cheek while she smiled.

"Lord William, you can stop playing dead" Hood said to William while she smiled.

"Hehehe…Alright, alright. I'm up…Come on ladies, it's apparent that we lost" William said out loud after he chuckled.

The downed ship girls groaned as they stood up while being helped by the others, Belfast pulled Edinburgh up who fixed her glasses while she commented to 'go easier on her' the next time they did this which Belfast responded while she shrugged as she smiled. Queen Elizabeth and Warspite argued regarding her getting shot in the butt, now the Queen would have a hard time to sit without flinching from the red spot on her butt to which Warspite apologized for she didn't know where else to shoot her without harming her. Victorious ranted at Formidable for using full automatic fire on close range which got some paint on her hair, the lady only cheekily and halfheartedly apologized as she stuck out her tongue at Victorious. Illustrious got up while she commented that the back shot hurt quite a bit despite the protective vest they used, Belfast smiled as she comforted Illustrious that she didn't took a headshot because she know how troublesome it is to have paint on her hair.

…Yup, everyone is currently playing military simulation game which they use some real guns to shoot specialized paint bullets. Each of them wore protective vest and ballistic glasses to cover their body and eyes, William was the only one who didn't carry a gun because he originally served as team instructor until someone started an argument and to settle it they decided to have a match. Since many capable warriors are on Hood's team, William opted to go with Illustrious and that fired up the girls on Hood's team to take them down…harshly.

"Milord, you're being too lenient on us. I know you can shoot everyone down by yourself pretty easily" Hood said to William.

"It won't be a fair fight if I involved myself wouldn't it? The purpose of this is to give you ladies some experience in handling guns" William said to Hood while he shrugged.

"But, I believe we took that brief play and turned it into role play that went too seriously near the end" Queen Elizabeth said to William.

"On that we can agree" William said to Queen Elizabeth.

William and the Royal Navy ship girls returned to Heaven's Guard after that, they walked back as they occasionally talked with each other. When they arrived there they are greeted by Lucas and Lena who watched on how they were doing through the video cameras and drones set up around the forest, both of them want to see how the ship girls handled firearms and so far they are proven to be quite decent. Sure, their firing stances and how they handled their guns seems to be awkward but their accuracy? Boy, since many of them had to aim their cannons on the riggings the ship girls are proven to be quite accurate with the guns…with a bit of training and they will be able to use human firearms when the situation needs it, who knows what will happen in the future so Lucas and Lena thought it's a good idea to train them on this area too.

"Hey, that was a lousy pretending act you put up there" Lucas commented at William.

"That noticeable huh?" William asked Lucas while he cringed.

"Of course. Anyway, it would seems that this place have become so crowded" Lucas said to William as he turned around.

"Eagle Union would also like to try the milsim, High Commander" Enterprise said to Lucas.

"So are the Ironbloods" Bismarck said to Lucas.

Some Eagle Union and Ironblood ship girls have arrived at Heaven's Guard, they wanted to try their hands on handling infantry guns and they've heard that William is currently on the building. Lucas and William looked around toward the ship girls who are inspecting the guns enthusiastically, Lucas thought that they do have an interest in ground warfare and just like that an idea popped in his head…

"…Wait a second…Will, Lena, I have a plan" Lucas said to William and Lena.

"This would either be so brilliant or so fucked up" Lena said to William.

"You're right on that account. Why don't we show these ladies on why you two is my handpicked choice back then during the formation of Task Force Nimbus?" Lucas said out loud while he grinned.

"…You want Lena and I to face the combination of girls from Eagle, Royal and Ironblood?" William asked Lucas with cocked eyebrows.

"You faced worse" Lucas said to William while he shrugged.

"Can you be more specific?" William asked Lucas with half closed eye.

"Operation Ulysses?" Lucas said to William in questioning tone.

"I got twenty allies at that time!" William said to Lucas with narrowed gaze.

"We're listening, Lucas" Lena suddenly said to Lucas.

"Lena?" William asked Lena as he turned his head toward her with questioning gaze.

"Oh come on, don't tell me that's enough to scare you?" Lena asked William while she smirked.

"…No, but-" William said to Lena.

"Wow, a chance to beat commander in his own expertise?" Hornet asked out loud while she grinned.

"Yeah, it's something we can't miss!" Cleveland said to Hornet while she grinned.

"Oh, we're going to fight the two of them together? Isn't that kind of unfair?" Illustrious wondered out loud.

"Unfair? The both of them are former members of Azur Lane Special Forces Commandos, they'll be fine. It's us that I'm worried about!" Wales said to Illustrious while she folded her arms.

"Lord Bismarck, will you also participate?" Hipper asked Bismarck who's looking at an SG552 Assault Rifle.

"Ja, I'd like to get some experience in ground warfare" Bismarck said to Hipper while she nodded.

"…Now that I thought about it, this seems like a bad idea for us both" Lena said to William while she cringed.

Lena thought it's a good idea at first, the girls could come at them and both her alongside William fought them off just like the old days when they are outnumbered and outgunned. But then Lena remembered the fact that the ship girls aren't your ordinary humans, both of them were taught how to kill one in hundred possible ways but ship girls? Each of them even has their own gimmicks and fighting all of them available here? What if Prinz used her shields? What if Formidable freeze them in place? What if Sheffield just went gun blazing on their ass? There's just so much thing that will make this battle harder! Lucas grinned mischievously at the sight of the ship girls seriously contemplating the idea, maybe he should spiced it up more.

"Let's make it interesting, shall we? The one faction who beats the two of them will receive some exotic stuff" Lucas said out loud.

"Can you be more specific, High Commander?" Bismarck asked Lucas with intrigued face.

"Maybe. How about my supply of A5 Grade Meat? A crate of rare blend of Black Tea that the Royal Family gave to me? Or maybe, a crate of Premium Jack Daniels which is always sold out within five seconds it's on sold? Hell, work together to take the two of them down and I'll held a barbeque party tonight for all of you. With all of those stuff that I mentioned before…" Lucas said out loud while he grinned.

"Ladies, I can safely say that this cooperation will benefit these three nations of ours" Queen Elizabeth suddenly said to Bismarck and Enterprise.

"I agree, Queen Elizabeth. Shall we hunt those two like there's no tomorrow?" Enterprise asked Bismarck.

"Agreed, let's do our best" Bismarck said to Enterprise while she nodded.

Lucas stared at Lena who's frowning as she looked nervous for once while William had his mouth agape before he facepalmed, damnit he really don't want to hurt his ship girls but considering the situation has turned into like this? He might not have a choice but to fight. William stole several glances toward the ship girls who looked eager to participate on this event, did they really want to experience on what if they're his enemies scenario?

"Alright, it's settled! Good luck you two, fifteen minutes to prep is enough?" Lucas asked Lena and William while he smiled.

"No, but fine…Ladies, go easy on us alright?" William said out loud to the ship girls while he smiled awkwardly.

"My, I don't think that's possible" Hood said to William while she smiled.

"Those Jack Daniels will be ours kommandant, prepare yourself~" Prinz said to William while she smiled smugly.

"Nothing screams Eagle Union more than a barbeque with the finest meat. You're going down sir" Enterprise said to William while she smiled.

"Okay…seems all of you are that determined. Fine, we'll meet you on the battlefield" William said out loud while he shrugged and turned around.

"Hey wait a second" Lena said out loud while she grabbed William's pants to stop him from moving.

"What?" William asked Lena.

"Lucas, what do we get if we win?" Lena decided to ask Lucas.

William widened his eye in realization, guess he's that eager to show off to the ship girls that he forgot to ask about their rewards if they win. Lena is a bit nervous to be honest, she and William haven't been trained to take down ship girls but since they are quite human in physical form she supposed they could treat them as such despite their clear difference in strength.

"Oh you two? What do you want?" Lucas asked Lena and William.

""Paycheck raise"" Lena and William answered at the same time.

"Jesus! You want to empty Azur Lane coffers that badly huh?" Lucas asked both of them while he frowned.

"Do we have a deal?" Lena asked Lucas.

"Five percent?" Lucas asked back toward them.

"Fifteen percent?" William asked Lucas.

"Ten percent, you two are already being paid more than our standard commanders and that didn't even include insurance!" Lucas said to William while he folded his arms.

"…Ten percent it is, that a deal for you Lena?" William asked Lena.

"Fine" Lena said out loud.

"We are settled then. Horatio, let's get the ladies sorted out and equipped for those two" Lucas said to Horatio.

"Yessir. I feel bad for you two now" Horatio said to William and Lena while he smiled wryly.

"Don't be, that old fart have pushed us around worse than this impromptu match" Lena said to Horatio while she shrugged.

"Ooh, to my credit, I believe you two could handle it~" Lucas said to Lena and William.

"Yeah yeah, bugger off mate. Armory is ours for the next fifteen minutes, shoo!" William said to Lucas as he made shooing gesture with his hand.

Lucas, Horatio and the ship girls exited the Heaven's Guard for a quick learning course on the activity. William and Lena nodded toward each other as they immediately split up to gather all of the necessary equipment for the match, they stockpiled the weapons, ammo and equipment on the aisle. Both Lena and William meet up again as both checked on each other load out, if they're going to survive an extended hold out then the both of them need to know their equipment and formulate their strategy. They only got fifteen minutes to do this, both of them have to be fast in their preparation.

"…What's the plan, Admiral?" William asked Lena.

"My plan is to snipe them one by one, you?" Lena asked William.

"Guerilla ambush" William said to Lena.

"…I think we'll be able to make this work. Let's use our standard plan and get that raise" Lena said to William.

"If we're going with our standard plan for this situation, judging by the numbers of opposition and terrain means we only miss one thing. Ghillie suit" William said to Lena.

"…I've asked if Watterson has one before, turns out he has the practical one in stock. Easily worn and taken off model, it would do nicely" Lena said to William while she smiled.

"Excellent, gear up in five, planning in ten then we book it for the woods" William said to Lena as he nodded his head.

.

The rules for the game is quite simple, the mode they're playing now is elimination which is self-explanatory. If the player is hit anywhere on the torso or the head then they are eliminated, they got hit in the limbs then they are safe. However, that doesn't mean that using their limbs would be efficient after getting hit. The rounds they are using is specialized low velocity training rounds with chemical compound that will hardened on surface and made the impact point numb if it hit flesh, that will simulate gunshot wound so getting one on the leg would cause anyone to have a hard time walking. A shot to the head could cause someone to blackout temporarily and it's allowed because anyone that want to use the field would have to be properly equipped with armor, in a case of knockout the others have the option to carry them back to the starting point or leave them be until the round is finished. Player also has option to surrender, should they wish to stop playing.

Melee weapons are provided in the form of rubber knife which has paint coating its surface, if a player got hit in the head or torso with it then they are eliminated. But how about explosives and grenades? They are allowed though limited into two types only, smoke or paint grenade. Smoke grenades are allowed due to its functionality as temporary cover or distraction and it's even less lethal than flashbang grenade which could still wound or kill someone if handled haphazardly, paint grenades has the same concoction as the training rounds so getting hit by one could be an instant inconvenience with how quickly the paint hardened…Fifteen minutes has passed and the ship girls are currently gearing up inside the Heaven's Guard, all of them were equipped with protective vest, lightweight helmets and ballistic glasses to protect their eyes. All of them took their preferred weapons and then equipped bandoliers or ammo pouch to store their spare magazines, Lucas and Horatio walked around as they inspected the ship girls preparing themselves and if there's one who equipped themselves wrongly or awkwardly then both of them would help.

"Alright girls, we've told the rules and basics on how to fight in ground combat. Remember, these two could be ghost when they want to so be very cautious and move with a plan. When you cornered them that doesn't mean they will surrender, they are trained to fight even more ferociously when they're cornered so don't hesitate and fire at them until they're unconscious if you have to. Any question?" Lucas asked the ship girls out loud.

"Sir, how to down them the quickest?" Enterprise asked Lucas as she raised her hand.

"Headshot would do the trick, though I doubt they'll let you target their heads. Alright, get out there and good luck…all of you will be stuck with two lethal terminators until either of you is eliminated" Lucas said to the ship girls.

The ship girls proceed to go outside and entered the vast forested area marked with tall fences as the playgrounds border, they stopped by the entrance to discuss many things including their plan while Lucas and Horatio watched from afar. The owner of Heaven's Guard stared at Lucas, the man must've done this because there's something he want to know about the ship girls, even he could figure out that much. But what? What did he want to know? Is he curious about their performance with infantry weapons? Is he curious about their teamwork? Or could he be curious regarding the difference on their method of fighting on water compared to on land to see if they could adapt? There's just so many possibilities and Lucas doesn't seem will talk what's on his mind.

"That doesn't serve well to boost their morale sir" Horatio commented at Lucas words.

"That's not my intention at all Horatio, I simply warned them to take even more caution" Lucas said to Horatio.

"I see…Let's watch through the cameras, they're moving out" Horatio said to Lucas.

The ship girls are done with their little meeting and they are moving deeper toward the playground, all of them moved while staying close to one another with weapons at the ready in case William or Lena ambushed them which is a very high possibility. Enterprise carried her M16 Assault Rifle while she scanned the surrounding area for any signs of movement, there's a rustling near the bush which prompted the ship girls to stop before it revealed to be a little bunny just passing by. Enterprise sighed a bit in relief before she continue to lead the others, so far so good.

"Stay in formation and stay calm everyone, don't let them spook you" Enterprise said out loud.

"You sure gathering like this is the best thing to do? The arena is quite vast, if we split up we could cover more ground easier" Cleveland asked Enterprise.

"Splitting up is the first mistake we could do here. We are less trained than them regarding ground combat, we'll be easy picking if we split up. Numbers is our primary advantage, rain enough rounds at their position and eventually one or two will struck them" Hood said to Cleveland.

"Hood is right, stay close and watch our surroundings" Bismarck said out loud.

Cleveland nodded in understanding then returned to keep watch on the ship girl's left flank while gripping her M4A1 tightly in her hands, she saw something black in the distance and Cleveland looked through her ACOG scope toward it. After inspecting it for a bit, she noted that what she saw is nothing but a bird. Seriously though, Cleveland believed that one of them will go down before they could find William or Lena….Cleveland kept walking until she felt a small tug on her cape, Cleveland looked back to see Helena stared at her with a face indicating that she has something to say.

"…What is it Helena?" Cleveland asked Helena.

"Um, can I try using my SG to locate them?" Helena asked Cleveland.

"Isn't that forbidden?" Nelson asked Helena from their right.

"No, none of them ever mentioned that we are forbidden from using our own abilities on this match" Wales said to Nelson, she widened her eyes in realization.

"Really? Then let's not waste any more time! Helena, use them!" Cleveland said to Helena while she grinned.

"Scanning now" Helena said out loud.

"Alright, stay put everyone" Enterprise said out loud.

The ship girls take cover behind the trees or bushes or rocks, they will wait for the result of Helena's SG radar scan. All of them realized that William or Lena didn't request them to not use their abilities, which means they could fully utilize them as long as they didn't deploy their riggings! Many of them thought it's a fair trade off considering the vast difference of their experiences, Helena closed her eyes as she fully concentrated to scan the area around them in order to locate William and Lena while the other ship girls watched their surroundings.

"Could SG detect humans?" Hipper asked Cleveland.

"She could detect ship girls though so I don't know if it will work on a human" Cleveland said to Hipper while she shrugged.

"…Sorry, my tracking capabilities is quite limited" Helena said to the ship girls.

"Is it not working?" Bismarck asked Helena.

"N-Not exactly. I can't pin point their position but I do detect something around two hundred meters somewhere to our left, but I can't figure out what it is" Helena said to Bismarck while she fidget a bit.

"It's better than nothing, let's move" Bismarck said out loud.

At least now they got some direction to follow, around two hundred meters to their left? It means whatever it is that Helena detected are located near the center of this playground. The group moved again and they moved at a bit faster pace, they spread around for a bit to maximized their search area while still moved closely to one another so they could respond quickly when one of them found something…or got hit. Duke of York twitched a bit as she felt something she's awfully familiar with, the sense of being gazed at by a predator who thought they could make an easy meal out of her…too bad, those who do usually ended up obliterated by her cannons or slashed apart by her obsidian longsword.

"Halt" Duke suddenly said out loud.

"What is it, York?" Hood asked Duke curiously.

"We're close, I can feel it…I can sense his hungry gaze on me" Duke said out loud while she grinned.

"What the hell is she talking about?" Hornet asked out loud with cocked eyebrows.

"Trust me, when she sense something? She mean it" Wales said to Hornet with serious face.

Duke scanned the whole area, she eyed every single details in the scenery around them before finally focusing on few bushes that's grown near each other. She narrowed her eyes before her pointy ears heard something, in split second Duke of York tilted her head to the left and something whizzed past her, brushing against her pink hair and hit the tree behind her which caused the other girls to take cover while Duke of York grinned predatorily as she's not affected in the slightest. Bismarck noted that there's a blue paint splatter on the tree beside her, it's obviously the bullet that William and Lena used since they used the red ones!

"Get down everyone!" Bismarck shouted to the ship girls.

"Fine attempt, milord. But thy bloodlust art noticeable…He's in front of us behind that bush!" Duke said out loud as she pointed toward the bush in front of her.

"OPEN FIRE!" Enterprise shouted her command.

TRATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

Around forty ship girls fired their firearms simultaneously at the bush which Duke of York have pointed, the bush shook heavily as hundreds of rounds flew through it to the point many of its part were cut off by the bullet rain. Enterprise reloaded her M16 and she's about to fire again when she noticed that the bush have been torn up so bad that it practically isn't a bush anymore, she didn't see anything inside or behind the bush and that means William must've already bailed out and run.

"Hold you fire everyone! Hold! Fire!" Enterprise shouted to the ship girls who then stopped firing.

"I'll go check the bush!" Hipper said out loud as she moved.

"Go, we got you covered!" Warspite said to Hipper.

Hipper walked forward with her MP5 SMG at the ready, she walked closer to the remains of the bush while she constantly scanned the area around her for any sign of William or Lena who might ambushed her if any of them got too close. She's close enough to the bush and she noted that there is no way this remains could hide a person, William is gone. But he did leave hint that he was there, Hipper crouched down and picked up an Mk14 Battle Rifle equipped with suppressor and sniper scope.

"He was here" Hipper said to the ship girls as she shown them the Mk14 she picked up.

"I told you so" Duke said to the others while she smiled.

"Wow…Duke of York is pretty useful to hunt them down" Cleveland said out loud while she grinned.

"Thank you, however I can't always sense him. Don't rely on thy senses too much" Duke said to Cleveland while she smiled.

"She's right. So, what can we do?" Victorious asked out loud.

"Track the footprints…There are two of them which means both Kommandant William and Admiral Helena were here" Hipper said to the ship girls.

"Alright…Bel, take the lead and pursue them" Queen Elizabeth said to Belfast.

"As you command, your majesty. Maid corps, move out!" Belfast said out loud as she alongside the maids move to follow the footprints.

Belfast alongside the maids quickly spread out and followed the footprints on the ground, she smiled before she and the maids broke into a chasing sprint with weapons in hand…William and Lena sprint as fast as they could, after running for quite some distances both of them looked back and noted that the ship girls haven't caught up to them yet. Both of them stopped running to catch their breath and took up position on another bush, because they are wearing Ghillie Suit they are able to blend in with the bush seamlessly. Lena took out her M4A1 equipped with red dot sight, suppressor and underbarrel grenade launcher. William got the same weapon and configuration as Lena, both of them loaded a smoke grenade into their underbarrel launcher.

"…Shite, I was right. That woman is a bad news" William said to Lena.

"What does she mean by bloodlust anyway? How could she felt one?! This isn't anime!" Lena said to William as she stared at him.

"Doesn't matter, we're going with Plan B now and I hope this one works!" William said to Lena.

Both William and Lena saw Belfast and several other maids from behind the trees and that caused the both of them to immediately go silent, seeing Belfast and the others were the first one to give a chase caused William to sweat in nervousness. Why you ask? Well, the maid corps are among the keenest eyed and attentive ship girls he knew so if there's anything amiss they will immediately noticed! What are the chances they will notice the Ghillie suit even amongst thick bushes? Very likely! William just hoped that Belfast won't go 'Sakuya Izayoi' mode and start throwing torpedoes at him…Oh wait, that's not allowed in here, but she could still do something like that with a grenade!

"They found us?!" Lena whispered to William.

"Our tracks on the ground, they must've followed it!" William whispered to Lena.

"They're more adept in ground combat than I expected!" Lena whispered to William.

"Their superhuman quirks do help them a lot I think…In any case, we have to start thinning their numbers down quickly. Shame that I lost the battle rifle" William whispered to Lena.

"Let's just smoke them when they're in range, and try not to stare at Duke of York this time!" Lena whispered to William.

"Yeah yeah, just ready the launcher. They'll be here any moment!" William whispered to Lena.

The maids are closing in on them, fortunately for both William and Lena the maids passed by their bushes without giving it much look. Unfortunately? Since the tracks stopped few meters away from the bushes the maids stopped giving a chase and opted to look around for any signs of them, things turned for the worse however as the other girls caught up and now William and Lena are stuck in the middle of them which means with each passing seconds the chances of their cover's blown is increasing.

"Ready?" Lena whispered to William.

"Wait for it" William whispered to Lena.

"Any closer and we could kiss them" Lena whispered to William.

"Trust the Ghillie Suit a bit more will you?" William whispered to Lena.

"I heard some whispers around here" Hood said out loud.

"Whispers?" Enterprise asked Hood.

"Yes, somewhere close. Very close" Hood said out loud as she readied her Vector SMG.

"Go" William whispered to Lena.

BOOM!

BOOM!

PSSSSHHHHHH!

William and Lena threw two fast reacting smoke grenades then used their underbarrel launchers to launched additional smoke grenades, the result is the entire area with the ship girls and them are covered in thick smokes which served them well to get away...but that's not what William and Lena had in mind. As soon as the ship girls are coughing and confused, both William and Lena sprung out of the bush they were hiding with weapons at the ready as both of them started shooting the vulnerable ship girls one by one. Hornet fell first after her back got hit twice, Illustrious followed after her as her chest got splashed with three paint rounds. Bismarck alongside Tirpitz, Gneisenau and Scharnhorst put their backs against each other as their first attempt to guard each other but when it's apparent they're losing too much manpower based on the sounds of suppressed weapon fire and the constant yelping of the other ship girls? It's time to fallback and reorganize.

"Get out of the smoke!" Bismarck said out loud.

The ship girls heard the order and they immediately ran or jumped away from the smoke, they exited the smoke and calm their breathing first. The smokes started to fade out and the ship girls readied their weapons, but they only find many ship girls on the ground with one or two paint splatters on their vest. But among them they saw two bushes 'running' away from the area, two bushes carrying M4A1. The ship girls were confused at first at what they were seeing, but it was clear that the two bushes is William and Lena so they immediately opened fire at them.

"There they are!" Victorious said out loud.

"What are they wearing? Camouflage suits?!" Cleveland asked out loud.

"They're like walking bushes! No wonder we couldn't see them hiding!" Wales said out loud.

"Give chase! Don't lose them!" Bismarck said out loud as she started to move.

Paint bullets flew around William and Lena as they run further into the woods, they ran as fast as they could while they zig zag around the trees to avoid the bullets coming from their backs. The ship girls behind them aren't afraid to waste an entire magazine to shoot them, William and Lena knew they wouldn't last long if they just keep running so they have to start fighting again because even after their first ambush the ship girls are still numerous. After several bullets whizzed beside his ears, William saw some large rock formation in front of them and he immediately thought that it would be suitable for temporary hold out.

"Damn, those girls are fast! Near the rock Lena, we'll make a stand!" William said to Lena.

"Agreed!" Lena said to William.

Both of them jumped above and then hide behind the rocks, they make sure to have fresh magazine inserted before both of them nodded to each other then showed up from behind the rock as they opened fire at the chasing ship girls. The girls were quite surprised since they thought both of them would ran a little further before making a stand, that surprise offense caused three ship girls to get hit. Victorious and Formidable hid behind the trees as they prepared to shoot at William's head, however their body features like their long hairs gave away their position easily and he launched a paint grenade from his underbarrel launcher toward them thus coating them in a thick blue paint.

"Eeehhh! Yuck! This is going to be a pain in the arse to clean!" Formidable said out loud as she looked at one of her ponytail which is coated in blue paint.

"Oh no! My clothes!" Victorious said out loud as she stared at her stained clothes in horror.

"Nice try ladies!" William shouted at Formidable and Victorious while he grinned.

"Come and get us girls! Dinner is served!" Lena shouted to the ship girls while she grinned.

…This is a lot more fun than Lena expected! Honestly she's worried that the ship girls would kick their ass easily since they are outnumbered forty to one and they are basically superhuman, but it turns out they're quite awkward in handling firearms, they are not that cohesive and they are less prone on using cover which makes them easy picking! That's something William would have to teach them later down the line, they need to be taught in ground combat since no one knows what will happen in the future…Lena saw a grenade flying toward them so she grabbed her M4A1 in reverse and swung it toward the grenade, the butt stock connected with the grenade and it fly toward Cleveland, Helena and Wales which caused the three of them to dived into nearby cover as the grenade exploded.

"Sheesh! Those two hold us off quite easily?! How in the bloody hell they managed to do that!?" Wales asked out loud as she reloaded her L85A2 Assault Rifle.

"I don't know! But-" Nelson was about to say something before she got hit on the head and fell to the ground.

"This isn't going to work! Any ideas?!" Scharnhorst asked out loud before she fired her HK416 Assault Rifle.

"Shield screen might work" Gneisenau said to Scharnhorst.

"Great idea schwester! You hear that Eugen? Hipper?" Scharnhorst asked them both.

"I suppose" "Fine, but you better cover us!" Prinz and Hipper said to Scharnhorst.

"Lord Bismarck! Hipper and Eugen are moving out!" Gneisenau said to Bismarck.

"Ja! Everyone! Cover fire! Hipper and Eugen are advancing!" Bismarck shouted to the other ship girls.

The ship girls worked in tandem as they fired relentlessly at the rocks William and Lena used as cover which already painted in red with how many rounds impacted it, the girls fired and reload in turns so they managed to pin William and Lena from returning fire. William smiled a bit, it looks like the girls are learning well on this activity. William then peeked out to see both Hipper and Prinz advancing slowly toward their position with their energy shield deployed and MP5 SMG in hand, well if plasma bolts and shells didn't work against it then don't expect for their paint bullets to do a damn thing! Seeing the situation William only has one conclusion, Plan C.

"Prinz and Hipper?! Oh shite! Lena, get ready to move and let's use some live cover!" William said to Lena as he reloaded his M4A1.

"A bit scummy but oh well, desperate times require desperate measures!" Lena said to William.

"Give it up, kommandant! We have you surrounded!" Bismarck shouted at William.

"Oh great! We don't have to aim then!" William shouted out loud while he grinned.

"…Huh, she didn't know why we always managed to get out from hold outs situation?" Lena asked William.

"She's about to find out. Let's snatch our shield! Smoke out!" William said to Lena.

Both of William and Lena appeared from their cover at the same time as they fired their underbarrel launched equipped with smoke rounds, the area was covered in thick smoke once more and that included Prinz and Hipper. The ship girls would've fired blindly were it not for those two being there and that's exactly why William and Lena fired at Prinz and Hipper, the blinding smoke immediately isolated them from the rest of the ship girls. William and Lena immediately sprinted out of their cover toward Prinz and Hipper who weren't surprised that they got rushed at but still didn't able to properly defend themselves due to the lighting quick movement of both former commandos, they disarmed the two girls by taking away their weapons, turned them around then held them from behind as they basically hold them hostage while they retreated out from the thick smoke with human shields.

"Guh! Can't help yourself huh~?" Prinz asked William while she smiled smugly.

"You know it" William answered while he grinned.

The smokes cleared and the ship girls could see clearly again, but they were surprised to see that William and Lena didn't only run away but also take their vanguard as human shields. The ship girls knew they are not that experienced in handling firearms, they didn't want to risk hitting Prinz or Hipper so they gave slow chase as they try to flank the two of them since their sides are vulnerable. But they couldn't get too close, both former commandos has their sidearm on one of their hand as a deterrent and they're not afraid to shoot at any ship girls who are getting too close.

"What?! Human shield is scummy tactics!" Warspite said to William and Lena.

"All is fair in love and war ladies!" Lena shouted at them while she grinned.

"Well, she got a point" Hood said to Warspite while she frowned.

Both William and Lena kept retreating while holding Prinz and Hipper hostage as they occasionally fired at the ship girls who were trying to flank them, both of them kept retreating until they could hear the sound of water streams and that's when they knew that it's the time to execute Plan C. Plan B is a high risk ambush in case they are detected, Plan C is basically being a ghost once more before picking them off one by one from distances and the quickest way to do that? Use the river that run through the playground they're on.

"The river, we made it!" Lena said to William.

"Will, I don't mind you holding me like this but could you ease up a bit from grinding my butt?" Prinz said to William while she looked back at him.

"Huh?! In middle of combat like this?! You're a schwein, kommandant!" Hipper said to William while she scowled.

"Not my intention in the slightest, Hipper!" William said to Hipper while he frowned.

"You sure? I can sense your 'sword' getting bigger~" Prinz said to William while she smiled.

"Sorry, physiological warfare won't work on me!" William said to Prinz as he fired at Belfast who got too close to him.

"Time to go Will! Plan C!" Lena said to William.

"Right! Danke, Prinz" William said to Prinz then give her a quick peck on her right cheek.

BANG!

BANG!

SPLASH!

SPLASH!

Both William and Lena reached the edge of the river, they took deep breaths, shoved Prinz and Hipper forward, shot them in the back before they jumped toward the river and dived as deep as they could to the bottom of the river. Few ship girls like Wales, Belfast, Cleveland, Enterprise, Scharnhorst and Tirpitz jumped toward the river surface and float above it as they searched for any sign of William or Lena. But the water isn't crystal clear and it's quite deep so they couldn't see them, it looks like both of William and Lena thought of everything when they heard they're going to fight them.

"Bloody fucking damnit! We were so close!" Wales said out loud before she sighed.

"Helena! Quick, find out where they are going!" Enterprise said to Helena who stayed on the edge of the river.

"O-On it!" Helena said to Enterprise.

"How many did we lose?" Enterprise asked out loud.

"More than half of our numbers were down during the smoke ambush and that last firefight, there's only around fifteen of us left" Bismarck said to Enterprise.

"Hah…So this is the feeling of facing Master William and Admiral Lena in real combat…They didn't hold back" Belfast said out loud as she reloaded her MP7 SMG.

"High Commander Lucas was right" Tirpitz said out loud.

…He was right, the more they cornered Lena and William the more ferocious they get. They seems to give this combat some predictive thought because each step the ship girls take to take them down? They lost their numbers and quickly, it's like they knew how this battle would go. Bismarck silently walked back toward the edge of the river where Hipper and Prinz were being helped by Gneisenau and Hood, Hipper was caressing her back while Prinz laid down on the ground as she held her helmet cladded head.

"Eugen, how are you feeling?" Bismarck asked Prinz.

"…Ugh…so dizzy…" Prinz said to Bismarck in low tone.

"Take your time, once you feel strong enough head back to the Heaven's guard" Bismarck said to Prinz.

"…Jawohl…" Prinz said to Bismarck in low tone.

"How about you, Hipper?" Bismarck asked Hipper as she stared at them.

"I'm quite fine…I'll brought Eugen with me once I could walk properly, just go and hunt them down" Hipper said to Bismarck before she crouched as she caressed her back side.

"Alright…" Bismarck said to Hipper.

"Found anything yet, Helena?" Enterprise asked Helena.

"Yes, they're heading to our right" Helena said to Enterprise.

"Wait, isn't that upstream?" Warspite asked out loud.

"Doesn't matter, round up anyone left and let's go! Those tea will be ours!" Queen Elizabeth said out loud.

The ship girls left to the right side with everyone that could still fight, Hipper helped Prinz up before she shouldered her as they walked back to Heaven's guard. Unknown to everyone else, William has his head out of the water behind the large river rocks as he listened on what the ship girls are saying. Looks like their plan worked, shame they don't have radio on them because oh boy this would be a hell lot of easier. The man smirked as he noted that Prinz and Hipper have left their position, William swim back to the shore and proceed to move following the ship girls…Somewhere farther from William's position, Lena take a short break after swimming for some distances upstream. She's so close to the border as she hid behind a tree with the playground's fence in front of her, she's on the edge of the map.

"Hah…hah…shit, I don't think it'll be easy but still…" Lena muttered to herself.

That was quite intense, she have confidence that William and her could take them all on but it would seems that's not the case…So, despite their overall lack of experience they are still formidable opponent to fight against which Lena found the hard way. Lena's right arm felt a bit stiff and it was then she realized that she got hit on the upper right arm, so some of them did manage to land a lucky shot at her. William should be following them from behind right about now, if their assumption with Helena was on point then she have to prepare for some company. Just as she thought of that Lena heard something fell beside her, she looked down only to find an armed paint grenade coming to rest beside her.

"Oh motherfu-" Lena said out loud.

BOOM!

"…Seriously?!" Lena asked out loud.

"We found you quite easily, Madam Lena" Belfast said to Lena out loud.

"Ah shit, The Maid Corps is their vanguards? Again!?" Lena muttered to herself.

Lena peeked out from the new tree she took cover on after she rolled out from the previous one which is now covered in red paint, the ship girl's vanguards are the maid corps again but their numbers dwindled into just four of them this time. There's Belfast, Edinburgh, Sheffield and Suffolk that took up position behind the trees, if Lena felt lucky and try to shift cover there's a good chance that she'll get gunned down instead…Looks like she have to fight them directly, Lena peeked out from her cover and noticed that they split up with Belfast and Sheffield approaching from the right while Suffolk and Edinburgh from the left. Lena loaded another paint grenade into her launcher, she knew who she is going to eliminate first. She appeared from behind the trees, Lena then launched a grenade at Suffolk and Edinburgh.

BOOM!

"Ugh…so sticky!" Edinburgh said out loud.

"Sheffield, let's go!" Belfast said to Sheffield.

"Understood" Sheffield said to Belfast.

Belfast and Sheffield sprinted in lighting speed toward Lena who fired her M4A1 at them in fully automatic as her response, however none of the rounds connected resulted in the two maids quickly split up and approached from her sides. The two of them didn't even use their hand guns, both has the rubber knife out. Lena smirked, a close quarter combat? Well, it's been awhile since she got to experience it. Lena took out her own knife and blocked a swing from Sheffield, she used her right leg to horse kicked Belfast who managed to protect herself by crossing her arms in front of her face. Belfast staggered backwards and that give Lena the opportunity to focus on Sheffield for few seconds, Sheffield quickly goes on the offensive again and this time she jumped high for aerial kick to the head. Lena was about to defend herself until she saw something from underneath Sheffield's maid skirt, she saw a pretty hairless slit of a woman being exposed for the world to see…

"What the fu-" Lena said out loud with surprised face.

BUAK!

Lena got kicked hard in the face, she flew backwards, dropped her M4A1, rolled a bit and coming to a stop when she hit a tree…Lena groaned a bit and cussed because she's distracted, so what if Sheffield gone commando? That's her choice to wear panties or not! Lena quickly get up because Belfast dived toward her with knife thrusting at her chest, she managed to get away by rolling while she grabbed her fallen rubber knife coated in blue paint from the ground. Lena set her stance, she's going to fight two ship girls at once in close quarter combat…Man, she should've packed an SMG or something because she could definitely use one right now. Lena quickly dashed forward toward Belfast who's ready for her, Lena threw her knife toward Belfast which she dodged quite easily but it gave her an opening as Lena continue to dashed toward Sheffield who's taking out her dual Glock 18 Handgun. Before she could fire however Lena managed to grab her hands first, ejected the magazines and took out the slides which rendered her Glock useless.

"Tch!" Sheffield clicked her tongue as she took out her knife as she jumped back.

Belfast closed in on Lena from behind with knife on her hand, Sheffield also dashed forward as the two of them closed in for pincher attack. Lena smirked a bit as she thought which one she will take out first? Sheffield closed in on Lena faster than Belfast, both of them has knifes and thus Lena made her choice…She dodged Sheffield's blade then grabbed her wrist as she slide her feet, used her right shoulder and thrown her toward the ground. Belfast jumped above Sheffield and performed a downwards strike, Lena managed to do the same however as she used her left hand to grabbed on to Belfast right hand, used her right hand to grabbed her by the neck before she slammed the head maid to the ground.

"Guh!" Belfast grunted as she landed harshly.

Sheffield quickly recovered and she lunged at Lena who immediately noticed her when she heard her footsteps from the sides, Lena walked backwards with hands at the ready as she dodged or deflect Sheffield's bladed attacks by hitting her wrist or forearms. Lena watched as Belfast made her recovery and she ran to Lena's right side, they still used pincer tactics? Well, it's effective when Lena got nothing to use…Or did she? While she defend herself from two lightning quick melee attacks, Lena managed to unpinned one of her smoke grenades which exploded few seconds later and created thick cloud of smoke.

"You ladies are pretty good. But unfortunately, I am better~" Lena said out loud while she grinned.

Time to finish this fight, Lena quickly dashed toward Sheffield who heard her footsteps and set her own defensive posture. Lena launched several jabs to Sheffield's stomach before her left hand grabbed Sheffield's right hand, Lena choke Sheffield with her right hand, put her right feet behind Sheffield, pushed her hard and that's resulted in Sheffield losing her footing thus allowing Lena to slam her down to the ground while at the same time stealing her knife. Sheffield is about to recover but she couldn't do so because split seconds later her rubber knife was jammed at her vest thus marking her out of the fight.

"Damnit!" Sheffield muttered to herself as she stared at the red spot on her vest.

Belfast used the opportunity to close in on Lena who heard Belfast footsteps then rolled forward to avoid her, she turned around but she widened her eyes because Belfast already very close to her position and her attack is imminent. Belfast used her knife to diagonally slashed Lena twice but she frowned because Lena used her own arms to protect herself, Lena's took the risky move so she could close in on her and having her arms harder to use is a fair price. Lena ducked, getting in too close to Belfast as she prepared Sheffield's knife on her right hand, then she dashed forward as she strike Belfast at the same time…Belfast widened her eyes as she look down, there's a huge horizontal red slash mark below on her waist and it extended all the way to her sides. If that's a real knife, Belfast would've been disemboweled right now…

"Oh no, my uniform" But she's worried more about her maid uniform which got dirty because of the paint.

"Hah, wow…I haven't had close quarter fight in a long time" Lena commented as she stood up.

Belfast stared at Lena who picked up her fallen M4A1 then reloaded it, she walked over to Sheffield and offered her hand which Sheffield took and helped her stand up. Belfast noted that Lena's fighting style is quite simple but there's something else that makes her very deadly, her agility and speed. She's not that strong, Belfast could still blocked her kick and she only staggered for a bit instead of falling to the ground. But she kicked her so quickly it stunned her for a bit, her nimble fingers are quick enough to disarm Sheffield by dismantling her gun precisely and she used Belfast's and Sheffield's attack momentum then used it on them for a throw. Lena precisely knew how her enemies will strike, she anticipate or downright predict how they will strike her…Based on what she saw, William fought with raw strength, ferocity and intimidating sure kill hits while Lena fought with agility, speed and lethal precision…Belfast kind of understand why the two work so well with each other…She can't imagine how are their enemies feeling when they face them in close quarter fight.

"To be frank, you two are quite amazing. I am rarely cornered during a close range fight so I'm impressed, Belfast, Sheffield" Lena said to both of them while she smiled.

"We thank you for the praise Admiral" Belfast said to Lena while she smiled and bowed.

"I must go now. See you two later" Lena said to them as she walked away.

SPLAT!

"Guh!" Lena grunted as she staggered forward.

"I reckon you didn't see that coming, didn't you? All this time we are fighting, we realized that the rest of the ladies have arrived. You're too absorbed with the both of us" Belfast said to Lena while she smirked.

"Well played, Bel…well played" Lena said to Belfast while she smiled wryly.

There's a huge blue paint splat at Lena's backside, using Ghillie suit while being in the open forested area without bushes is quite counter-productive. Lena sighed as she sheathed her M4A1, she lost and well she could only blame herself for being less attentive because she thought she had won against the maids. She looked behind Belfast and Sheffield to see Warspite crouching with William's Mk14 and Hood approaching Lena with Vector SMG on her hand, Warspite found out that scope did make it easy for accurate shot perhaps she should install a scope on her rigging? She's the holder for the longest record for accurate confirmed shot in history, it'll be easy to repeat that feat if she has spotting equipment like a scope.

"Good afternoon Lena" Hood said to Lena while she smiled.

"Afternoon Hood, lovely weather isn't it?" Lena said to Hood as she leaned on the tree behind her.

"Agreed. Do you mind telling me where is Lord William currently hiding? He haven't shown up yet so that means you two split up back on the river" Hood said to Lena while she smiled.

"Ah…no I won't" Lena said to Hood while she shrugged.

"I thought so" Hood said to Lena while she smiled somberly.

"Oh, you better prepared for him though. He'll show up, and he's going to mess with you ladies" Lena said to Hood while she smiled smugly.

"Thank you for the advice…Belfast, are you alright?" Hood said to Lena then asked Belfast.

"Just one dirty clothes Hood, I'll be fine" Belfast said to Hood while she smiled.

"Sheffield?" Hood asked Sheffield who dusted her clothes.

"I'm fine as well, Edinburgh and Suffolk are the ones you should be concerned about" Sheffield said to Hood.

"I think we're going to need long and squeaky bath" Edinburgh said to Hood as she approached her while she smiled.

"I see, you better do just that. Don't want to miss tonight's party, am I right?" Hood asked Edinburgh while she smiled.

"Yes, you're right. Shall we go now?" Edinburgh asked the maids.

"Head on ahead, sister" Belfast said to them.

"Alright Bel. Let's go Suffolk, Sheffield" Edinburgh said to both of them.

Edinburgh, Suffolk and Sheffield left the area to head back to their respective room so they could take a bath and change into fresh clean clothes. Hood bid goodbye to Lena and Belfast as she returned toward the waiting ship girls, they're honestly still in disbelieve because they managed to take out Lena that easily…But that's the harsh thing about any fight, you could be someone very skilled and you could get taken down in one move because of ignorance or carelessness or just plain bad luck…Hood approached Queen Elizabeth, Bismarck and Enterprise who looked like they're just done discussing something, Queen Elizabeth then stared at Hood curiously.

"Well?" Queen Elizabeth asked Hood.

"He's not here and I believe her words, he would've intervened if he's nearby" Hood said to Queen Elizabeth.

"I see. What do you think he will do, Hood?" Bismarck asked Hood.

"…I think he'll try to stab us in the back as we lower our guard, just like what we did with Mrs. Lena…" Hood said to Bismarck while she frowned.

"The Maid Corps are down, it's eleven of us now. What should we do?" Enterprise asked out loud.

"Let Lord William come to us" Queen Elizabeth said to Enterprise.

"What makes you so sure of that?" Bismarck asked Queen Elizabeth.

"It's just as Hood said, Lord William will strike when we lower our guard. Judging his actions in the past, he prefer to be the attacker compared to the defender. So, let's give him what he wants" Queen Elizabeth said to Bismarck while she grinned.

…The ship girls left the area not long after leaving only Lena and Belfast still standing there, around a minute after the ship girls left Lena and Belfast heard some footsteps approaching from their right side. William walked with the M4A1 on his shoulder, his eye briefly scanned the area around to make sure the ship girls truly left and only two of them remains on the area. William stopped in front of Lena and Belfast, looks like he arrived too late to help Lena.

"Kept you waiting huh?" William asked Lena while he grinned.

"That sentence lose its cool points when you arrived too late, you wussy snake" Lena said to William with half closed eyes.

"Sorry about that, was you the one who shot her Belfast?" William asked Belfast.

"No master, it wasn't me" Belfast said to William.

"She and Sheffield are the one who cornered me on close quarter though, they're quite good. If they have their rigging I would've died" Lena said to William while she leaned on the tree.

"Well done Bel, I'm impressed…Head back Lena, I'll settle this match" William said to Belfast then to Lena.

"Want my ammo?" Lena asked William.

"Yeah, any remaining grenades too" William said to Lena.

"Good luck, avenge me~" Lena said to William while she grinned.

"Count on it" William said to Lena while he smiled.

Lena handed William her ammo pouch filled with spare M4A1 magazines and grenades, he's the last man standing so he's going to need all ammo he could get. Lena then left the area ahead which leaves William alone with Belfast, the maid stared at her master whose busy fitting his newly acquired ammo to the pouches. He seems to have some difficulty because of how many there is so Belfast approached him, she helped putting the remaining magazines on the rear pouch before storing the grenades on his side pouch on his belt attachment. After she's done, Belfast took out her MP7 SMG and handed it to William who doesn't seems to mind having another gun to use.

"You sure?" William asked Belfast.

"I'm sure. The rules didn't say anything about handing your weapon" Belfast said to William while she smiled.

"Thanks Bel" William said to Belfast while he smiled.

"Don't mention it…I'm heading back now, master" Belfast said to William while she smiled.

"Take care" William said to Belfast who bowed a bit before catching up to Lena.

…William stealth sprinted following the direction where the ship girls left, he managed to caught up to them near the river again. There's eleven of them remaining, Bismarck, Enterprise, Queen Elizabeth, Prince of Wales, Hood, Cleveland, Helena, Gneisenau, Scharnhorst, Tirpitz and Pennsylvania…Hmm, they're quite formidable and they moved in close formation, William could've strafed them with thirty bullets on his M4A1 and he got a good chance to down them all but there's something about them that doesn't feel right…All of them kept looking ahead, none of them looked to the side or guard their rear from potential ambush. Is it carelessness? No, they knew better than that, they're not amateurs since they've been in combat with Sirens countless times so they should knew better than leave their rear side exposed…unless-

"…Small opening ahead, better do this fast" William muttered to himself.

William moved to the left with weapons pointed at them in case one did look back and he's compromised, he moved closer to them slowly as he need to be as close as possible in order to launch his attack plan…Helena stared to her left side and that got Pennsylvania's attention, she looked to the left but found nothing there and that caused Pennsylvania to looked again at Helena with cocked eyebrows.

"He's here" Helena said to Pennsylvania in low tone.

"Where?" Pennsylvania asked Helena in low tone.

"He's circling us, get ready on our left side" Helena said to Pennsylvania in low tone.

Pennsylvania spread the message in low tone to the other ship girls and the others passed on her messages all the way until everyone received it, the ship girls readied their weapons as they waited for the go order from Helena who looked to her left side to wait for William showing his face. The man prepared himself by moving closely toward them and readied his rifle, but that's when Helena realized that it's the time to begin the fight.

"Now!" Helena said out loud.

TRATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATAATAATTATATATA!

"God, you girls are quite merciless today!" William shouted at the ship girls from behind cover.

"The winning prize is quite tempting commander, we would kick your arse for it" Wales said to William while she smiled.

"Oooh, our relationship worth less than a crate of tea? Pfft, typical Brits!" William scoffed as he reloaded his M4A1.

"Enterprise, you take left side. Let's flank him" Bismarck said to Enterprise.

"Got it, Bismarck" Enterprise said to Bismarck as she nodded.

"You're surrounded, Commander William! You better surrender or we will rain upon you with our bullets!" Queen Elizabeth said to William while she aimed her P226 Handgun.

"Ah, your majesty. I haven't told you huh? You girls might have me surrounded, but…I am one step ahead" William said out loud while he smirked.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Thick clouds of smoke appeared all around William and obstructed the ship girls from seeing him again, the ship girls however won't fall for another smoke tricks like this again so they relentlessly fired their guns. Paint bullets rained through the smoke, the ship girls rapidly fired their gun and goes so far to empty their magazine in zero hesitation…They quickly reloaded their gun, they didn't hear any sounds of confirmed hit or anything so they knew William avoided their bullets. The smoke started to clear out and Wales, Pennsylvania and Cleveland moved forward toward William's last known position…Anxious? Of course, what if he suddenly came out of his cover and started blasting them with his gun? He's quite good at it. However, when the ship girls arrived there he's disappeared from his position…Yeah, of course he would relocate and he's not that dumb to stay there when he realized he's being flanked by the ship girls!

"He's not here!" Cleveland said out loud.

"Are you sure!?" Queen Elizabeth asked Cleveland.

"Yeah! Very!" Cleveland said out loud.

Just as she said that, something fell from above and the three ship girls looked at it and they saw two paint grenades with the pin's off and the primer engaged. The three of them stared upwards for a bit before they turned around and jumped out of there, but it turns out William have 'cooked' the grenades first with timer of just a second left before exploding when it hit the ground and split seconds after their feet are off the ground the grenade exploded. The explosion coated Wales, Pennsylvania and Cleveland back side in thick blue paint.

"Ugh! He's above us?!" Pennsylvania asked out loud.

The other ship girls shifted their weapon upwards when from the leaves they saw something jumped off of the trees, the ship girls immediately fired as that something landed on the next tree and fell to the ground. Warspite and Queen Elizabeth take a good look at it, it was William's Ghillie suit. Suddenly torrent of paint rounds rained at Warspite and Queen Elizabeth, Warspite successfully take cover on a nearby tree. She sighed a bit before she stared to the left and saw Queen Elizabeth pouting with half closed eyes, there's four splat marks on her vest and boy she's not happy.

"Warspite! I command you to take down that sniveling troll at once!" Queen Elizabeth said to Warspite with tick mark on her forehead while she gritted her teeth.

"Y-Yes your majesty!" Warspite answered while she smiled wryly.

Easy for her to say! Does she have any idea how hard it is to take him down? It's not as easy as using your rig and then boom there he goes getting wiped out by main battery salvo! In this case, Warspite had to use her MP7 SMG to shoot at their commander and that man still hasn't shown himself even after eliminating four ship girls and throwing his Ghillie suit away! Enterprise reloaded her M16 and she alongside Helena and Cleveland fired at the tree's William took refuge on.

"Grenade!" Scharnhorst suddenly said out loud.

Scharnhorst cooked the grenade before she threw it on top of the tree, the grenade exploded and it painted large area of the tree with red paint…Alright, they expended some of their ordnance so that guy must've been hit right?! William who's now wearing green khaki clothes controlled his breathing despite his quick heartbeat after being assaulted by so many rounds and a grenade, why did he not receive a single hit? Simple, he jumped to the other tree from the one the ship girls shot at. Then how about the Ghillie suit? Well, one can't underestimate his body strength especially when throwing something like that…This game has gone on long enough, William felt it's time to end this match.

"Right, I might have to down them all in thirty seconds…Hah" William muttered to himself before he sighed.

The closest target to him? It's the Ironblood ship girls which consisted of Bismarck, Tirpitz, Scharnhorst and Gneisenau…Currently they are searching for him as they circled the trees that they thought he's on, William bid his time by waiting until the ship girls came close to his position. Now, who to take down first? Gneisenau seems to be easy picking but William knew if she reacted well to his attack then he might just get gunned down instead, but William will take the chances since she's the farthest from the group. His heartbeat quickened as adrenaline started to pump around his system, activating his fight or flight response and time seems to slow down a bit from his perspective. Then, when the group is close enough he took out his rubber knife and he dashed upwards before he dived down toward the ship girls.

"WATCH OUT!" Enterprise shouted at Bismarck.

"Scheibe!" Bismarck said out loud as she saw William dived toward them.

William knew he'll get shot if he keep at it so he threw the knife at Gneisenau instead, the knife impacted her chest and bounced off after leaving blue mark on her vest. William landed on the ground and he dashed toward Bismarck who try to protect herself by swinging her G36 butt stock, but that didn't deter William in the slightest as he deflected her rifle, grabbed her by the arms and turned her body toward Tirpitz who just fired her G36 Assault Rifle. Bismarck widened her eyes in surprise as five paint bullet hit her in the back, she got friendly fired?! William head toward Tirpitz who's still in shock after shooting her own sister in the back, he closed in on her in split seconds, took her G36 away, held her from behind as human shield and fired her G36 one handedly at Scharnhorst who got rained by bullets because she couldn't find suitable cover around her and being stunned at how quickly her allies fell…There are several more footsteps coming from the side, it's the rest of the ship girls and William fired Tirpitz G36 at them but only for ten more rounds because the magazine went empty after that so he discarded it on the ground as he took out Belfast MP7 that's handed to him before and pointed it at the ship girls.

"D-Don't worry! Just shoot me!" Tirpitz said out loud.

"Are you nuts, Tirpitz?!" Enterprise asked out loud as she try to aim at William who held Tirpitz hostage.

"I'm not! Shoot me!" Tirpitz said out loud with serious face.

"Whoa there Tirpitz, it's good that you're eager but think about self-preservation for a bit" William said to Tirpitz from behind.

"Nein kommandant, if this means victory then I'd gladly took a hit for them" Tirpitz said to William while she smiled confidently.

"Commander! Let her go!" Warspite said to William.

"Soon, Warspite!" William said to Warspite while he grinned.

"Now!" Tirpitz said out loud.

Tirpitz used her body weight to lift William off the ground and exposed his back toward the other ship girls, but William immediately realized on what Tirpitz is about to do so he made her overturned on purpose by shifting his weight around her which when the ship girls fired their weapons the projectiles hit Tirpitz instead. This is it! Everyone is in tight cluster group! William took out the safety pin on the last two paint grenades around his belt, the grenades are armed and he carried Tirpitz in front of him like a shield and he charged at the ship girls while he shouted as loud as he could like King Leonidas of Sparta charging at the Persian Army on the Battle of Thermopylae! Hood eyes widened when she realized what William is about to do and she's not surprised, he's always been reckless like this! But still, suicide grenade attack?! Again?! What's with him and his fetish for suicide bombing huh?!

"Oh shite!" Hood who very rarely cursed just did so, the girls knew it's bad if she cursed without a shred of elegance.

"Is he going to suicide bomb us!?" Warspite asked out loud.

"RUN!" Enterprise said out loud.

BOOM!

SPLAT!

…William, Tirpitz, Hood, Enterprise, Warspite and Helena stared at each other as their whole body is covered in blue paint, they remained in silence before William started to chuckle in the ridiculousness of what just transpired which caused the ship girls to follow suit either by giggling themselves or just smiling. Yeah, finally the match is over, though with this they didn't know who the winner is so William guessed that Lucas will decide for them later. The rest of the ship girls on the field and William collected any of their fallen weapons or stuff before they walked back toward the Heaven's Guard together as they recounted on what happened on the battlefield, William shared on why the ship girls didn't find him after he jumped to the river to how he managed to skillfully and luckily dodged their barrage of attacks back then…It was fun, the ship girls got to experience why they won't want to face William on ground combat with rigging off and William knew the ship girls has potential for ground fights in the future. He should implement a training regimen for them, William sure Lena and Lucas would agree.

.

"Good work today everyone, wish the Sakura girls could see how it went down and maybe if they joined us we could've just beat them both in one go! Cheers!" Enterprise said out loud.

The ship girls cheered back before drinking their respective drink, then they resumed by eating or talking with one another. The ship girls are on the beach right now, enjoying the clear night with huge bonfire, with huge stereo playing music alongside drinks and food at the impromptu barbeque party. The participants of the milsim recounted their stories to those who didn't participate, Formidable and Victorious comments on the long bath they took to clean their hair and clothes, Illustrious who was hit during the smoke ambush, Hornet who ranted that she got shot in the back, Queen Elizabeth who will be upset were it not for the high grade quality tea she's currently drinking, Lena was busy dancing alongside Saratoga, San Diego and Cleveland while William and Lucas stuck behind the griller flipping meats back and forth…

"Tell me, why am I stuck with here with you?" William asked Lucas as he flipped a slab of meat on the griller.

"It's tradition for the man to be the one behind the griller" Lucas answered as he took a well done steak and put it on a plate.

"Really, here I was hoping I could go dancing and drinking beer" William said to Lucas while he grinned.

"Finish these meats first mate, then you could go around as you please" Lucas said to William while he smiled a bit.

"…So, you count that match as a draw?" William asked Lucas as he applied some hot sauce on the steak.

"Of course, both party successfully taken each other out, both put some effort to win, I rewarded those that's worthy to be rewarded. As simple as that" Lucas said to William while he smiled a bit.

"Well, thanks to that, the girls have a great time" William said to Lucas as he stared at the ship girls currently enjoying themselves.

"…You notice anything?" Lucas asked William.

"About what?" William asked Lucas back.

"The ship girls, do you notice anything from that milsim activity?" Lucas asked William with serious face.

What did he notice? Many things…They are an absolute beast in seaborne combat against ships or ship girls and frankly speaking in a head on fight they are almost unbeatable with their rigging active, however as shown during the milsim they have difficulty in fighting on forested warfare of ground combat. It makes sense though, in the vast open area like sea they could pretty much saw the enemies from far away and even if they somehow got ambushed their riggings provided the advantage to defend themselves or evade due to the large bodies of water they could move around on. In the forest? Sure, cover is plentiful but that's a double edged sword when they have to face someone using guerilla tactics and especially when the ship girls are very inexperienced with handheld firearms…William felt there are few exceptions to that because at one point he saw a video where Helena used her rigging's pistol like cannon to shoot down Siren jets and Sheffield is a complete badass with her twin handguns. Some girls has their melee weapons but what about those that's usually rely too much on their rigging and has no backup weapon? Yeah, those girls will need some training…

"There are several girls that are quite inefficient with firearms and bladed weapons, they might be quite good with their riggings but in the event they couldn't summon it-" William said to Lucas.

"Then they're in deep trouble, I see you finally noticed that" Lucas said to William.

"Oh? You already noticed ahead of me?" William asked Lucas with cocked eyebrows.

"I do, I have the past video recording accessible you know? It's a glaring weakness that Sirens or Crimson Cleanser will exploit in one point of time" Lucas said to William.

"So you want me to train them?" William asked Lucas as he put the last batch of the meat on the griller.

"That do crossed my mind, would you have the time?" Lucas asked William as he flipped around the meat on his griller.

"Eh, I could play games or do dumb shite at night. Besides my own, training them to be better would be beneficial in the end…They're humanity's best hope against the Sirens, we should give them no less than the best" William said to Lucas.

"Took the words right out of my mouth" Lucas said out loud as he stared at William.

"Hey boys, you two sure are working hard" Lena said to Lucas and William as she approached them.

"Yeah, I would've slack off if not for this old man here. How's the meat?" William asked Lena.

"A well done steak? I like it, especially when dipped in a hot sauce. The tea was heavenly good and the beer kicked ass, I couldn't ask for a better barbeque party. Thanks Lucas" Lena said to Lucas as she grabbed a plate full of meat.

"Haha, you're welcome. Enjoy it while it last, after this we're going to get back to work" Lucas said to Lena while he smiled somberly.

"Work eh…Humanity's defender, join now to protect your home from alien menace~! Man, those tag lines for recruitment need some serious revision" Lena said out loud absentmindedly.

"I'll be sure to make the head of our PR department to reconsider it, it's a bit clichéd in my opinion" Lucas said to Lena.

"Hey, as long as it works eh?" William commented as he finished the last batch of the steak.

The three of them continue to chat while Lena waited for Lucas and William to finish up with the grilling, then they sat together with well-done steak and beer in hand as they spend their time talking with one another while enjoying the meal. Lucas smiled widely all the time, it's nice to just hang out with the two people he could trust in this world. He reminisced a bit to the first time he laid his eyes on them, Lucas immediately knew based on the result of Bellerophon Project that these two would be very important in the coming or future war. He was right all along and now with the Sirens threat? All of them will be tested to their limits, he hoped that the training and experience these two got will be enough to pull them through this war…The three of them are absorbed with talking to one another that they didn't realized that Hood approached them from the front, that until Lucas saw something from the corner of his eyes that he noticed the woman who's wearing her usual clothes.

"Oh hey there Ms. Hood, come sit down with us. The meat are plentiful and the beers are ice cold" Lucas said to Hood while he grinned.

"I think she'd like to have tea instead of ice cold beer" Lena said to Hood while she grinned.

"Fufu, thank you for the offer Lena, Mr. Lucas. However that's not why I'm here…Lord William, may we speak in private?" Hood said to Lena and Lucas before she asked William.

"Err, sure" William said to Hood as he stood up.

"Excellent, please follow me" Hood said to William as she took his right hand and lead him somewhere.

"No hanky panky, you hear me!?" Lucas asked William while he grinned.

"Mind you own damn business old man!" William said to Lucas while he frowned.

"Hehehe, good luck Will" Lucas said out loud while he smiled.

"What do you think she wants to talk about?" Lena asked out loud curiously.

"The work that has piled up?" Lucas answered in questioning tone before he gulped down his beer.

"Come on, we both know it's not about that" Lena said to Lucas while she smiled amusedly.

"Whatever it is, I don't think it's anything melancholic" Lucas said to Lena while he smiled.

"Yeah, I thought so too…Anyway, I got new Intel from Nora few minutes ago. We got a new lead for Crimson Cleanser case" Lena said to Lucas.

"You waited until now to talk about that?" Lucas asked Lena with narrowed gaze.

"Will needs some quality time, with the ship girls. Who am I to rob him such chance to bond with them? His mind would be filled with nothing but work if I speak about that, he will definitely focused on that case more than the girls especially now that he knew Gemini Squad are consisted of former member of Task Force Nimbus" Lena said to Lucas as she smiled somberly.

"…Well, you're right…However, it's also his right to participate in any action to suppress or destroy them. He said it before that his past haunted him, I think he considered that it was his fault that Crimson Cleanser was formed, Ronald's action all this time happened because he failed to confirm the kill two years ago…Maybe he'll see the act of suppression and elimination of them as his redemption" Lucas said to Lena then he downed the rest of the beer.

"I suppose you're right, Jenny's death, the ship girls poisoning…there will be more as long he's alive" Lena said to Lucas.

"Then let's find that son of a bitch as soon as we could. Pack your bags, we'll leave after breakfast tomorrow" Lucas said to Lena.

"Sir yes sir" Lena said to Lucas with serious expression.

…William wondered to where Hood took him to, so far they're heading further from the party area and to the pier. The woman looked back and noticed that they are far enough from the party area, she smiled at William as she let go of his hand. She took few more steps toward the bench on the pier and she sat there, leaning on the bench all pretty under the yellow lit of the street lamp beside the bench. William shrugged as he followed her and sat beside her, staring out at the dark sea as they enjoy the night wind blowing softly on them. He wondered on what she wanted to talk about, so far from the party area and in private too.

"…Did you enjoy the party?" William asked Hood with curious tone.

"Oh yes I do. The A5 beef meat proven to be quite delicious and the black tea straight from the royal family is exquisite, the ladies are lively too so I considered the party to be a great one" Hood said to William.

"Glad to hear it…So, what do you want to talk about?" William asked Hood.

Hood looked on the ground for a bit, she's gathering all of her composure and calmed herself down at what she's about to say to him. Many thoughts run in her head, how will he respond? How will he react? Is he going to say no? Would he storm off to leave just like that? No, no, no…She's gotten paranoid now, Hood calmed herself down by steadying her breathing rhythm, she knew that she's about to say something important and she can't afford to mess this up…

"…When I first met you, I saw someone that is shrouded in mystery. I practically knew nothing of you, your files didn't say anything and you certainly looked stern that I'm afraid you're the same type as our previous commander. However, as time passes I got to know you better…The man is courageous, handsome, kind and powerful but he can be quite reckless, so it's my duty as his personal secretary to remind him of such flaw and helped him with our daily task…I respect you, William. Someone who stood against all odds and dared himself to fight against otherworldly threat is someone I will respect no matter what, but lately there's something else I feel other than respect…When I hear your voice, my heartbeat quickened. When I see your handsome face, my cheeks warmed. When you gaze at me, it set fires of giddiness on my heart. When you touch me, my body longs for more and with each passing day this desire burn stronger until I couldn't take it anymore…So I ask you here William, not as your personal secretary but as your friend and ally who desire for your affection…Would you go with me on a date tomorrow?" Hood said to William as she smiled a bit and stared him right on his right eye.

…

…

…

…HOLY FUCKING SHIT! DID SHE JUST OUTRIGHT CONFESSED TO HIM?! HIS OWN PERSONAL SECRETARY?! WHO WORE HER HEART ON HER SLEEVE AS SHE CONFESS ABOUT HER FEELINGS FOR HIM?! GOOD FUCKING LORD! WILLIAM WAS STRUCK WITH A BRAIN CRASH THAT HE'S ABSOLUTELY SPEECHLESS RIGHT ABOUT NOW…William exhaled to release the tension he didn't know he feels, his cheeks becoming redder the longer he stared at Hood's expectant deep blue eyes and he knew Hood expected him to answer…He already promised to go on one with her so he don't think that this is necessary, but Hood actually want to take it a step further…William thought he'll take things slow, going out on a date as a friend but right now he's at the crossroad. If he said yes, he's practically in a relationship with her and the other girls will surely pedal to the metal in this 'race'.

…Are they going too fast? He don't think so, William liked Hood, even willing to go so far he's inch away from saying love but refrain to because he isn't absolutely sure yet for that word shouldn't be taken lightly. Is he being hesitant? Yes, he practically knew how it will goes in the future and he's not ready to be in relationship with a bunch of other girls right now…But well, the time will comes and delaying will only serve to jeopardize everything. His answer is clear, he know what to tell her but he need some mental preparation first…Once he do this, there goes his status as a single man. It will set motion for other branches of events later and he have to tread lightly…very lightly.

"Wow…have to admit, you're quite well versed" William said to Hood while he smiled.

"Why thank you" Hood said to William while she smiled.

"…You know, hearing that made my emotion turned into a mix for fun…Happy, flattered, touched and downright emotional…Hehehe…Hood? I commend you for speaking so passionately like that while being as composed as usual…You want to know my answer? I don't think you have to hear it, I do promise you after all" William said to Hood while he smiled softly.

"No can do, Will. It is a courtesy if someone courts you, then you need to give a proper response to prevent any misunderstandings for it's a seed of conflict and the last thing I want with you is a conflict" Hood said to William while she smiled confidently.

"Fair enough…Yes, I'd love to go on a date with you" William said to Hood while he grinned.

"Wonderful! Tomorrow, three o'clock in the afternoon, on this pier" Hood said to William after she clasped her hands.

"Sounds good, where are we going? You mention this pier which means it would involve boats" William said to Hood.

"Astute…There's a small island over there, I hear the view is great and there's a glassy plains on top of its plateau" Hood said to William as she pointed at an island on the horizon.

"Heh…I can imagine it already. It turns out you've been collecting information about this place" William said to Hood.

"I don't see why this vacation should impede our date plan, besides I think it's even better that we're here" Hood said to William while she smiled widely.

"Yeah, agreed…Anyway, let's head back to the party. We could be questioned for being gone for too long" William said to Hood as he stood up.

"Ufufufu, let's go" Hood said to William as she also stood up.

* * *

…**Boom! Shots fired and Hood just engaged her hyperdrive! Yup, the lady decided to make her move and voila, she's in the lead…Well, if seen from another perspective the lead are Prinz and St. Louis hahahahaha. As usual, thank you for the follow, favorite and review guys, have to say that the next chapter is the last for this current vacation arc so I plan to make it a 'blast'. Anyway, that's all for now and we'll see what happened next, stay tuned!**

**See you next time!**

**\- Dasmara**


	29. The push

…A black knight with bat armor motif stood tall as he took a card from his belt, he flipped his sword and opened a slot on the bat symbol motif on his sword guard hilt. He inserted the card with zero hesitation and closed the hilt to activate the card.

**FINAL VENT!**

The knight started running forward as a large bat like creature approached him from behind, the batch attached to his back side and turned into a black cape. The knight jumped high into the sky, he started to dive down as his cape wrapped itself around him and turning him into a huge black spike heading straight for a warrior cladded in red dragon armor. The knight impacted him and caused a huge explosion, the warrior was thrown back but he managed to stand back up despite the slouching posture.

"What the fuck?! How did you survive THAT?!" Lucas shouted in outrage.

"Last ditch health boost! Yeah! You could do that on this game, remember!?" William said to Lucas while he grinned.

"Fucking remastered game! I remember it wasn't that big of a boost!" Lucas said out loud.

"My turn bitch!" William said to Lucas.

The dragon warrior took a card from his belt card holder and held it for a bit before he inserted the card onto the dragon head like left wrist guard, the dragon knight then grabbed the head before pulling it backwards a bit which activated the card.

**FINAL VENT!**

The dragon knight set his pose as a large red Asian dragon came from the sky, circled around the warrior before he jumped high in the sky, spun around several times as the dragon circled around him before he took up his downward kicking stance. The dragon opened its mouth, roared loudly while breathing huge fire and sent the warrior kicking down in high speed, the warrior hit the knight and he was downed on the ground unmoving.

"Aw come the fuck on!" Lucas shouted as he looked at the TV screen in outrage.

"In your face old man!" William said to Lucas while he grinned.

"You said we'll be leaving straight after breakfast, but here you are playing Kamen Rider Ryuuki Remastered!" Lena said out loud while standing beside them.

Lena watched both William and Lucas who sat on the bed as they played a console game together on Lucas' personal room on the resort, both of them were quite enthusiastic playing the fighting game. Around an hour ago Lucas and Lena said their farewell to the ship girls on the restaurant during breakfast, then they got upstairs to prepare themselves for their departure. However, since Lucas didn't told her when exactly they're going to leave Lena was idling in her room before she decided to check Lucas himself who turns out playing a game with William.

"The helicopter will take a while to get here Lena, I said that so you could pack up" Lucas said to Lena.

"I've packed since last night you know, what about you huh?" Lena asked Lucas as she folded her arms.

"All neatly stored in that luggage" Lucas said to Lena as he pointed at a luggage beside his bed.

"Hey, want a match?" William asked Lena while he grinned.

"You know I will kick your ass with Zolda if I want to? If you're up for some loss I would be more than willing to oblige" Lena said to William while she smirked.

"Eh, fair enough…why are you guys leaving so soon now anyway?" William asked while he shrugged.

"You know it Will, it seems the command headquarters would fall apart if we both are absent for too long" Lena said to William while she frowned a bit.

"Here I thought they are competent enough to run the administration" William asked Lena with cocked eyebrows.

"Yup, but they tripped often and we had to be there to stabilize them…I also received word that your base are nearing completion, you're going back tomorrow right?" Lucas asked William.

"Yeah" William said to Lucas while he nodded.

"Perfect. Oh yeah, is there anything that you want to add to the base?" Lucas asked William.

"Add? Two days away from construction being done? That's unreasonable!" William asked Lucas with surprised face.

"Don't underestimate the Manjuus, Will. You ask, they'll get it done and fast. Pay them with red gems? Boom, they'll work on it as first priority" Lucas said to William.

…Really? Anything? William immediately racked his brain on what to add to the base infrastructure, something immediately clicked on his head. Prinz mentioned of a possibility on building a personal house inside their base back when they operate on Southern Ironblood, then there's also few days ago where William entered Lucas' cabin for the first time…Yeah, how about building such cabin back on the base? He didn't have to stay cooped up inside that room, he'll have his own house which he could customize however he want.

"Then, I want a personal house" William said to Lucas.

"Personal house hmm? How do you want it?" Lucas asked William while he rubbed his chin.

"How about a cabin like yours?" William asked Lucas.

"Ha! I knew it! Looks pretty amazing am I right? No wonder you'd want one!" Lucas said to William while he grinned.

"Yeah, I'd admit" William shrugged as he answered.

"One large wooden cabin for your personal house, got it. Where do you want it?" Lucas asked William.

"Put it inside the main base and with some fencing around it" William said to Lucas.

"Fencing?" Lucas asked William with cocked eyebrows.

"Pays to be prepared" William said to Lucas.

"Want a basement with that?" Lucas asked William.

"Sounds good" William said to Lucas.

"Okay Lucas, now you're just spoiling him" Lena said to Lucas.

…Seriously, she still don't understand on why did Lucas was being this kind? Doubt he's doing it because he have so much money to throw around, there must be something else that caused him to do this…But it's not like it's bad, William basically has no house on real world except for his old family house back on Britain which is practically empty, he do have money but with this job there's no way he'll be able to spend it as leisurely as he want and he didn't even use it for daily necessities since Azur Lane provided it…But after Lena thought about it, of course Lucas could freely do this. He basically don't have to pay child support since his ex-wife took custody of their children, he has tons of money to spend, gushing income as business owner plus as High Commander of Azur Lane Armed Forces and not to mention he's the same as William where he didn't need to actually spend so much…

"Yeah, what's the occasion?" William asked Lucas.

"Figured you'd want 'bigger room' than your current guest room you stayed at, a man needs his space" Lucas said to William as he laid down on his bed for a bit.

"Well he's right Lena, there are so many things I'd like to place once it's built" William said to Lena as he stared at her.

"Like what? Personal Gym?" Lena asked William.

"Already built that for public use on the base" Lucas commented as he took out his phone.

"Then how about armory, storage or even workshop?" Lena asked William.

"…Yeah, I can imagine that already" William said to Lena while he grinned.

Really, a large two storey wooden cabin with balcony, veranda and basement? The potential for the customization is vast! A nice warm house, cool veranda with trees with tables and chairs so people could hang out, a cozy living room with a fireplace, spacious bedroom with king sized bed, fully equipped kitchen, backyard for gardening maybe? Front yard might be large enough in case of a barbeque party, then there's armory full of guns and ammo on the basement, workshop filled with tools in case he wants to experiment, a storage for raw materials and maintenance for the his battle armor…Shit, that's a man's dream right there.

"Would it be fine to left the designs to the Manjuus?" William asked Lucas.

"Its fine, so far their works are exemplary" Lucas said to William.

"Alright then" William said to Lucas as he nodded his head.

"Is that all?" Lucas asked William.

"I couldn't think of anything else I'd like to add for now" William answered Lucas as he shrugged.

"Got it…and done" Lucas said to William.

"Just like that?!" William asked Lucas as he turned around with surprised face.

"Yup, it'll be there once you're back" Lucas said to William while he grinned.

"…Damn, I'm impressed" William said to Lucas with astonished face.

"…Oh? The helicopter is here, come on Lena" Lucas said out loud as we heard the sound of helicopter flying low near them.

"I'll walk you guys" William said out loud as he stood up.

The three of them walked together to the lift as they headed for the rooftop of the building, both Lena and Lucas didn't brought large baggage with them because they knew they will only stay for few days so a small helicopter that's on standby above the helipad in front of them is sufficient enough to bring them back. Apparently the helicopter would fly to the nearest airport near this island, from there the two of them would board airliner to head straight for the headquarters…Wait a goddamn fucking second! If that's the case, why did William and the ship girls had to spend twelve hours on the sea with a transport ship?! They could've just use airplanes! Motherfucker! William resolved himself that they will board planes on their way home!

"Right, this it. It's been fun, we should do this more often" Lucas said to William.

"I think Sirens and Crimson Cleanser would disagree with you" William said to Lucas while he smiled wryly.

"Haha, yeah. Take care, I'll see you at work in few days" Lucas said to William as he offered his hand.

"Got it. Thanks for everything, Lucas" William shook Lucas' hand.

"Don't mind about it" Lucas said to William as he grinned.

"Yeah. Lena, about that plan of yours" William asked Lena with serious face.

"I'll be sure to give you the update on it" Lena said to William.

"You ready?" William asked Lena as he smiled somberly.

"Like I have a choice. Take care of yourself" Lena said to William as she enveloped him in a brief hug.

"You too, remember, I'll come running if you need help" William said to Lena as he tapped her shoulder.

"For sure" Lena said to William as she nodded.

"Give my regards to my mum, alright?" William said out loud.

"Got it" Lucas said to William from inside the helicopter.

William watched as the helicopter rose from the helipad and head straight for the ocean, he stood at the rooftop until the helicopter was gone from his sight…Well, responsibility is a bitch and that is why those without it should be grateful one way or another. Lucas and Lena is in need of short break, but they only been here for three days or something when they have to go back due to trouble brewing on HQ? William hoped that he won't rise up the rank that high, he preferred to be in the front while managing a base instead of dealing with a strategic fuckfest. Just as he started to monologue in his head William heard some footsteps from behind, he turned around and noted that it's Warspite that approached him.

"Commander?" Warspite asked William.

"Warspite, why do you come to the roof?" William asked Warspite as he stared at her.

"It's early morning, I'd like to get some training myself. The roof is usually empty, the wind is nice and the view is great for motivation" Warspite said to William while she smiled.

"I see" William said out loud.

William proceed to sat on one of the chairs beside the pool as Warspite walked to an open area beside the pool, Warspite summoned her sword and she gave it few swings. Warspite then set her stance with her sword before she swung it around in a rehearsed, trained and precise set of movements. William glanced at Warspite for a bit before but when he saw those moves of hers he stopped leaning on his seat as he fully concentrated in taking in her movement, she swung her sword downwards and stopped it dead on its tracks just before it hit the ground, her side swings were lighting fast and then when she do a full circle sweep with her sword it produced a gust of wind that William could feel despite being ten meters away from her…Anyone who got hit in the neck with that move just now would've been decapitated!

"…Wow, I can feel the gust of wind from here! How strong are you!?" William asked Warspite with astonished face.

"I'd like to think I'm not that strong as a ship girl, there are those that has better physical strength than me after all" Warspite said to William while she smiled a bit.

"I'm still impressed with your form though! Actually now that I thought about it, I never see you perform in close quarter combat" William said to Warspite.

"Ever since you came I haven't got that much close range action" Warspite said to William as she shrugged.

"Is that so? Well, I'll try to-" William said to Warspite while he frowned.

"Ah, don't feel bad about it, I'm not hung up on that. But it be nice if I could occasionally engage a Siren in close fight" Warspite said to William while she smiled.

"Well, for now, how about sparring?" William asked Warspite.

"Oh they are fun, I've practically fought all of the Royal Navy's knights on our base. But training and a real fight? It's quite different" Warspite said to William.

"Yeah, I get what you mean by that. Our yesterday's game? They're nothing compared to what I've experienced in the frontlines" William said to Warspite while he smiled somberly.

"What's it like?" Warspite asked William.

"What do you mean?" William asked Warspite back.

"You know, the real ground combat. I know many of your stories as you already told them to us, but you never say how it really feels like…" Warspite asked William.

"…Basically, you could never know when your death comes. Someone could blow your head off with a sniper rifle from afar, fell due to ambush in the middle of the forest, got blown up by artillery shells, stepped on a mine, suddenly rained by hostile aircraft with leads, missile or bombs and there's a chance that you could get rammed by a tank…Fighting in modern warfare is an absolute hell, you could get killed in every corner quite easily" William said to Warspite as he smiled bitterly.

...The Sergeant under William's command that got his head blown off by as he led his men in the hold out on the Battle of Cape Town, a squad of Delta Force in front of William who got gunned down from high ground as they try to sneak around an outpost during the occupation of Sussex, the relentless artillery pounding from Sardegna Empire forces during the raid of Caen, some members of his task force that got trapped as they escaped from Sakura Empire forces on Okinawa, the merciless airstrike during the Siege of Leningrad and the tank that chased them after the sabotage of Hamburg's shipyard…Yes, William was present during all of those and there's so much death he had to witness, he's no stranger to dead bodies and stack of corpses…but seeing someone dying is something William felt he will never get used to.

"…I'd like for you to do something for me" Warspite suddenly said to William.

"What is it?" William asked Warspite.

"Stand up please" Warspite said to William.

William didn't know what Warspite want but he chose to oblige as he stood up from his seat, after standing in front of her Warspite took out her sword and offered it to William. The man took the sword with gleaming red blade and black gold hilt, he hold it in his hand as he gave few swings of his own. The sword is heavy and William found it's just has the right weight for him, so Warspite have been swinging something like this every day?

"This is your sword" William said to Warspite.

"Yes, hold it for me and show me your ready stance with a sword" Warspite said to William while she smiled a bit.

"Alright, like this?" William asked Warspite.

William set his stance like when he carried a machete, right arm with the sword, left arm ready at alert position, feet wide apart so he could move freely without tripping on his own legs…the sword is certainly longer than the machete, the balance of the sword are a bit off to him since he isn't used to holding longer sized melee weapon than a machete but the weight is just perfect. William slowly moved the sword around and he smiled, despite the longer blade William found that swinging this sword around is quite satisfying. He could feel the momentum, he could feel the inertia and the longer reach of the blade which should serve well when fighting Brawlers.

"Pretty good, but that sword is two handed one. Show me" Warspite said to William.

"Oh. So, like this?" William asked Warspite as he switched to hold the blade with his two hands.

"Good. Now do a downward swing three times, try to stop the blade exactly like I do at your knees level" Warspite said to William.

The man hold the sword with his two hands, he held it like most western swordsman he saw in games and movies with their longsword being in front of them. William then raised the sword before swinging it downwards, he could hear a sound of the blade hitting the floor and he could feel the blade stopped as it hit the floor. William widened his eye, he did try to stop it at the exact spot like Warspite did but he was late to stop it. William tried again but this time he stopped sooner and the sword stopped at his waist level, much higher than he intended. He tried one last time and the sword stopped very closely from hitting the floor, still failed to stop it at his knee level…Why? William wondered on why he couldn't do it.

"…It's harder than I thought" William asked out loud in wonder.

"In the modern times, it is easier to train soldiers to wield firearms compared to a blade. Anyone could fire a gun but a swordsman? They didn't stop learning until they die and it's quite the investment…The stances and the movements of a swordsman are honed and trained in daily basis so much that it basically become a muscle memory for them…With enough training, you will know how to swing your weapons and how to use it effectively" Warspite said to William as she grabbed her sword.

Warspite set the same stances like William and swing downwards just like him, but in three times she swings the blade she always managed to stop the blade perfectly at her knees level. William thought for a bit on the reason before he widened his eye in realization, after hearing her short lecture and watching Warspite one more time now he understand why he couldn't do it. It's the matter of familiarity, Warspite have been swinging that sword every day and that means she's familiar with the weight of her weapon. Her lecture also made sense, she have been practicing the same form and stances everyday so her body could remember the movements to do it without her having to thought too much about it…Basically, her stances and form are already second nature to her.

"…There's a reason why Sakura Empire ship girls sparred almost every day" William muttered to himself, yes they practiced their swordsmanship every day.

"Precisely…With your physics, form and raw strength? You're the type that will make do with broadswords" Warspite said to William as she continue to swing her blade.

"Broadswords huh? I thought I'm a machete man" William said to Warspite as he pursed his lips.

"Both weapon is almost the same in my opinion, both have wide surface area with just their length's being the difference. Have to admit that broadsword is quite ineffective when faced with human soldiers armed with firearms, but it will be devastating to use against Sirens. It's a pretty effective weapon for someone with strength like you, no doubt it will benefit you greatly in melee combat against those Siren ground soldiers" Warspite said to William.

And thus Warspite finished her morning practice with a left downward diagonal slash, William watched as the sword dematerialized into blue particles before disappearing completely…Wait, he saw that phenomenon before! It's the exact same thing that happened with their prototype helicopter armaments when changing its selected weapon! What the hell? William knew that it's the same phenomenon that happened when the ship girl's materialize their rigging…So, does that mean the Wisdom Cube could serve as a storage? To materialize something out of thin air? Does their helicopter has one? They already knew it could serve as a power source somewhat…

"…Commander, I have heard about your desire to train more and that include swordsmanship, am I correct?" Warspite asked William.

"Yes, I do said that when I just returned from Furushima" William said to Warspite as he nodded.

"I volunteered that day to teach you…Do you still want my help?" Warspite asked William as she stared at him.

"…Warspite, are you really willing to help me? To seriously train me in swordsmanship?" William asked Warspite with serious tone.

"My training is not for the weak willed. Believe me, I will be strict in my teachings and not even your rank as our commander will matters to me! If you want to be the best, you better prepare yourself for the long and grueling training that I will give to you. So, let me ask you, are you prepared?" Warspite asked William while she smiled.

"Understood, I knew it wouldn't be easy so I'm ready for it. When can we start?" William asked Warspite while he smiled back.

"We will start immediately in the morning, a day after we returned to our base. Do we have an agreement?" Warspite asked William as she extended her right hand forward.

"Yes we do…Thank you, Warspite" William said to Warspite as he grabbed her right hand and shook it.

.

…William is relaxing on the beach, shirtless, hands tucked behind his head, under the cover of the umbrella he set beside him, towel sprawled underneath him and several empty soda can near the cooler to his side. The weather was perfect, the winds blew softly, the sun is warm and the sky is blue as far as eyes can see. The sounds of ship girls playing or talking alongside the occasional sound of waves really provided a great ambience sounds, all he lacked right now is someone who would feed him ice cream by his side and he could say the whole thing is nirvana…Nah, this is enough, when he could spend some time like this again in the future? There's no guarantee he could just spend the day lazily like this later down the line, what if the war with Sirens intensify? No, it will certainly intensify…William imagined what would it be like if Sirens begun their invasion in one of the city because all this time their attacks are concentrated on installation or military base? The death toll would be staggering…Even if they didn't massacred the population surely they have something else in mind, what would it be William couldn't say…But when that happens, he didn't doubt that ALASUC would be needed.

BOOP!

"Oof!" William groaned as something hit him in the face.

"Sorry commander!" Cleveland said to William as she went to pick up the volleyball that just hit his face.

"…Again? You sure you're not doing this on purpose?" William asked Cleveland with half closed eye while he nursed his nose.

"Of course not! But it certainly did makes me satisfied" Cleveland said to William while she grinned.

"Why is that?" William asked Cleveland.

"Because somebody that used the jetpacks few day ago caused my swimsuit to fly off" Cleveland said to William with half closed eyes.

"…Well…yeah, my bad, I'm sorry about that" William said to Cleveland while he cringed.

"Yeah yeah, apology accepted" Cleveland said to William while she smiled.

"Hey Cleve! Come on!" Denver said from afar.

"Got to go now!" Cleveland flashed him a smile as she turned around.

William watched Cleveland returned to the volleyball field, he then opened the cooler box and took out a can of grape juice which he opened and drank some. The beach is quite populated today, many of the Eagle Union and Royal Navy choose to spend their time here but where are the others? It doesn't seems that Sakura Empire and Ironbloods has plans to spend their time on the beach since none of them are present. Just as William thought of that he saw a group of ship girls approaching him, more girls are pretty far behind the three that shown up in front of him. The three ship girls are Vestal, Souryuu and Hiryuu herself who seems to be healthy enough to move around on her own but she wore her usual outfit unlike Vestal and Souryuu who donned their swimsuit.

"Shikikan-sama, are the place beside you open?" Souryuu suddenly asked William.

"Sure, go ahead Souryuu. Ah Hiryuu, I haven't seen you since we arrived! How are you?" William said to Souryuu before he asked Hiryuu while he smiled.

"Pretty good now shikikan, my skin finally almost return to normal after intensive Regel therapy by Vestal-san" Hiryuu said to William as she bowed a bit.

"I did end up using five bottles of Regel for Hiryuu. Since she's been cooped up inside her room for too long, I choose to accompany her down here" Vestal said to William while she smiled bitterly.

"Really? Hmm, that's a lot of Regel to use. So it's that bad" William commented as he stroke his chin.

"I'm sorry that you haven't enjoyed this long vacation because of me, Vestal-san" Hiryuu said to Vestal as she bowed.

"Oh hush, I'm responsible to treat every injured person on our base. All I ask for my repayment is for you to take better care of yourself in the future, Ms. Hiryuu" Vestal said to Hiryuu while she smiled and patted her on the shoulder.

"…I'll be sure to remember that" Hiryuu said to Vestal while she smiled.

"Shikikan-sama, ohayou gozaimasu~!" Akagi said to William as she approached him.

"Hmm? Good mor-…Oh, wow!" William said out loud with widened eye.

William just had to widen his eye, because all he saw right now is a large group of Sakura Empire ship girls who usually dressed in 'relatively' covering uniform and now all of them wear their swimsuits! Akagi, Kaga and Amagi caught his eye first followed by Amagi winking at him when she noticed him staring alongside Kaga who smirked confidently, there's Shoukaku and Zuikaku who's approaching him, Mikasa is smoking hot in her bikini style swimsuit, Takao looked cute as she walked around with her one piece swimsuit, Atago who wore her bikini swayed her hips a bit too much on purpose as she stared at William…Damn, what fine pieces of oriental asses! The swaying of Eastern boobs! The smile and smirks of lust! Okay, William took a deep breath, it's obvious he's getting horny and he need to calm himself. Can't have a boner on the beach like this and a pitched tent in front all of these ladies could set off a 'heavenly' hell!

"Ufufu, I take it this is your first time seeing us in our swimwear?" Akagi asked William while she grinned.

"Yeah, all of you looked amazing, seriously…Wait, all of you Sakura girls came in packs?" William asked out loud.

"We decided to enjoy the beach together since tomorrow we're going back" Zuikaku said to William while she smiled.

"Agreed, it's a shame not to experience the beach in other place for once" Shoukaku said to William while she smiled.

"Yeah, this place is littered by Eagles and Royals for days. By the way, I haven't seen the Ironbloods much on the beach" William said out loud in wonder.

"What? Just because we didn't appear that often we still enjoy the beach you know" Someone said out loud from William's left side.

"Ah, so you're here" William said out loud as he turned to the left.

On his left there's the Ironblood ship girls cladded in their respective swimsuits, Prinz alongside Gneisenau and Scharnhorst are in front of William as they set up their respective spot for sunbathing, Graf Zeppelin passed by in front of him dressing in a regal swimsuit with Z46, Deutschland dragged Graf Spee as they're following Graf Zeppelin and Z46 closely, Hipper was busy trying to capture the scenery with her phone, Konigsberg alongside her sisters spend some time talking with ice cream on their hands and the submarines all meet up for one giant surfboarding competition…

"Ufufu. Looks like everyone would like to enjoy their last day on this beach" Akagi commented as she set her towel beside William.

"Agreed, we had to come back early tomorrow" Souryuu said out loud.

"No that won't be necessary" William said out loud.

"Oh? What do you have in mind, shikikan-sama?" Shoukaku asked William curiously.

"Just thinking that cruising on the air would be faster…Souryuu, I need your help. Contact the airline on the airport few islands away, book an entire plane for all of us" William said to Shoukaku then to Souryuu.

"…Ho, wakarimashita shikikan-sama. If they refuse to provide one?" Souryuu asked William while she smirked.

"Drop our name, that should resolve the entire problem" William said to Souryuu.

"Hai, I'll get on it right away" Souryuu said to William as she took out her phone.

"Well, this way we could at least enjoy our last breakfast here" William said out loud while he grinned.

"Ja. Kommandant, want some beer?" Gneisenau asked William as she handed him a canned beer.

"Sure, thanks Gneisenau" William took the canned beer from Gneisenau.

The combination of Sakura Empire and Ironblood ship girls laid down around William, the man smiled widely at the sight of beautiful girls to his left and right. Well, sometimes he missed having a guy to talk to since only fellow men could understand their hardship but he won't trade this for the world. Right now, Takao was blindfolded and she carried a wooden sword in her hands while Atago directed her to the nearest watermelon in the sand from her voice alone. Takao didn't have any difficulties in following Atago's instruction, soon she stood before the watermelon.

"Hai! Soko de!" Atago shouted at Takao while she smiled.

"HA!" Takao shouted as she brought down her wooden sword.

The sword connected with the watermelon and the fruit split into two, William's jaw was hanging from the sheer disbelieve and confusion. He wondered how the fuck is that possible and how did Takao make it work?! The ship girls that watched the entire spectacle clapped their hands in amazement which William follow suit after getting his bearings, is it possible to learn such technique? Wait, he already agreed to Warspite to teach him in swordsmanship…

"…She sliced a watermelon cleanly into two with a wooden sword?! Holy fucking shite!" William said out loud in amazed voice.

"With wooden sword and the right technique, it is possible to do that" Shoukaku said to William as she sat beside him.

"Mother of god that is some anime stuff" William said to Shoukaku.

"Here shikikan-dono" Takao approached William and handed him a slice of watermelon.

"Thanks…Um, sweet!" William said out loud while he grinned.

Atago have cut the rest of the watermelon into thin slices for everyone to enjoy, the watermelon is quite sweet and William downed it easily. Still, he didn't understand why. Why does someone need to hold such event? Smashing a watermelon by the beach while being blindfolded? He don't get it, what's the purpose? Maybe they did it just to have fun? Well, certainly one could have some fun by misleading someone to hit something else…or someone.

The Ironbloods decided to participate on the event, Z46 grabbed a baseball bat instead of wooden sword, Graf Zeppelin is the one who will direct her and Prinz is the one who put the watermelon…awfully close to Deutschland whose body buried under the sands, she also has her phone ready. At first, everything goes well as Z46 could follow Graf Zeppelin's instruction properly that until Prinz whispered something when Z46 was close enough to the watermelon. She raised the baseball bat, Graf Zeppelin panicked as she waved her hands as she frantically telling Z46 to stop, Prinz smirked as she prepared a burst mode capture on her phone camera and the whole audience widened their eyes…Two picture is taken immediately with one while the bat hangs in the air and when the bat brought down upon the target, needless to say someone was very pissed…and someone couldn't stop giggling to herself while muttering 'this' will make a nice Juustagram post…

.

…After the 'bloodbath' on the beach area where a certain incident occurred William choose to walk around, well he's glad that he managed to prevented Deutschland from going on a rampage with her rigging…somewhat. It certainly require the help of many ship girls and smooth talking on his part to calm her down, it's quite fortunate that Graf Spee managed to get involved or otherwise Deutschland wouldn't calm down as easily as she did. After walking for quite some time he stumbled upon a familiar redhead, dressed in black bikini with bountiful bust, side ponytail like St. Louis and this coy smile on her face.

"Zara?" William called out her name.

"Ah, salve" Zara said to William while she smiled.

"I haven't see you much around, how did you spend your vacation?" William asked Zara curiously.

"I admit I spent too much time on other place than the beach, the movie theater has quite the selection and the scenery around the hotel are nice to look at. That is why I decided to come here on our last day" Zara said to William as she clasped her hand together behind her.

"Is that so. Anyway, you look great" William said to Zara as he smiled, yup, what a magnificent view…

"Grazie~. Mind accompanying me for a bit?" Zara asked William while she smiled confidently.

"Where to?" William asked Zara.

"How about that small stall?" Zara threw her thumb toward the collection of stalls beside the beach.

"Sure" William said to Zara while he smiled a bit.

Zara hummed happily as she latched on William's right side, hugging his arm as she led him toward the stall area while she smiled widely. Don't know what got her to be this happy but William could only shrugged as he followed her, truth to be told she's a great companion to have around. Mature, confident, a bit flirty, her teasing tone, William felt that she could actually manipulate any men she want to and he's certain that he's not immune to her…Are all Sardegna women behave like her? He didn't see the same for Carabiniere but he didn't really know her that well to judge. Nevertheless he's grown a fondness for the type of women like Zara-

"Tirpitz, what's with the pouty face?" Victorious asked Tirpitz with half closed eyes.

"Victorious, I did say to you that I want the chocolate one" Tirpitz said to Victorious while she frowned.

"They're out of chocolate" Victorious said to Tirpitz.

"What nonsense are you saying now? We're the only ones here! You forgot didn't you!?" Tirpitz said to Victorious while she scowled.

"Argh! Just pick one already you arse! It's melting!" Victorious said to Tirpitz as she scowled back while holding two cones of ice cream, a vanilla and strawberry flavored.

"…Vanilla" Tirpitz said to Victorious while she pouted.

"There, that wasn't so hard wasn't it?" Victorious said to Tirpitz while she grinned as she handed her the ice cream cone.

"Shut up" Tirpitz said to Victorious before she proceed to lick her ice cream.

"Is it tasty?" Bismarck asked U-556.

"Ja! You should try it Lord Bismarck!" U-556 said to Bismarck as she offered her a spoonful of scone.

"If you don't mind…It is delicious. Excuse me!" Bismarck said out loud with widened eyes before she turned around to the stall personnel.

"Yes miss?" The female stall personnel asked Bismarck.

"Do you mind sharing the recipe with me? The scone is very good" Bismarck said to the woman.

"Ahahaha, thank you! Well, why don't you come in here for a bit? I'll teach you how, it's my original recipe" The woman said to Bismarck while she smiled widely.

"Unicorn, try this, yes" Ayanami said to Unicorn as she offer a spoonful of pancakes.

"It taste good, want to try mine too?" Unicorn offered Ayanami a spoonful of cake.

"Sure" Ayanami said to Unicorn as she took a bite.

There are lots of ship girls that have gathered around the stall area, everyone are currently enjoying their meals or snacks under the umbrella that were set on each table. Slowly but surely the place got even more crowded with everyone seemingly scramble to eat lunch. William and Zara sat on one a bit farther than the group of ship girls near the edge, the man looked around and noted that everyone has smiles on their face which means there's no trouble whatsoever…Man, can't days like this happen more often? Not going to lie, he's certain that in two days the ship girls would be deployed to fight against the Sirens again. But he suppose that's why they fight, to ensure that days like this will always be there in the future.

"Unexpectedly, this beach stall is quite crowded" William commented as he looked at the menu on the table.

"It's close to lunch after all" Zara said to William while she smiled as she looked at the menu.

"Really? So I've been sleeping for quite a while…" William muttered to himself.

"Anyway, is there something you want to eat? I'll go and order something" Zara asked William while she smiled.

"Let's see…This chef surprise?" William asked out loud.

"…Comandante, I don't think that's a wise move" Zara said to William with half closed eyes.

"Come on, what's life without few surprises there and then?" William said to Zara while he shrugged.

"Oh well, your choice" Zara said to William as she stood up.

"…Come to think of it, why does every time I bonded with them or when something interesting happened it's always when I eat something?" William suddenly asked out loud.

Maybe that's because he's a glutton? Man, can he remember the one time where he didn't eat around the ship girls? He got snacks on his office to munch on when he work because 'sugar is fuel for brains', the maids came in often with the refill for tea, Belfast seems want to fatten him up with her cooking which is full of nutrients, Illustrious always have cookies or pastries when she invited him for tea, some Union Girls have delivered some of their roasted meat to him when he couldn't join their small party because work kept him that day. Yeah, it would seems the ship girls have figured it out that one way to get his attention is to bring food at him which proven to works so far. He better trained himself or fight the Sirens often because he will need to burn those excessive calories and fat…William looked to the left when he saw Zara came back to their seat with a glass of parfait in hand, there's wide assortments of stuff on top of its vanilla ice cream such as cherry and candies.

"…Parfait? That's it? That's your lunch?" William asked Zara with cocked eyebrows.

"…You seems to overestimate a girl's stomach capacity, comandante" Zara said to William while she smiled.

"I don't know, you see Laffey over there?" William pointed his thumb to the left while he smiled wryly.

Zara followed his thumb to see Javelin, Ayanami, Laffey, Z23 and Unicorn who sat together in the circle table, there's a stack of plates beside Laffey. An employee brought another plate of pancakes toward their table and put it in front of Laffey, the other girls watched as Laffey stared at the pancakes in front of her emotionlessly. After few seconds staring it Laffey took a fork, stabbed the pancake and brought the entire thing to her mouth before swallowing it which resulted with the other girls on the table to clap their hands in amazement. That caused Zara to wonder whether her mouth is a black hole or she's simply that good.

"Uh…right…Your order would take a while" Zara said to William while she smiled.

"Figures…Any hint on what it is?" William asked Zara.

"You said it yourself, what's life without few surprises there and then~?" Zara said to William while she smirked.

"You cheeky girl" William said to Zara with half closed eye.

"Sorry for the wait, here you go! Chef Surprise!" Someone suddenly said out loud beside them.

That someone is the stall employee who put a plate and an iced tea in front of William, the man smiled widely as he looked to the content of the plate before his smile fell off. Inside the plate there's a charcoal colored of round black mass and it emits powerful bready aroma, but seriously what the fuck is this?! Is it even food!? William heard some snickering when he looked ahead and saw Zara was having a hard time containing her giggles, she found his shocked and confused face to be adorable especially when he took the fork and poked at his food.

"…Um…" William said out loud in confusion.

"Remember, you ask for it~" Zara said to William while she grinned.

"…Thanks?" William asked out loud while he cocked his eyebrows.

"Oh dear~" St. Louis suddenly said.

"Hello St. Louis, Helena" Zara greeted the two ladies that approached their table.

"Mind if we join you?" St. Louis asked Zara.

"Go ahead" Zara said to St. Louis.

St. Louis and Helena sat with them, safe to say they're as amused as Zara when they saw William's uncertain face as he stared at the meal in front of him. Both of them found it reasonable, who wouldn't when they are served something close to a charcoal in color? But St. Louis noted that the aroma is quite fine, so she's confident that the food in front of William is only black in coloring. She didn't remember anything like that on the menu though, what could it be?

"Um, William?" St. Louis asked William.

"Yeah?" William asked St. Louis.

"What is that?" St. Louis asked William as she pointed at his meal while she smiled.

"I have no idea, it's completely black…But, since I've made my grave…might as well dig deeper" William said to St. Louis as he shrugged.

Stomachache be damned! He'll go on a date later despite him having to go to the toilet often due to this! William courageously took the plastic fork and knife, he grabbed a small portion of the food before he plunged it to his mouth. He closed his eye as he chewed it when he was met with a surprise, the texture of this cake is smooth, there's this strong black forest taste and strawberry sauce mashed into one which caused him to opened his eye widely in surprise. Zara, Helena and St. Louis gasped at the prospect of him tasting something horrendous but when they saw the smile on his face their surprise turned into immediate confusion. It's good?

"…Holy shite! This is delicious!" William said out loud while he smiled widely.

"Really? Can I have a bite?" St. Louis asked William while she smiled.

"Here" William cut up a small piece and put it inside St. Louis' mouth.

"Um, it is" St. Louis said out loud after she tasted the cake.

"Can I have some too, comandante?" Zara asked William while she smiled.

"Sure, open up" William said to Zara who opened her mouth and he put a piece of cake inside it.

"…C-Commander, m-me too" Helena shyly asked William.

"Alright, open your mouth Helena" William said to Helena then put a piece inside her mouth.

This goes on for a while, William alternating between the three girls around him like a mother feeding her three babies. Just as he finished putting inside a piece of cake into one girl's waiting mouth another would poke his arms to get his attention, strangely he always complied because there's this certain feeling of satisfaction inside him whenever he fed the girls. The girls who were waiting with their mouth open gave him mixed feelings, St. Louis and Zara did looked sexier when they open their mouth like that that but Helena is just plain adorable when she waited for him to fed her the cake…Wait…

"Now hold on just a minute! How come I'm the one spoon feeding you ladies?!" William suddenly asked out loud, he's sure getting carried away with it!

"Tch, he realized it" Zara clicked her tongue as she smiled.

"What a shame, ufufufufufufu" St. Louis said to Zara before she giggled.

"Aww, that's the last piece" William said dejectedly to himself as he stared at the empty plate.

"Okay, we'll make it up to you. Now open wide?" St. Louis said to William while she smiled.

"Yeah, open up~. The plane needs to land~" Zara said to William while she smiled.

"H-Helena will share her food with commander too" Helena said to William while she smiled shyly.

"Come on, which one do you like the most, Will?" St. Louis said to William while she smiled.

"The parfait is delicious, I could guarantee it" Zara said to William while she smiled smugly.

"The pancakes is sweet, you should try it first" Helena said to William while she smiled shyly.

And that's how in front of him there are three spoonful of food waiting for his mouth, a spoonful of cheesecake, a spoonful of parfait and a spoonful of pancake courtesy to the each girls who sat with him now. William would just ate it at the random but when he noted the expectant eyes of the ship girls and the subtle glances they directed at the other girls, William immediately understood that this is not some simple act of feeding him…there must be some kind of competition, an unwritten law that whoever's food he grabbed first must be the one he favored the most out of the three girls that sat with him now. Ridiculous isn't it? He favored them all equally. That's why he went with the safe route, he grabbed St. Louis and Helena's hand, directed their spoon near Zara's before he swiftly ate the three spoonful of food at once which honestly caused the ship girls to gasped in surprise…They honestly didn't expect him to do that.

"…Yeah, I have to admit. The combined taste is quite good" William said to the girls after he swallowed.

"Cheater~" Zara suddenly said to William while she smiled smugly.

"Play~boy~" St. Louis said to William while she smiled…seductively.

"…You meanie" Helena said to William while she pouted a bit.

"Really, did I thought about it in the wrong direction?" William wondered with half closed eye.

"Uwaa, shikikan is a natural player!" Haruna said out loud.

"And he claimed to be an awkward geek, pfft!" Nelson said out loud before she snorted.

"So that's just his cover up story huh? To take us by surprise?" Pennsylvania commented out loud.

William looked back and found that many ship girls are staring toward their table, he instantly felt dread assaulting him for the possibility of another rumor going around the ship girls. Seriously, the one where he slept with St. Louis and Prinz are more than enough! He should've known better than doing something as bold like eating the food offered by three beautiful girls at once when in public, now it would seems no one would believe him again when he told them that he's a geek in high school…

"…Looks like I take the 'dig deeper' part a bit too much" William muttered to himself.

.

…Around two o'clock in the afternoon William returned to his hotel room, he rummaged his bag and he selected the best clothes he has which is a checkered pattern red shirt, a black jeans and a black sneaker…Casual? For sure, but he thought it'll do. What would Hood wear? A dress perhaps? He never saw her wearing casual clothes like t-shirts or anything so he had no idea what her wardrobe content would be, he could predict that she must have wide array of dresses…after taking a shower, putting on some cologne, combing his hair neatly and William walked out of him room to the pier. Along the way he could notice that the ship girls are absent from the beach area, where did they go? Probably off to some other activity…

William kept walking toward the end of the pier when he noticed someone leaning on the rails, the person noticed William approaching them and they turned toward William. That someone is none other than Hood herself, a white sun hat on top of her head, light blue summer dress hugged her body which also accentuated her curves, a basket of some sort is on her hands, she wore white sandals and if that didn't stunned him the view of the seas alongside the wind blowing on him only enhanced her appeal…Overall, William was speechless at the breathtaking view. He regretted not having his phone to snap a picture…After being stunned for a while he finally get his bearings to move, William approached Hood who's smiling at him.

"You're as beautiful as ever" William said to Hood as he approached her.

"And you're a bit casual" Hood said to William as she noted his clothes.

"…Turns out Belfast didn't pack any fancy clothes" William said to Hood as he shrugged.

"Don't worry, I may always speak about elegance but there's no need for you to try to keep up or felt forced. Your usual self suits you best after all" Hood said to William while she smiled.

"Thanks…Alright, shall we go?" William asked Hood.

"Let's. I already hired a boat over there" Hood said to William.

William offered his right hand which Hood took before she walked while clinging at him, the man could only smiled at the act. They walked toward the lower pier area for small boats, an employee who's assigned there greeted them and led them to their chartered boat. A small double engine boat is what awaits them, William make sure Hood got in first before he followed suit. He received the key from the employee who he thanked then started the boat's engine…Ten seconds later William accelerated the boat as they make their way to the island Hood pointed at.

"…So, what's in the basket?" William asked Hood.

"Food of course, you're that eager to eat?" Hood asked William while she smiled.

"Admittedly, my lunch was taken by Zara, St. Louis and Helena" William said to Hood.

"Oh dear, so you haven't eat lunch at all?" Hood asked William as she covered her mouth in surprise.

"When I remember about the date, I knew you'll make something. Better keep my stomach empty for it" William said to Hood as he briefly looked at her.

"Is that so?" Hood said out loud while she smiled.

"It is…That island also has some infrastructure on it, do you know what those buildings are for?" William asked Hood as he pointed at the island in front of them.

"It's some cottage and a restaurant, currently they're operating in limited capacity but I have contacted Ms. Bordeaux that we'll be eating dinner there" Hood said to William.

"Oh, you planned this through" William said to Hood while he grinned.

"Like I said before, a lady must seize the initiative if requires to" Hood said to William while she smiled widely.

…Unknown to William and Hood who's already on their way to the island, someone is keeping watch on them from the pier with a binocular. The person lowered their binocular which revealed her face with white long hair and blue eyes, Belfast smiled a bit when he saw both of them heading toward the island. Looks like Hood managed to ask him out, Belfast is honestly happy for them. But at the same time, there's this gnawing feeling inside her that screams she couldn't lose to Hood. She took out her phone and she contacted Illustrious, the woman immediately answered her call.

"Ms. Illustrious? Looks like you are correct, both Hood and master is going on a date, judging by the direction they're taking the place is on a separate island from here…smart, that will make the chance of being interrupted very minimal" Belfast said to Illustrious on the phone.

"I see…well, it can't be helped if she asked him first. Thanks for helping me out Bel" Illustrious said to Belfast on the phone.

"No need to miss, I'm simply quite curious myself" Belfast said to Illustrious on the phone.

"For now, why don't you come over for afternoon tea?" Illustrious asked Belfast on the phone.

"I would be delighted to" Belfast said to Illustrious on the phone.

…After five minute boat ride William and Hood reached the neighboring island, the man threw the rope beside the pier and throw down the anchor so it won't move. He moved to the pier before he offered his right hand toward Hood who took it as she jumped on top of the pier, after that the both of them walked inland and greeted by one of the employee who has an off-road jeep behind him ready to be used. William took the key and he alongside Hood begun their track for the plateau, there are a flat grassland on it which should serve well as a date spot but to reach that place? The road is awfully bumpy.

"The road are a bit bumpy, the climb was uneven too" William commented out loud as he drove the car.

"But you still managed to mostly avoid the holes or uneven surface" Hood noted as she grabbed on to the basket.

"Practice makes perfect" William said out loud while he grinned.

"Ufufufu, true" Hood giggled a bit before she said to William.

"Here we are…Oh wow! Beautiful!" William commented with widened eye.

William stopped the car and he alongside Hood disembarked into the vast grass plain with few trees spread around in which should be perfect for a resting place, both of them walked hand in hand to the edge of the plateau where there's a steep drop. Dangerous? For sure, but the view? Worth it. From their place William could stared at Eden, the islands beside it and since the weather's clear it provided a very beautiful view of the archipelago.

"…Hood, stay over there and hand me your phone" William said to Hood as he pointed at the spot near the edge.

"You want to take pictures of me? Sure" Hood said to William as she handed him her phone.

"…This phone model has the best camera" William commented as he stared at Hood's phone.

"Ufufu, sometimes I do want to take some good photos you know?" Hood said to William while she smiled.

After he went into camera mode William adjusted the phone to get the best shot of Hood, the lady in question expertly posed like an aristocrat lady. The man grinned because Hood didn't need any direction to pose and he have very easy time to line up couple of good shots because of that. Hood suddenly stopped posing and approached William whose a bit confused on why would she do that? She grabbed his hand, dragged him to the spot she stood before and took her phone. Next thing he knew Hood already leaned on his left chest, her right hand in the air holding her phone with a front camera on display and she took a very good shot of her smiling contently with William behind her looking unsure.

"You have a habit taking a photo of my candid face" William said to Hood with half closed eye.

"Ufufufu~" Hood only giggled in response.

William and Hood then took out a sheet and deployed it underneath a dense tree near the edge of the cliff, after they put the sheet both of them took off their footwear, leaned on the tree and they stared at the view from their position. The island of Eden alongside its resort, the clear blue sky, the blue water and the soft blowing winds are quite relaxing. Hood felt very content with this, when was the last time she just go outside and enjoy the weather? Hood couldn't remember to be honest, but it's clearly what she need right now because just doing nothing while staring at the breathtaking view like this in the company of a man that she really liked? It soothed her soul…

"…I'm still amazed by the view, sure it's not completely natural because of the resort but it's still breathtaking" William said to Hood as he stared out at the scenery in front of them.

"Yes, I started to appreciate nature even more when Sirens could turn this planet into a desolated wasteland if this war never ends. If we lose, the beauty of this paradise in front of us could only exist in distant memory…" Hood said to William as she leaned on his right arm.

"Yeah, I have to agree with you there…I intend to fight them off to the end, it might take a lifetime to do that" William said to Hood with serious face.

"I'll be with you along the way, someone would need to keep you straight" Hood said to William while she smiled.

"Ahahahaha, looking forward to it-" William said to Hood.

William's stomach rumbled in protest due to it being empty and the owner neglected to fill it with food during lunch hours, the man sighed as his cheek went red a bit because although he do look forward tasting Hood's cooking he really didn't want to seems desperate about it. Guess that plan failed now because the woman on his right side started giggling to herself, oh well, William thought that at least his stomach is honest when it really need to.

"Your stomach is incredibly honest, ufufufufu" Hood said to William then continued to giggle.

"Well, what can I say if it already spoke for me?" William said to Hood while he grinned awkwardly.

Hood took the basket near them and she opened the cover, William looked inside and found a neat row of sandwiches, some drumsticks, few fruits and a thermos filled with what William assumed to be tea. Screw the delicious appearance, the aroma alone when William opened the cover of the basket have successfully caused his mouth to water up. Sheesh, he really and he stressed the REALLY part want to just gorged himself with the food but he do know that despite Hood saying she didn't mind about him not being elegant or refined as she is, she surely will scold him if he decide to ignore manners.

"Go ahead, help yourself. Or, do you want me to feed you?" Hood asked William while she smiled.

"A chance to be fed by a beautiful girl? What men would say no?" William said to Hood while he smiled.

"Flatterer, open up~" Hood said to William while she smiled widely.

William opened his mouth and Hood fed him her handmade sandwich, William could immediately tasted the beef coupled with some cheese and vegetable. His eye lit up because damn it's delicious! The taste is just perfect, the combination of ingredients didn't overlap each other and instead resulted in one delicious combo. Hood also fed him a drumstick, the chicken thigh are cooked splendidly, there's no excessive oil and it's certainly based on a high grade quality chicken meat.

"…You have a talent in cooking" William said to Hood while he smiled.

"Actually, it took me a bit to get the taste just right" Hood said to William.

"Wait, really?" William asked Hood with cocked eyebrows.

"Yes, this morning I was experimenting in kitchen. Looking at recipe books, thinking what would fill your stomach, how it would taste and in the end I finally did it near noon" Hood said to William.

"That's quite some time there, you didn't ask George, Vestal or even Belfast for tips?" William asked Hood.

"I…want to make this authentic, my original cooking" Hood said to William while she smiled.

Hood basically spent her entire morning cooking and experimenting, she's in luck that Eden do have convenience store so she went there early in the morning to shop then went back to her room. She spend some time learning the recipe online before she tried it herself, it's not the fact that she can't cook but she had to admit that her recipe arsenal are a bit 'lacking' in numbers. She's keeping this date under wraps so she didn't enlist the help of the maids or the renowned cooks of the Royal Navy, it's an instant giveaway if she did. Hood gave it some thought and finally decided to make some sandwich and drumsticks, she's pleased to know that her date do enjoyed her cooking.

"I can see your resolve, all of this tasted delicious, Hood…you'll make a fine wife one day" William said to Hood.

"Oh, what makes you say that?" Hood asked William.

"Come on, you can practically do anything. Office work? Household work? Great with little kids and now you can cook? You know, any man would like to have you as their wife" William said to Hood while he smiled.

"I see…but I have to disagree on that last part" Hood said to William.

"Why is that?" William asked Hood with half closed eye in confusion.

"I don't want just any man, I want you~" Hood said to William as she stared at him while she grinned.

"O-Oh…Yeah…that's…" William's eye went wide as he stammered to respond.

"Ufufufu, your cheek is just like a tomato. Does the idea of being married to me really make you that embarrassed?" Hood asked William while she grinned, despite her bold words her cheek also went red a bit.

"…I like the idea" William said to Hood as he looked at Eden.

"How much~?" Hood asked William as she poked his right cheek.

"…Very much…You know, I don't take you as a teaser kind of person" William said to Hood as he stared at her with half closed eye.

"Perfect, there's so many sides of me that you could get to know then~" Hood said to William as she grinned.

"Prinz have been rubbing off on you…" William said to Hood while he smiled a bit.

"Perhaps~" Hood said to William while she grinned.

The both of them fell into comfortable silence once more, just enjoying the soft blowing winds that really caused William to feel sleepy. But his thought were somewhere else, he contemplated as he looked at the woman resting on his right side…Hood have always acted like an elegant aristocrat lady during work hours, but it's clear now that when the both of them are alone she shown more side to her that she didn't usually show. She's quite flirty when she wants to, quite mischievous though at more subtle level and she's not ashamed with some skinship because she have latched on him ever since they arrived here…Honestly, William thought that she's a lot more charming this way. Hey, there's an idea, maybe she won't mind doing this more when it's just the two of them?

"Hood?" William asked Hood.

"Hmm?" Hood hummed in acknowledgment.

"Please don't hit me for what I'm about to say" William said to Hood.

"…This sounds serious, what is it?" Hood asked William.

"…You don't have to stay elegant at all times…when you're with me it's fine for you to be just Hood, not as Mighty Hood The flagship of Royal Navy but just as Hood…Be yourself, I will welcome you with open arms" William said to Hood.

…After waiting for around five seconds William still haven't received any respond from Hood so he looked to his right only to find her still staring at him with unreadable expression on her face, seriously she stared at William with a blank expression that he couldn't figure out whether she's shocked, upset or conflicted with his words. But that's the truth, William felt that Hood shouldn't always stay elegant at all times if she's with him. Her true self, William would like to see her true self more compared to her professional side when they were working. Hood smiled a bit in the end, William sighed when he saw her smiled because he's been unconsciously holding his breath for an answer.

"…Hood?" William asked Hood.

"…So, if I want you to spoil me, you'll do it?" Hood asked William while she smiled.

"Yes" William said to Hood.

"If I get needy, you won't mind?" Hood asked William while she smiled.

"As long it's the two of us, and you didn't object with it" William said to Hood.

"If I want to snuggle, spend my time and be close to you…you won't mind about that?" Hood asked William while she smiled widely.

"Like I said, when it's just the two of us? I don't mind…In fact, I want you to. Show me that girly side of yours, Hoody~" William said to Hood while he smirked.

All of a sudden William found himself sprawled on top of the sheet on his back after Hood suddenly pushed him down, she stared at him directly in the eye as she grinned. Hoo boy, William couldn't recall when Hood grinned this widely before and he's a bit apprehensive on what's going to happen next. What will she do? William stared carefully toward her eyes and there's a brief flash of 'hunger' in her eyes…Her eyes were like those of a predator who finally caught their prey, very similar to how Duke of York stared at him few days ago when she just arrived. No wonder he felt her gaze…quite familiar.

"…Now you've done it Will…I won't allow you to take those words back~!" Hood said to William while she grinned.

"Heh, it's fin-" William said to Hood.

He did not have the luxury to finish his sentence because the woman that have sat on top of him immediately proceed with her assault, Hood leaned down and kissed William on the lips. Not just a simple act of connecting her lips to him, she kissed the man hungrily. William could feel the 'need' in her kiss so he kissed her back, he rolled her over so she's on the bottom. Both of them separated themselves for a bit before both lips latched at each other again, Hood moaned a bit before she pulled back…When both of them came to their senses they're a bit surprised, none of them realized that their position have switched.

"…And a great kisser too, what more could I want in a woman hmm?" William asked Hood while he smirked.

"Hush, stop it. Keep this up and I might just put a ring on you then dragged you for a wedding ceremony myself" Hood said to William while she smiled widely.

"Hahahahaha" William laughed at the thought.

"…Hey, I've gone the trouble to make those sandwiches. You better finish it~" Hood said to William while she smiled.

"As you wish, milady" William said to Hood while he smiled.

"Good" Hood said to William as she bopped his nose a bit with her index finger.

…The both of them stayed for quite some time on that spot, William and Hood finished off the lunch that Hood packed and then proceed to nap together underneath the tree…William opened his eye, he noted that Hood still used his right shoulder as a pillow. The view reminded him of when she did this on board a cargo plane during their journey back from headquarters, she's quite light and she smells nice…William stopped himself from sniffing her, she did smell good but that doesn't give him the excuse to do that without consent! After carefully adjusting Hood's head to the tree on a position where she won't fall to the side, William stood up, stretched himself for a bit and walked to the edge of the plains before he sat there. The sky has turned orange, the sun is almost set on the horizon and the resort already lit up their lights…All of a sudden a pair of arms sneaked around his shoulder and enveloped him, a head fell on his right shoulder and he could feel something pecked him in the cheek. It didn't take a genius to know who's behind William, the man could only looked to the right and noted that Hood's face is very close to his.

"Enjoying the view?" Hood asked William while she smiled.

"You could say that, the orange sky provided very different impression…Did I wake you up?" William asked Hood.

"What if I tell you that when you're leaving me I could sense it even when I asleep?" Hood asked William while she smiled.

"Ho, I didn't know you have such power" William said to Hood while he smiled.

"Ufufufu, unfortunately that part was a jest. I'm simply woke up at almost the same time as you" Hood said to William after she giggled.

"Heh, thought so…Anyway, we've been here for quite some time and it will be dark soon. We should head down when there's still light in the sky" William said to Hood.

"Yes, I agree. Let's pack up and head for the restaurant area near the pier" Hood said to William.

William remembered that Hood also reserved a spot on the restaurant below, normally with the entire place being booked by him and the ship girls the restaurant down there won't operate. But since Hood have specifically requested it to Ms. Bordeaux, the restaurant is open for business just for today…Both of them packed up and head back to the car, the drive toward the pier is a lot easier than the climb since all William had to do is to properly step on the brake pedal on the right time…When they arrived on the pier the sun had set in the west, both William and Hood disembarked from the car then they head for the restaurant area while holding hands. The restaurant has two section, the main one on the beach and the one on the veranda above the water. Since the weather is clear both William and Hood agreed to sit on the veranda, dinner under the stars enlightened by soft yellow glow of the candle on their table with classical BGM of the restaurant sounds poetic…right?

"Sir, madam, are you ready to order?" A waitress approached Hood and William.

"Um…lots of sea food" William said out loud as he looked at the menu.

"We also have wide assortments of menu other than sea food sir, if you wish to order it" The waitress said to William.

"Ah yeah…Well, I'll take the sea food then, it'd be a waste to come here and not try the seafood" William said to the waitress.

"Excellent choice! The sea product of this restaurant are directly harvested from our surrounding environment, an authentic taste of this archipelago" The waitress said to William while she smiled.

"Heh, splendid. Then…Tuna, yeah, this tuna chops sounds delicious" William said to the waitress.

"…I would like some oysters stew and grilled lobster. Will, are you sure tuna chops would be enough?" Hood said to the waitress then asked William.

"Yeah, it won't. Hmm…How about some crispy squid as addition? Oh and oysters stew sounds good too" William said out loud.

"I think we have enough" Hood said to William.

"Okay, so two oyster stew, grilled lobster, tuna chops and crispy squid. How about the drinks?" The waitress asked William and Hood.

"Wine would be a fine addition" Hood said to the waitress.

"Agreed" William said to the waitress.

"Alright, a bottle of wine for the drinks. Please wait as we prepare your dinner, thank you" The waitress said to William and Hood while she smiled.

The waitress left the two of them, William leaned on the railing as he stared at Eden which have been illuminated by the bright lighting of the facility. If he thought about it carefully, did he even said where he would be going? He don't think so, what if the other ship girls thought he's lost at the sea again? However William remembered that he do met with several ship girls before meeting Hood, he'll place his bet on the ship girls understanding that he's going somewhere and with the fact that Hood also missing means the both of them spend some time somewhere…But, just in case, he should ask Hood.

"Hood, does the other ladies knew we're here?" William asked Hood, just in case.

"If I recall correctly, only her majesty and Illustrious knew" Hood said to William.

"Ah, does they knew that I'll be here as well?" William asked Hood.

"Hmm, I don't think so. But, I think they will figure it out once they couldn't find you~" Hood said to William then she winked for extra emphasis.

"…You are one sly woman, I'd give you that" William said to Hood with half closed eye.

Hood only giggled in response to that, around a minute later a bottle of wine alongside two glass were delivered to their table. Both of them decided to taste it as they wait for their dinner to arrive, the wine taste is quite good but certainly not as good as the one Illustrious usually pick…Come to think of it, he never expected that woman to be some kind of wine connoisseur. William and Hood spend some time chatting about mundane things as one by one their dinner arrived on their table, both of them toasted then drink their wine before they proceed with their dinner.

"Had to say, the oyster stew has this creamy texture" William said to Hood.

"Agreed. Have you tried the grilled lobster?" Hood asked William.

"Yup and I enjoyed it, might want to learn how to cook it so I could eat one back on the base. The fried squid and tuna chops are good too" William said to Hood.

"Let me taste it…Um, have to agree with you. The cooks are pretty good" Hood said to William while she smiled.

"Wonder on why we didn't eat seafood back on Eden's restaurant despite being a beachside hotel" William said to Hood.

"Oh yes, you eat a lot of beef and chicken every day. Is your cholesterol level fine?" Hood asked William.

"Pretty much fine, the proteins are good for muscles so I can keep these big guns" William said to Hood as he grinned.

"Fufu, you don't neglect the vegetables right?" Hood asked William while she smiled.

"…Just the broccoli" William said to Hood while he cringed.

"My, you really didn't like broccoli. Any particular reason?" Hood asked William while she frowned a bit.

"Well, I'll eat it if I really have to…just, I don't like its texture and taste and appearance…" William said to Hood while he frowned deeply.

"Hmm, what if it's grinded down into a paste?" Hood asked William.

"Is that even possible? I don't think you could change the taste even by turning it into a paste" William said to Hood with half closed eye.

"It won't be so bad if you mashed it with potatoes I reckon. How about turning it into a soup? Would you want to try it?" Hood asked William while she smiled.

"…Maybe, but I'll be bluntly honest about the taste so if you make it…well, please get ready" William said to Hood as he smiled a bit.

"Fufu, yes, I will" Hood said to William.

They continue to eat after that brief conversation, both enjoying their meal in peace while occasionally talk to one another. William simply found this dinner to be enjoyable, good food, good wine and a pleasant company in front of him? Yeah, this caused him to forget about his responsibility and the fact they are at war, the atmosphere is just that good…It didn't take long to finish their dinner, both William and Hood enjoyed their wine when the BGM changed into a music performed by Bond, titled Victory. William stopped drinking, because he's really familiar with this music.

"…Damn, to think I'd hear this song now" William said out loud while he smiled widely.

"This is pretty energetic, you recognize this song?" Hood asked William while she smiled.

"Yes. Back when I was a child, my father often listen to this so it just kind of clicked…That was a long time ago, twenty four years ago if I recall correctly" William said to Hood with a nostalgic smile on his face.

"Twenty four years? Back when you're just a toddler?" Hood asked William with a surprised smile on her face.

"Yup. When I thought about how long since it's been I felt old, granted twenty six couldn't be considered old…But it just felt like it" William said to Hood.

"…Hey, if you looked at me right now, how old do you think I am?" Hood asked William while she smiled.

"…Early twenty to be sure. Really, you look like a woman that just entered her mature years, few hints of adolescence remains on your face but has this mature grace and aura…In my simpler terms, a perfect beauty" William said to Hood while he smiled softly.

"Ufufufu, sometimes I really wonder if you're really as awkward as you told us back on your high school days? You seems to be quite…well versed" Hood said to William while she smiled.

"It's the truth you know, my military training are the one that shaped me into what I am right now. Four years of that grueling training…" William said to Hood.

"Is that so…In my case, I never really understood of what happens when I become a KANSEN" Hood said to William.

"Do tell, I'm quite curious about it. How far do you remember of your past?" William asked Hood curiously.

"…I realized that I'm a manifestation of Royal Navy's Pride and Joy, Mighty Hood the Battlecruiser. I remembered my cruise, my assignment, the experience that comes with it, the battles…I knew, I felt and I still remembered the day where Bismarck's AP shell tore me into two when my magazine detonated. I sunk, I died that day and I remembered that my form is nothing but a hunk of metal ship…But then, after what felt like a deep slumber, I suddenly awoke in the middle of a certain facility. My body is human, but my memories of the past event as a metal ship? It felt so real…the pain of being hit by AP shell still fresh to me, it's just like my consciousness are the only thing moved into this body of mine…I immediately knew how to summon my riggings, the art of naval combat, the mannerism befitting of a female royalty full of grace and elegance…it's like…" Hood said out loud as she looked into the sky.

"Like you're actually been alive for a while as a human, but suddenly the memories of your past as a ship flooded into you" William continued what Hood would like to say.

"Yes! Something like that! I do wonder, am I a normal human before I turned into a ship girl? I never knew the answer. I have no recollection of my civilian life if I did, I never remember the face of my family if I have one…It's just like one day I manifested into this world, but the feeling that I have been around and alive longer than now exist in the back of my mind…It's a strange experience and thought" Hood said to William while she smiled a bit.

…William honestly don't know what to say, he tried to access the necessary files concerning the creation of the ship girls itself. Well, the file is marked CONFIDENTIAL and his skill are too subpar because only a minute after he accessed the file with his hacking skill he's immediately booted out of the system. Apparently, despite being the commander of the ship girls he didn't have the clearance to know how EXACTLY they come to life on this world. What he do know that it somehow involved Wisdom Cube and a certain machine, that's the gist of what he could read before he's kicked out…Wonder if Lucas would allow him to read it if he could give him the necessary clearance?

"Hood, I also honestly didn't know the process, you know I tried to read it once but…well, the system kicked me out for not having the necessary clearance. What I do know on how the ship girls came to life? It somehow involved the Wisdom Cube and a machine of some sort…But despite that, don't even think for a second that you are just a disposable war machine. You are a human, just like me, but having the raw power of a Battlecruiser in your hands" William said to Hood while he smiled.

"Ufufu, I don't think like that but thank you for mentioning it…I'm content with what I have right now, despite the obscurity of my past. I'm surrounded by good friends, a welcoming home and…my commanding officer seems to be the man that I really liked, I'm already so happy just with this" Hood said to William while she smiled softly.

"Good to hear that Hood…By the way it's getting late, we should head back to Eden" William said to Hood.

"Oh? So eager to return?" Hood asked William.

"Not really, I still want to spend my time with you, but you do realize this restaurant won't open for twenty four hours?" William asked Hood with cocked eyebrows.

"About that, I think I have the solution" Hood said to William while she smiled.

"Oh, do tell" William said to Hood.

"This island has a cottage we could use" Hood said to William while she smiled widely.

"I heard, but I don't think booking it suddenly would be-" William said to Hood.

And his sentence was cut right there because Hood suddenly took out a key from her pocket, she held the key on her left hand while she smirked at him. It was right there and then that the implication is very clear to William, and he is speechless. Hood already prepared everything, she made them lunch, she reserved this restaurant for their dinner and now she already prepared a cottage for them to spend the rest of their night together…Holy shit…That woman knew exactly what she wants, how to get it and how execute her plan, William honestly found himself scared a bit. Belfast is one thing, but Hood is as cunning as the head maid if she wanted to!

"Oh you slimy, cheeky little-"

.

…The warm water hit her smooth skin, Hood sighed a bit in contentment as the warm water that came out of the shower washed over her. It was a good thing that the cottage has indoor shower, she didn't have to clean herself without leaving the building…Hood smiled a bit at how the day have went, so far it proved to be quite enjoyable day. Hood wondered if William 'caught up' with her intention by persuading him to stay the night here, away from Eden, the other ship girls, secluded on this cottage…just the two of them, doing this and that...Hood felt herself getting warmer, her cheeks reddening and it's not because of the warm water currently she showered in…Dear, she have been quite naughty lately. She looked at the liquid soap in front of her, it's not her preferred brand, but it'll have to do.

Outside the bath on the bed, William who's dressed in a bathrobe laid down, facing the ceiling, hand in stomach as he looked at Hood's phone which he borrowed before she went to take a bath. He checked their social media which specially made for use by ALASUC ship girls, indeed there are some ruckus that he haven't been sighted all afternoon especially by Akagi who seems to be 'very' curious on his disappearance. But Queen Elizabeth and Illustrious handled it like a pro, they basically said that William have to go to the other island for a bit for personal reason…well, that's technically not a lie, he did went over to the other island, this date is indeed a personal reason. He really need to thank those two later, they saved his ass…His ear picked up some humming that came from the bathroom, Hood seems to take her time in the shower.

Not going to lie, William has 'expectations'. Can anyone thought up a reason on why a woman would invite a man to stay over on a private cottage after a date, away from everybody else other than to sleep together? No? Thought so. He took shower first, making sure to clean his body from grime, sweat and he scrubbed his nether area and his armpits longer than usual as to make sure it's really clean. Nervous? He's about to sleep with his secretary, who happens to confessed her feelings to him and pretty sure would be his girlfriend by the end of the day so yes! He is nervous! Not even when he slept with Lena for the first time made him this nervous to be honest, but he's a bit drunk at that time so it's totally different because right now he's very conscious and his heart beating excitedly…

Shit, facing down a horde of Sakura Empire infantry charging at him while shouting 'Tenno heika banzai!' is a lot less nerve wracking than this to be honest. Calm down Will, you knew why she purposely invited you, both of you are grown adult that made it pretty clear that you both are interested at each other, this is consensual, pretty soon you would have that magnificent, beautiful woman beneath you, out of breath, face flushed as he pound her-

"…Okay…Jumping the gun too early there" William muttered to himself.

Really, he need to control himself better. William opted to look at Hood's phone again…Hmm, the background wallpaper is a picture of him and her standing together in their ceremonial uniform for their official resume. He stood tall beside her with his Azur Lane officer uniform while Hood dressed in her usual uniform, got to admit that both of them looked so great together. William stood straight, with professional stern face, ceremonial sword in his right hand and looking all badass. Hood stood straight to his left, hands crossed on her stomach like a noble and she smiled elegantly…William felt satisfied looking at the wallpaper so he swipe to see her list of installed application, other than the standard one installed on the phone he found that Hood didn't really have other application installed. She do have a game installed, some kind of dress up game or something…

"I hope I'm not taking too long" Hood suddenly said out loud.

"You sure took your time" William said to Hood as he put her phone on the table.

William sit up and stared at Hood, dressed in the provided white bathrobe near the bed while she smiled at him. Her long blonde hair is still a bit wet and flow freely, her skin still glistened a bit from the water she used to bathe, she then walked over and sat beside William before she took her phone on the nightstand, she checked over it for a bit before she set the phone on airplane mode before she put it back on the nightstand. Both William and Hood smiled at each other, heart beating quickly in mix of anticipation, eagerness and…arousal.

"…I think we both know what we want, are you sure?" William asked Hood with serious face.

"I've made up my mind, let's proceed shall we?" Hood asked William while she smiled.

…Oh well then, it would seems both of them are resolved. William and Hood threw away any barrier that might be a hindrance as they leaned in, their face meet halfway, lips connected as both individual hand's brought each other closer. Hood circled her arms around his neck, William circled his arms around her waist. William had to widened his eye in surprise when he sensed something entered his mouth, Hood asked for an 'adult' kiss huh? That's what he gave her, french kiss full of lust and passion as their tongue danced with each other. Both of them battled for dominance, William being a man who don't take kindly being challenged and Hood who's assertive with full confidence in her advances…After french kissing each other for a full minute both of them finally let go of each other, panting slightly as in that heated kiss they forgot to breathe. Hood moved in front of William who sat by the edge of the bed, she slowly undo the binding on William's bathrobe, when it came loose the bathrobe split into two which revealed his heaving muscly chest, the prominent abs on his abdomen before it shown a clean shaved big cock with rosy red tips standing at the attention and two dangling balls beneath it.

Hood had to say, despite seeing William's dick few times in the past she couldn't helped but to gasped a bit at the size up close. The nineteen centimeter rod looked so intimidating yet inviting, Hood smiled a bit as her right hand reached for it and grabbed the penis. William inhaled sharply, Hood's right hand felt as smooth as silk, she has some trouble to fully wrap her fingers around his cock but that doesn't matter. Hood could feel it, the pulse that the cock gives, the subtle throbbing veins near the surface, the heat it radiates and she almost thought it's as a separate life form…Hood started to moved her hand, slowly all the way to the base before moving toward the glands, when she heard William groaned in what appears to be pleasured voice Hood kept the pacing…William stared down to see his secretary giving him a handjob while she stared at his penis in amazement, the movement is amateurish, her grip is a bit awkward but regardless the pleasure is more than enough to offset that little detail. The man widened his eye few seconds later though, because Hood's face approached his penis before he felt something touched the tip of his penis and he arched his head back a bit at the rush of pleasure…

Using her tongue to lick the tip of his penis multiple times like ice cream, Hood could tasted something a bit salty as precum started to ooze from William's urethra. The combination of the musky manly smell, the taste of his precum and the heat his penis radiated are more than enough to send Hood in a dazed state as she unconsciously opened her mouth a bit and kissed the tip of the penis. She could heard William groaned again and a switch was flipped inside her, the mischievous and assertive side is taking control as she opened her mouth wider and took the tip inside her mouth…William looked down only to see Hood slowly but surely swallowing his cock! Bit by bit he could see his penis disappearing inside her mouth, the heat of her mouth quickly enveloped his penis in a pleasant warmth and when his tip reached the base of her throat William had to grit his teeth as he is close to cumming! He couldn't believe it to be honest, Hood's first blowjob include a deep throat and she didn't gagged even after taking in his full size? How the fuck?!

"Ah…Hood…" William called out her name.

The woman only stared at him in amusement before she slowly moved her head, up and down up and down in slow pace that honestly put William in combination of pleasure and agony. He wanted her to speed up, but at the same time he wanted her to go with her own pace…Hood used her hands to spread William's legs apart for a bit, giving her more room to work with the meat rod. She quickened her pace, bobbing her head in a medium pacing. Hood could feel it, the pulse started to quickened and his penis grew a bit which according to the article alongside number of smuts she read mean he's close to ejaculate. That's when she choose to go maximum speed, bobbing her head in a turbo and determined to milk his first load. William was feeling helpless, his legs are being held by Hood, her mouth rapidly assaulting his penis and he could feel his cum quickly ascending to the tip of his cock. So his instinct kicked in, his hands went to grabbed Hood's head who widened her eyes a bit before William jammed his cock as deep as he could inside Hood's mouth. He moved swiftly, pumping his cock in and out of her mouth, raping her throat in quick pace before he jammed it as deep as he could for the final thrust.

"I'm cumming Hood!" William said to Hood through his gritted teeth.

With that William released his first load without restraint, admittedly a premature one since Hood didn't cut him any slack with her blowjob but the volume isn't to be underestimated. Hood widened her eyes as the penis inside her mouth pumped torrent of sperm directly down her throat, she didn't get to taste it, all she could sense is how the hot liquid are gushing inside her throat for quite a bit, with each pulse of the penis a new torrent is sent out…After his orgasm stopped, William took out his penis which resulted in Hood coughing a bit…that was some experience, Hood didn't expect William to suddenly grabbed her head and started moved his penis by himself so she's quite surprised. Not to mention the gushing load he let out inside her throat, after all of that Hood felt she need some time to regain her bearings…

"…Sorry, I think I got carried away" William said to Hood while he frowned.

"…It's alright…although a warning would be appreciated next time" Hood said to William.

"Yeah…For now, I'll return the favor" William said to Hood.

William grabbed Hood by the armpit, lifted her up and laid her on top of him so she faced the ceiling. Hood didn't understand what will William do to her, but she'll let him do what he wants since it would seems William would repay her for that blowjob. Suddenly Hood felt William's hand sneaked through her bathrobe and started massaging her right breast which caused her to let out a moan of pleasure, William's right hand expertly kneaded with her boobs and played with her pink nipple then alternating between the two acts…His left hand softly caressed her stomach region, massaging it and softly pressed it on top of the region where her uterus is located…William also kissed Hood in the left lower neck from behind which illicit more sensual moan out of her pink lips, he continue to sucked, nibble and licked the spot that Hood is certain that it would become a hickey tomorrow.

"Will, you're-. Ahn!" Hood who's about to say something suddenly moaned.

That's because William who used his left hand to travelled further down, passing her pubic mound which is free of hair, all the way to her pussy which is pink in color and admittedly very wet. He inserted his middle finger which elicited a moan out of her, slowly William moved his left middle finger, moving it in and out of her vagina in slow pace…Hood did masturbate in the past, only few times in the course of her lifetime and but even that give her enough experience so she could felt the difference between touching herself and being touched by someone else. The pleasure increased several fold, her vagina have become a wet mess, her arousal is at the maximum and she'll do anything so she could cum…William's slow pace have become unbearable to her as he only jammed one finger in, she needs more and she need him to move faster!

"Ah…Will…more" Hood said to William in sensual tone.

"As you wish" William said to Hood while he smirked.

William plunged not one, but three fingers at once and that caused Hood to jerk her head backwards a bit at the suddenness of that insertion. Despite his left hand haven't fully healed yet, William was glad to know that his left hand is now functional and he's also glad that his nails haven't fully grown again so he won't have a problem fingering the lovely lady on top of him. William's three big fingers plunged in and out of Hood while at the same time he kicked in the gear and increased his pace, her sweet moans only served to boost his confidence and fueled his arousal. William stopped fondling her breast as his right hand moved toward her pussy, he fondled the surface for a bit while he kept fingering her until he found what he seek…William could feel something like a protrusion, small, warm and begged to be played with…Yes, that's her clitoris which he pinched lightly few moments later.

"AAAHHH!" Hood screamed in pleasure as her head jerked further back, mouth open and her tongue stuck out a little.

"Hmm, look what I found" William whispered to Hood's left ear while he grinned.

He felt that he tortured Hood enough for the moment so he intended to finish her off, William hastened his pacing with his left hand while at the same time he massaged her clitoris with his right hand. Hood had never experienced such pleasure, it caused her mind to become hazy, her vision unclear and her body unbelievably hot. She started to sweated, her breathing become ragged, her chest heaving, her breast swaying due to her movements, her arms latched on William's own arms and her legs planted firmly on the bed…Hood could feel something bubbling in her lower stomach, she felt like want to pee but know that this release would be quite enjoyable because she knew she's close to ejaculating. She turned to the left for a bit, seeing William's face for a fracture of seconds before the man swooped in and started to french kissed her again…Her defenses failed completely, the combination of the fingering and the french kiss that resulted in a hot tango of tongue inside her mouth proved to be overwhelming.

"MMH! MMMMPPPPPHHHHHH!" Hood cried is muffled because of the kiss.

William's hand suddenly splashed by a stream of hot liquid hitting his palm, the woman above him is convulsing and shook heavily in pleasure but not even that prevented him from quickly thrusting his fingers and played with her clit. All of that in effort to help her, so Hood could ride her orgasm as long as she could which resulted in Hood has eyes rolling upwards as she drowned in pleasure, this is her best orgasm to date…The stream of liquid stopped, her orgasm is finished and the woman panting as her body went limp above William. The man slowly pulled out his fingers which caused Hood to yelped a bit as her pussy is still sensitive in her post orgasm state, William stared at his drenched hand in awe mixed with amazement…her squirt could be categorized as Niagara falls eh? William looked down and noted that even the bed isn't sparred from her powerful orgasm since it became wet.

"You squirted magnificently Hood, is it that good?" William asked Hood while he smirked.

"Y…Yesh…" Hood answered in her dazed state.

"Heh, good to know my fingers could work wonders" William said out loud.

The man realized that doing all of that have caused his erection to rage wildly, it's stood erect and waiting for its deployment so maybe William would give it just that. William let Hood down gently on the bed as he moved in front of her, he aligned their crotches with one another as he took in the view…Hood, his secretary, his lover, with her beautiful blonde locks, half opened misty blue eyes, mouth agape as she still trying to control her breathing, pink lips begging to be kissed again, there's a reddish spot on her left neck as proof of his work, her breast heaving due to her breathing, her pink nipples stood erect in arousal, her smooth stomach, her hairless pubic mound and finally at her beautiful slit, a perfectly shaped vagina, convulsing in need and begging for his cock to ram it inside her…

"Hood…can I?" William asked Hood for her consent.

"…Yes…you may…take me" Hood said to William while she smiled widely.

William nodded his head, he raised Hood's hips a bit, putting her legs around his waist and aligned his cock toward her vagina in a classical missionary style. He slowly used the tip of his cock and slid it across her pussy from her vagina to her clitoris, it illicit a moan from the lady…William noted that her pussy is very wet, he shouldn't have a problem at all inserting his cock…William aligned his penis to her vagina before he pushed it inside very slowly, he want to make sure Hood is as comfortable as possible. Bit by bit his penis slowly made its way inside her, the woman occasionally groaned as the big meat rod slowly burrowed inside her vagina…William felt his penis stumbled upon something like barrier, he knew right there and then that Hood is a virgin so this would potentially hurt. Hood stared at William who also stared at her, she only need to nod once to give him the green light and William nodded in return as confirmation. The man stroke her clitoris a bit to distract Hood before he pushed his penis inside as deeply as he could in one go…

"NGH!" Hood groaned as she shut her eyes, despite her wet vagina and aroused state the deflowering process is still a bit painful.

"You alright? Does it hurt badly?" William asked Hood in concerned tone.

"…Ngh…Yes, it hurt a bit…please wait" Hood said to William as she gritted her teeth.

William looked downwards to see his penis buried inside of her vagina, small trickle of red blood could be seen coming out of her pussy and coating the base of his penis in red…She bled a bit more than St. Louis and Prinz, no no no! William shook his head sideways a bit, he shouldn't think of other woman right now. What's important is the woman in front of him, he should focused on her solely and pleasure her to the best of his ability…Hood finally eased down, she could feel his penis inside her vagina. William's cock is pulsating, hot and felt invasive that it caused some slight discomfort…But she knew she'll get used to it, she'll get used to his size as time pass and…she knew she will enjoy it. Her vagina that didn't know a man's penis before have finally known one, she stared at the penis that popped her cherry, took away her virginity, the one that marked her and she internally swore it would be her first and only penis that she allowed to penetrate her from now on…

"You could move now Will" Hood said to William while she smiled.

"Alright" William said to Hood.

Thus he started to move, pushed in and pulled out inside Hood's vagina in slow movement. He didn't realized it before but Hood's vagina is tight! Very tight! As if she didn't want to let him go or something, the hot fleshy walls massaged his cock as he move and he found that he will get addicted to her pussy. William thrust in deeply and the tip of his penis kissed her cervix, Hood's head arched backwards a bit, mouth opened in shock, her tongue stuck out a bit, eyes rolled above a little as she gasped in experiencing that new, strange yet somehow pleasurable sensation. William smirked when he saw that he's more than adequate to pleasure her, he's surely will make a hot mess out of her, his chest heaving as something started to bubble from the inside of his heart…a desire…a desire to dominate Hood, to make her submit to him, to mark her as his-

"Ngh…Ah…Ahn…" Hood moaned in pleasure.

"Hood…you're tight" William said to Hood.

"Fufu…Ah…Can you go faster?" Hood asked William.

"Alright" William nodded his head.

William increased his pacing, he started to thrust in a moderate pacing, kissing her cervix with each thrust. He extended his hands forward, his right hand brushed over Hood's pink lips, William stared at her half lidded eyes which are filled with excitement, anticipation and pleasure…His left hand moved toward her breast, cupping her right one, massaging it, kneading it as he enjoyed the springy and rich sensation. William leaned in forward, he hovered above her before he lowered his face and kissing her. Hood returned his kiss, filled with warmth and affection. No tongue involved but it still caused her heart to race…William break apart and put his head beside Hood's right side on top of the pillow as he continue to pump his penis inside her, Hood occasionally moaned which she directed her mouth to William's right ear on purpose, to further entice him, to rile him up and to cause his arousal to hit the roof. She have completely fell to the pleasure of sex, she's not thinking straight anymore.

"Will" Hood called out his name in soft tone.

"…Yeah?" William asked Hood as his face still buried on the pillow.

"I'm ovulating today" Hood said to William in soft tone.

…That might be just a simple trivia that she decided to tell him on a whim, she knew that it won't change her chance to get pregnant from a normal intercourse but that was enough to caused William to raise his head and returned to his original position in front of her. His eye wide and his mouth opened for a bit, Hood raised her eyebrows in wonder on whether she made him uncomfortable…Mixed of thoughts swirled inside William's head as he slowly stared at Hood in a blank like gaze, her eyes would be the eyes that stared affectionately at their child, her mouth that will sing a lullaby to them alongside soothing words when they cry, the large breast with erect nipples that will breastfeed their child, the stomach that will bulge in the next nine months as their child grew inside of her, the womb at the tip of his cock which entrance have opened due to her arousal, ready to receive his cum filled with his fertile sperm, her vagina that's pulsating and convulsing as her hot meaty walls ready to massage his penis in effort to milk him…Aroused and filled with satisfaction alongside love, Hood is ready to breed and her body is ready to get pregnant. In turn to response this biological signal, William is ready to impregnate her as his testicles worked on overdrive to produce as much sperm as it could. His desire taking full control of his consciousness, he will breed her, he will get her pregnant and he have zero reservation to do it. Fuck the aftermath, fuck the consequences, fuck the what ifs. All he care right now is to mate and impregnate the woman in front of him…

"AAAHHHNN!" Hood suddenly screamed out in pleasure.

William thrust his penis into Hood without restraint, his body leaned toward her as he penetrated her cervix and jammed the tip of his penis inside her womb. The woman could only screamed in total pleasure, her hands reached out and latched on William's backside, grabbing it, scratching his skin with her nails, the pleasure overwhelmed her, she's losing her strength and in the last ditch effort she crossed her legs behind William which effectively trapping him thus preventing him from pulling out...William growled, that's just what he wants as he has zero intention to pull out. He pumped inside her in quick pace, each thrust filled with carnal desire and pure animalistic lust to dominate his mate. Hood moaned as William fucked her viciously, she couldn't move or talk properly and all she could do is to surrender as William gave her a rough fucking. Hood kissed him and William started to increased his pacing, his cock started to pulsating quickly, his penis grew in size and his cum is about to burst out of his cock.

"Ngrah!" William groaned out loud as he jammed his penis as deep as he could.

Hood arched her head backwards, mouth opened in silent scream, eyes widened as she felt William's penis jammed deep inside her womb. Then, she almost fell unconscious as William finally sprayed his hot cum directly inside her uterus. The first shot immediately flooded her womb with his thick jellylike white cum, then another shot came immediately after the first shot and just like that his cum steadily yet rapidly filled her insides. His instinct told him to pour out as much sperm as he could in single ejaculation, making sure to paint her insides white in every nook and cranny…Hood felt it all, how each pulse on his cock is followed with a hot stream of cum spraying inside her womb and that eventually pushed her to the limit as she orgasm for the second time of the day...After what felt like eternity of William filling her inside and how she squirted out in pleasure, the both of them finally stopped cumming. Both panted in exhaustion, they stared at one another as they couldn't figure out the words regarding what they want to say to one another.

William pulled out his dick which limped a bit after pouring so much sperm inside Hood, her legs spread apart and he looked down to watch the steady stream of his cum flooded out of Hood's convulsing vagina and made a huge white puddle beneath her. William was surprised a bit, as even half a minute later the cum flow didn't stop coming out of her…he came that much? Really? The amount would've straight up impregnate a normal girl on their dangerous days. Hood still regaining her composure and her scattered thoughts, lips formed into wide smile because that was the best sexual experience she ever had. Being fucked roughly by William's large dick and having her womb filled to the brim, that seems to awakened something inside her…Being dominated like that felt so good and she might grow addicted to being creampied.

"…Wow" William finally said something.

"Hah…you are eager, Will. You could pour out this much in one ejaculation?" Hood said to William as she sat up and stared at the mess beneath her.

"Yeah...Hood, that was a blast" William said to Hood.

"Ufufu…yes, I felt great too…It's my first time and yet, you make it so enjoyable…despite that rough pace in the end" Hood said to William while she smiled.

"Um…yeah, I was a bit rough near the end am I? Sorry about that" William said to Hood as he frowned a bit.

"Oh don't be…In fact, I hope you're not all talk with your stamina and 'prowess'" Hood said to William.

"Hmm?" William hummed as he stared at Hood with cocked eyebrows.

Hood switched from seated into all fours, crawling on top of the bed, her ass directed at William who couldn't help but to stare at her still quivering pink pussy in full view. The woman looked back at him while she smirked, eyebrows wiggling and she wiggled her right index finger in inviting manner. William bit his lower lip at the sensual invitation, if she want to get more action? Well, he'll give it to her…William approached Hood, he raised his right hand and slapped her right ass.

SLAP!

"Kyaa!" Hood yelped in surprise…and pleasure.

William stroked his cock rapidly as he stared at Hood's pink pussy and her pink anus in the effort to get his cock erect as quickly as he could, it worked as few seconds later as he's ready for another round…William plunged inside Hood's pussy once more, this time without her hymen in the way he's free to jammed his cock as deep as he could. The woman moaned out loud as William rapidly hammered her from behind in doggy style, the man then grabbed on her boobs from behind, latching on it as he keep pumping his penis without restraint. Her sweet moaning caused him to grabbed her legs, he spread her legs a part for a bit, giving him the clear access for her vagina before he grabbed on her thighs for support as he started to thrust quickly into her. Hood's arm lose its strength and she fell face first into the pillow, her arms powerless as she laid there with her ass raised toward William.

SLAP!

"AHN!' Hood yelped again.

"You seems to have masochistic side to you, Hood" William said out loud while he grinned.

William kept thrusting into her while he removed her bathrobe and throwing it to the side, now Hood is completely naked and the man grinned in satisfaction. William stared at her glistening white skin due to her sweat, the exciting combination smell of sex, their scent and the smell of their soap. His hands roamed as he keep fucking her, her plump ass which he could argue to be the best ass in Royal Navy, her wide child bearing hips and her perfectly sized boobs. William could feel that he's about to cum again, he will make sure to pour all of his cum inside her too. His thrust went from quick short thrust into deep thrust with jackhammer speed…

"Ah!" Hood moaned out loud.

"I'm going to cum Hood" William said to hood.

"Ngh! I-Inside! Cum inside me, Will!" Hood said to William.

"No need to tell me where!" William said to Hood.

His penis once again penetrated her cervix and William unload his third load inside Hood, thick white cum poured inside her womb and filling it again with considerable volume. Hood moaned as she could feel her insides being filled to the brim again, however she realized that this time his orgasm is much shorter than his second one but he still managed to fill her easily. William pulled back a bit before he thrust forward again that caused Hood to yelped in surprise, because it turns out he's not finished yet. Fresh stream of cum flooded her inside again, he kept doing it for a while to wring out as much cum as he could…After his orgasm died down, William took out his dick and sat on the bed as he watched cum flowing out of Hood's pussy, she tried to sit up but she fell on her butt instead, robbing him of the chance to admire his hard work…

"Ah…Will~…" Hood called out his name in soft tone.

"…Satisfied, hmm?" William asked Hood as he hugged her from behind.

"No, not yet…Hey, could we go again? Just one more?" Hood asked William as she turned around and pecked him on the lips.

"I don't know~" William said to Hood while he grinned.

"Oh don't be so mean, I know this magnificent battleship grade gun could still go once more" Hood said to William as she stroked his penis gently.

"Oho…If you want it so much, then do your best to ready it" William said to Hood while he smirked.

"Challenge~ Accepted~!" Hood said to William while she grinned.

That's how William found himself being grabbed, pushed back to the bed as Hood straddled him while smirking. Hood quickly get to work, her arousal isn't sated yet and she will do whatever it takes to make sure it will. She sat on William's stomach, she slowly caressed his muscly chest while she stared at him with eyes full of mirth. The woman leaned in a bit, she went closer then she kissed William on the base of his neck. She's just repaying him for what he did to her before, she nibbled on his skin and playfully bite the spot which caused William to groaned in pleasure…Oh that will leave a mark, love bites like that always do. Hood suddenly widened her eyes in surprise, that's because while she's busy giving William a hickey the man already get erect again and he jammed his penis inside Hood without giving her a head's up.

"Surprise~" William said to Hood while he grinned.

"…You meanie. Fine, here's my retaliation" Hood said to William while she frowned playfully.

"Guh!" William suddenly groaned.

Hood have started to move, riding his cock in cowgirl position and she did not have the intention to give him any slack. She used his stomach as anchor point while she ride his cock, despite being only her third time having a penis inside her she's able to ride it expertly. William didn't take kindly being dominated, but he suppose he could let Hood to have fun this time as he let her ride him. The man settled by grabbing her thighs and hold on to it, he smirked a bit as he noted that Hood have slowed down her pacing for a bit.

"What's the matter Hood, tired?" William asked Hood while he smirked.

And that successfully riled her up, she furrowed her brows as she hastened her pace. William decided to help her by moving his pelvis to meet with hood halfway, she yelped in surprise and without realizing the dominant position between them have changed. William savagely thrust his penis into her from below, the tip of his penis kept hitting her deepest part. The man moved his hands further back and grabbed Hood's ass, he stretched her butt cheeks apart few times.

"Ngh…I didn't know you're an arse man…" Hood said to William while she grinned.

"I'm a bit of everything. Your boobs, your arse, your lips…" William said to Hood.

"Ufufu…Feel free to touch them…They. Are. Yours~" Hood said to William while she smiled.

William grinned as he moved his hands from her ass to her back, he brought her closer to him and started to pound into her from below. Both of their face only few centimeters away from one another as they continued to fuck, Hood leaned in and kissed William on the lips again. She really like kissing him, Hood really liked to connect her lips with him and she knew…she will get addicted to it. William pushed her back a bit by massaging her breast again, he felt that he have gotten acquainted with Hood's body now. He remembered the firmness of her butt, the springy sensation of her boobs, the taste of her lips, her sweet scent…he remembered it all. William stopped thrusting, he moved up a bit toward Hood and he leaned in on her neck.

"Ha-ahn!" Hood moaned out loud.

…Instead of giving her another hickey, William opted to nibbled on her throat. Hood is close to cumming just from that act alone, having her throat being nibbled like that sent rush of pleasure down her spine. It's like she's a prey that got ambushed by her predator, the thrill felt so enjoyable…William spun her around and laid her down then he continue to thrust his penis inside her, he pinned her down to bed in mating press position. He started to quicken his pace, William could feel his orgasm swiftly approaching. This will be his last orgasm, he's simply out of cum for the day despite his stamina still holds out. William is determined to squeezed every bit of sperm he has left on him, he placed his head on Hood's right side, burying his face into the pillow again, his breathing heavy from the nonstop sex they had, Hood's constant moans of pleasure served as the fuel for him to keep his pace and after a while William could feel his cum started to well up.

"Will…Ahn…I'm close…so close!" Hood said to William in breathless tone.

"M-Me too…let's cum together" William said to Hood.

William kicked in the gear as he started to pound in turbo speed toward her, his penis kept hitting her cervix again and he executed his signature move for the finisher during sex…cervix penetration. He jammed his cock as deep as he could again, he's rewarded with Hood loud moans of ecstasy and he released his pent up cum deep inside her womb. Hot torrents of sperm gushing out of William's penis and filled Hood's uterus, William pulled back a bit then jammed his cock again to release every cum he has left inside his balls. Hood cried out as she cummed for the third time, her nectar gushed out at the same time as her inside being filled with sperm…Both of them panted as they touched their sweaty forehead with one another, both are exhausted, their lust dying down and the two of them felt…satisfied.

"Ah…Ah…Ah…Will…I love you" Hood said to William while she smiled.

"…I love you too, Hood" William said to Hood, both of them then leaned in and kissed each other.

.

…The next day, few kilometers off the ground, the ship girls enjoyed their flight back to their base in an airliner. Souryuu have successfully negotiate an entire plane to be used by them, many ship girls haven't got their chance to ride an aircraft so when they found out they will ride one they are happy with the chance. After saying their goodbye to the Eden's employee then thanked them for the one week vacation, running some roll call to make sure no one get left behind, the aircraft take off and begin its three hours flight to their base. William sat contently as he stared outside the window, after he see that there aren't any dark clouds on the horizon he continue to read the magazine on his hands.

"Enjoyed your date night, milord?" Illustrious who sat beside William asked him.

"…You could say that" William said to Illustrious.

"I reckon, this morning when I stared at Hood, I immediately knew that you two didn't just settle for simple kiss for after date" Illustrious said to William.

"How did you know?" William asked Illustrious with cocked eyebrows.

"I mean, look at her. She is beaming" Illustrious said to William.

Both of them stared at the next row beside them, Hood sat with Wales and Victorious as the three of them talked about some topic. William squinted his eye a bit when he noticed it, Hood haven't stopped smiling, her face somehow looked 'brighter' than usual and she's full of energy as she talked with the two of them, bordering in breaking her 'elegance' even…Now he understood what Illustrious means, Hood did look so happy for whatever reason.

"That, and the way she walked this morning is a bit funny. So, I presumed that you slept with her" Illustrious said to William while she smiled a bit.

"…Since you covered for Hood and I yesterday, I'm going to be honest and said yes I do" William said to Illustrious.

"Fufu…I knew it" Illustrious said to William.

"I'd like to reward you for your action yesterday, is there anything you want?" William asked Illustrious while he smiled a bit.

"Yes, how about the chance for a date like her?" Illustrious asked William without hesitation.

"Wow…You didn't beat around the bushes" William said to Illustrious.

"I think, with the way things are going, I have to resort into more direct approach" Illustrious said to William while she smiled.

"…I see…Alright, we'll go once we both can find an empty schedule. It's going to be busy from now on" William said to Illustrious while he smiled.

"Ufufufu, I'm looking forward to it" Illustrious said to William while she smiled.

* * *

…**Well, that took a while and without realizing it reached 20k words...But yeah, no going back now William, the wheels are in motion and all you can do now is to follow the following events hahahaha. This chapter supposed to be released few days ago but it got held up for a bit, aside from real world stuff I've spent quite some time for this Aurora Noctis event. Howe quickly became my favorite ship, her mannerism and her designs are simply magnificent, she's my favorite girl on this event…As usual, thank you for the follow, favorite and review dear readers, with this, the vacation arc is concluded so it's time to get back at killing Sirens and beating terrorists. Stay tuned for the next chapter!**

**See you next time!**

**\- Dasmara**


	30. Operation PHALANX

…To put it bluntly, William and the ship girls couldn't say a damn word because their base although still familiar have definitely been modified. William noted that the administration building is larger than before, with two additional floor added and remodeled to look good as new. Their canteen have been modified, there are large glass wall that displayed the canteen's interior and the second floor which previously has solid wall have been overhauled to look exactly like the first floor canteen. The building also has four large helipad on top of it, seems they won't have to be concerned regarding parking space anymore. The munition building is far larger than before, no doubt the storage capacity also doubled so they could store more ammo. Akashi and Shiranui shop looked relatively untouched, only given fresh coat of paint…Guess the Manjuus won't want to modify it and risking upsetting the owner. Nevertheless, that's only the surface level make over, they haven't even seen the inside yet.

"…Whoa" William said out loud.

"They really make over everything, it still has the same design but…It's larger? Has more floors on it?" Bismarck commented as she surveyed their new base.

"I don't even know how the Manjuus are capable to do this in just a week" Enterprise said out loud in amazement.

"Ladies, feel free to explore the base or retire to the dorms" William said out loud to the ship girls.

"You heard the commander, let's go everyone" Enterprise said out loud.

Majority of the ship girl felt jetlagged and many of them choose to head straight for the dormitory while the few that remains went to check the administration building, William was about to follow suit until he remembered something. William went around the administration building and his lips curled into a smile, that's because the wooden cabin? It's there, just besides the administration building. A wooden cabin, surrounded by wooden fencing, there are stone pathway on top of the grassy front yard, a large tree near the left side, its front porch has a wooden round table and four wooden chairs on it alongside two wooden bench…William stared around as he slowly walked inside the cabin, he approached the front door, twisted the handle and opened the door to survey the interior…

"…Home, eh?" William commented to himself.

As expected, there's a spacious living room with comfy sofa, love seat, coffee table, a large flatsceen TV and a fireplace. William thrown himself on the sofa, he inspected the softness as he put the duffel bag beside him. The sofa is very comfortable to sit on, he really could fell asleep on the sofa if he wants to. William looked ahead toward the coffee table and noted that the remote for the TV is there. He turned on the TV and inspected the channels, premium cable? Well shit, looks like he won't run out of something to watch…William stood up and head for the kitchen area where everything are nicely set, the stove microwave hybrid, the refrigerator which have been filled with ingredients, the rack which filled with plates, glass and cutlery, a sink and there's dining table with four chairs.

William went outside to the backyard for a bit, he noted that the backyard has nothing except for a picnic table and griller. The man went back inside and checked the bathroom, not as spacious as the one Lucas has on Eden but still well-equipped nevertheless. Wide bathtub, shower unit, sink, toilet, it's all there and William nodded his head in approval. He then took off to the second floor and noted that there are four rooms…A master bedroom with king sized bed, two guest bedroom and an empty room…Maybe William could use the empty room for his study? After he's satisfied he went down to the basement area and he went full on grin.

Armory, full of guns and ammo ready to be used. Workshop with tools and storage for the needed resources, hell fucking yes this is the dream house! William briefly skimmed the armory's content to note that the guns are mostly on Azur Lane's side, he's trained to use them so that wouldn't be a problem. The workshop is ready in case he ever wants to work on something, maybe he'll let Akashi come in here in case he need her to work on a secret project of his. Before he could check the storage however he heard someone descending the stairs to the basement, that someone is Hood who looked around the room with a smile on her face.

"…What a nice house" Hood commented while she smiled.

"Yeah, I have to give Lucas my heartfelt thanks" William said to Hood as he smiled.

"I'm sure you will" Hood said to William before she suddenly embraced him from the front.

"Hmm? So eager for skinship?" William asked Hood while he smiled as he hugged her back.

"Illustrious hogged you for herself on the plane and Belfast have been by your side during the bus ride, I finally could have you for myself" Hood said to William as she planted her face on his muscly chest.

"Hahaha…Fair point" William said to Hood while he smiled.

Yup, she is pouting for the entire trip during the ride back to the base with the bus. While Illustrious sat beside him during the airplane ride and basically hogged him for herself, Belfast took the seat beside him during the bus ride and basically also hogged him for herself. Needless to say, Hood felt quite jealous that she couldn't spend her time with him for the entire day. That is why when she saw that he entered this new house alone, she knew she should 'ambush' him inside and probably have some fun…Unfortunately, she also visited because she have to relay something to him. Otherwise, she would've just spend her time with him here.

"…You have a message on the office computer, someone called Serina Blaze. Do you know her?" Hood asked William.

"Yeah, she's my sister" William said to Hood as he widened his eye.

"Is that so? Well, she said she'll be waiting for your response. I suggest you answer as soon as you can" Hood said to William as she released him from her hug.

"Agreed…Feel free to stay as long as you like Hood, I'm going to the office for a bit" William said to Hood.

"Alright…Oh and Will" Hood said to William.

"Mhm?" William hummed in acknowledgement.

"…I bought a phone for you, it should arrive in few hours" Hood said to William.

"Really?" William asked Hood with widened eye.

"Someone with a rank and responsibility like you need to be easily contacted" Hood said to William while she smiled.

"Hehe, thanks Hood. I haven't really thought about buying a new one since we have to go to Eden" William said to Hood while he smiled.

"Its fine, isn't that what a girlfriend supposed to do? Taking care of her boyfriend when he needs it?" Hood asked William as she smiled softly.

"And vice versa, don't hesitate to ask for my help when you needs it" William said to Hood while he smiled softly.

"Fufu, understood" Hood said to William while she smiled back.

What a lucky man he is to have a girlfriend as attentive as her! William smiled as he exited his new house and entered the new administration building, he entered his office and noted despite all the changes his office is basically left untouched. He sat on the office chair then he boot up his office computer terminal, indeed there's a message on the terminal that came from his sister. William however didn't recognize the number she used, but he make the call regardless of that…His call was picked up, there's a young woman with long flowing blonde hair in front of him, her blue eyes widened in surprise and her lips slowly curled into a small smile as she looked at the man who called her.

"…Serina" William said to Serina.

"…Hey there bro" Serina, William's little sister said to William.

"I've been trying to contact you for a while, months even. Why didn't you pick up my call or respond to my messages?" William asked Serina while he frowned.

"…Well, promise me you'll keep open mind?" Serina asked William back as she smiled wryly.

"I got a bad feeling about this" William said out loud with half closed eye.

"To put it shortly, my phone was broken and my email is suspended. Had to work my arse off a bit to get a new phone and created new account" Serina said to William with serious face.

"Why don't you ask mum to help you? Besides, she said that she could still contacted you few weeks ago" William asked Serina as he folded his arms.

"Um…I…don't want…to…you know, troubles her?" Serina said to William while she cringed.

"What are you talking about!? You're her daughter of course she will help you out if you got problems! Stop trying to solve everything on your own!" William said to Serina firmly.

"Alright, alright! I get it! No need to get preachy after we haven't spoke for months!" Serina said to William as she frowned.

"…Hah…Fine, promise me this won't happen again" William said to Serina.

"I promise" Serina said to William while she nodded her head.

William really doubt that statement of hers…Because she's often left by her own Serina have developed high degree of independence from anyone, if she got problems then she will solve it herself. However she usually made things harder for herself when those problems could be solved easily if she just asked for help, to him or their mother for example. But she's just that stubborn, no one could talk her out of it once she's determined to do something. Serina probably work to earn the money to buy a new phone by herself, but what's this about her email being suspended? What did she do? William could get to the bottom of that later…

"…So, how is college?" William asked Serina.

"To be honest, it's fun. The literature department kickarse so far, I might not have lots of friends but it felt really fitting to be here you kno-" Serina said to William while she smiled a bit.

"Pardon my intrusion" Suddenly someone entered William's office.

"Souryuu, what can I help you with?" William asked Souryuu.

"This is the compilation of reports regarding what's added into our base from the makeover. Do you want me to summarize it?" Souryuu asked William as she put a document on his desk.

"Ah, no need I'll read it myself later. Thank you" William said to Souryuu while he smiled.

"In that case, I'll be returning to the dorms" Souryuu said to William then bowed a bit.

"I'm glad to hear you have fun in college Serina" William said to Serina.

"…Yeah, I am. By the way-" Serina said to William.

"Excuse me" Someone entered William's office.

"Enterprise?" William asked Enterprise.

"I know we just returned but one of our radar emitter on the northwest is knocked out, Akashi said she will investigate and repair it so I alongside several other girls will provide escort for her" Enterprise said to William.

"Alright, let me know how it turns out and be careful" William said to Enterprise.

"Aye aye sir" Enterprise saluted at William before she exited the office.

"I'm sorry, what were you saying?" William asked Serina.

"I want to ask you about-" Serina said to William.

"Kommandant~" The office door is opened again and someone came in.

"What is it, Prinz?" William asked Prinz with half closed eye.

"Lord Bismarck would like to have a small dinner celebration tonight, she have invited you to come into Ironblood dorms later" Prinz said to William.

"What time?" William asked Prinz.

"Around seven" Prinz said to William.

"I'll be there and please tell whoever else in front of my office door that I'm busy right now" William said to Prinz with half closed eye.

"Jawohl, mein kommandant~" Prinz said to William while she smiled smugly then winked.

Really, the moment he could speak to his little sister suddenly the whole base seems to become busy. William went quiet for a bit as he could hear Prinz saying something outside the office followed by audible groaning of few girls, welp looks like there are indeed more of them waiting to get inside his office right now. Couldn't they honestly pick a proper timing? But wait, dinner? Bismarck inviting him to come for a dinner celebration? For what occasion? Celebration for the renovation of the base? Probably, he'll attend nevertheless.

"…Sorry about that, we suddenly become a bit busy" William said to Serina with apologetic smile on his face.

"Hey, bro, how many girls you have in there?" Serina asked William with half closed eyes.

"To be honest, around one hundred plus of them" William said to Serina as he shrugged.

"I heard from mum but wow…You're living the life huh" Serina said to William while she smiled.

"Well it's my job, it's my responsibilities to make sure this base keeps running and the ship girls taken care off" William said to Serina.

"I figured. How come you are released from prison and suddenly in charge of them?" Serina asked William with cocked eyebrows.

"Have to thank Lena for that one" William said to Serina while he smiled.

"Oh yes, she's doing well?" Serina asked William.

"Bit complicated but well enough, didn't you have her contact? Why don't you ask her yourself?" William asked Serina with cocked eyebrows.

"I lost everything, even her contact info when my phone broke" Serina said to William while she frowned.

"What, you didn't back up the data?" William asked Serina while he frowned.

"…No" Serina said to William while she cringed.

"Hah…sis, sometimes you baffles me. You are one talented author but how come you're this clumsy? What happened since I left you two years ago huh?" William asked Serina while he scowled.

"…I guess that has to do with my priority management…" Serina said to William while she smiled bitterly.

"I reckon…Well, I have plans to visit London" William said to Serina.

"Any business related?" Serina asked William.

"Nah, just to meet you" William said to Serina.

"Then, could it be possible that you come here on November?" Serina asked William while she smiled a bit.

"End of the year? Why is that? I can visit you in few days" William asked Serina while he frowned.

"No, I'm quite busy with classes and my own projects. Don't want to neglect you while you're here…In November, the university will hold Winter Festival so I think that would be the best time for you to come here" Serina said to William.

…William couldn't help himself to be suspicious on that reasoning, how busy could his sister be for the next few months that she said she wouldn't have time to meet him even for just few days? William sensed that something is off, very off that he's tempted to just visit her later for a surprise visit and find out what the fuck is actually going on with her. However that would definitely anger her and right now he couldn't risk it, better play it safe for now and slowly gather for clues bit by bit. Patience William, remember that those who are patient will reap the rewards later.

"…Alright…If you say so" William said to Serina with a forced smile.

"Great!" Serina said to William while she smiled.

"Serina!" Someone suddenly said out loud.

"I'll be there in a minute! Got to go now bro" Serina said out loud then to William.

"Who is that man?" William asked Serina.

"My…boyfriend?" Serina said to William with a frown on her face…Wait!

"What? You have a boyfriend?!" Really?! She's dating?!

"Hey, who are you calling?" Someone appeared on the video call.

"He's my brother, hey wait-" The call is disconnected.

After the call ended William sighed heavily, he typed few thing on the terminal before a new screen popped out in front of him…It turns out he recorded the whole video call with Serina, William fast forward the video all the way until the man appeared. Then he slowly forward the display frame by frame until he could the face of the man her sister dated…Average Caucasian face, thin beard, brown eyes, looking not that remarkable…Alright, William admitted, he's biased but he's justified regarding the man looking like a prick and the fact that he's not that happy with Serina contacting her brother. Who the fuck is he? Just in case William screenshot the man's face, send it to Lena and asked her to run it with intelligence division to see what he's involved with…

"…Why does the man my sister dated seems like a prick? I got a bad feeling about this…" William said out loud in worried tone.

.

CLACK!

CLACK! CLACK! CLACK!

"HA!"

"ACHK!"

William fell to the side and kneeled as he stopped himself from rolling on the ground, he is panting hard, his clothes are drenched with sweat and his hands trembled while carrying a wooden broadsword in hand. In front of him Warspite stared back at him with her own wooden sword in hand, the woman despite being smaller than him have successfully toyed around with him easily…As promised, Warspite proceed to train William in swordsmanship, they've been at it for more than an hour. Warspite haven't taught him the basic stance yet, when he came this morning to the Royal Dorm Warspite thrown him a wooden sword and ask him to fight her. Really, he expected to swing his weapon a thousand times to get the stance just right like on movies and anime…But Warspite knows best on what to taught him so William choose to go along with it, that's how he end up getting toyed around by Warspite for an hour already.

"You put too much power on that one, if it's deflected it'll leave you open. If I aimed upwards with a real sword, your head would've been decapitated" Warspite said to William.

"Hah…Hah…Hah…" William nodded his head while he panted.

"Again?" Warspite asked William.

"…Hah…again" William said to Warspite as he stood back up.

"At least you are resolved" Warspite said to William while she smirked.

Warspite and William both reset their stance then William begin with a downward strike with his blade which Warspite countered by swinging her sword upwards and resulted in parry, from there the routine came back. William attacked Warspite aggressively, swinging his broadsword with ferocious speed and power put behind it. Warspite only keep parrying or blocking defensively, she smiled even when she's being pushed back around the backyard of the Royal Navy's Dormitory.

"Hup!" William thrust his broadsword at Warspite.

"Ho…" Warspite grinned as she managed to deflect his blade.

That one caught her off guard, looks like after one hour of fighting William have figured out her tendency and habits that he managed to almost nicked her in the chest with his broadsword. It looks like Warspite have to take this fight seriously now, he might be ready for the next level training. Warspite stepped back to avoid a diagonal slash from William before she thrust at William's stomach, the man narrowly deflect the blade but Warspite dashed forward with her sword swinging at him and as the result he still got hit in the stomach.

BUAK!

"…Urgh" William kneeled as he held his stomach, god that hurt!

"A valiant effort, commander. But not enough!" Warspite said to William.

"…A…Again" William said to Warspite.

William reset his stance before advancing with sword at the ready in front of him, Warspite accept his challenge and she will be the attacker this time. The woman lowered herself a bit before she dashed forward with tremendous speed with sword preparing to strike him, William put a guard stance and ready to take on the full brunt of her attack. Warspite frowned a bit in disapproval, he should've deflect her blade but it doesn't seems William have the intention to do that. So she put a full power in her swing, the blade impacted and that successfully staggered even William who's severely larger than her which caused him to stagger backwards in absorbing the powerful impact…See? If he deflect it, William could've stayed in place and he could strike her exposed back…He still have a lot to learn.

"HA!" Warspite charged at William with left diagonal slash.

"AHK!" William groaned in pain as he failed to react in time and have his right arm struck by the wooden sword.

"What's wrong? You had enough?" Warspite asked William as he took a few steps back.

"Hah…hah…again" William said to Warspite as he readied himself again.

"No, we stop here for now" Warspite said to William.

"…What?" William asked out loud with cocked eyebrows.

"Sure, breaking through the limits is a requirement for a training. However, push too far in the wrong condition? And it won't yield any result. This is your day off right? Take a break for fifteen minutes, we'll continue after that…Belfast?" Warspite asked Belfast who's waiting beneath the gazebo.

"Understood…Master, please come over here. I will patch you up" Belfast said to William while she smiled.

William wordlessly walked to the gazebo, his hand still gripped on the two handed broadsword as he made his way to the gazebo where there are several Royal Navy girls watching the whole process. Hood, Formidable, Victorious, Wales, Elizabeth sat together as they drink tea and watched the training process while being surrounded by several maids, William sat on the stairs of the gazebo as Belfast approached him with a medical kit that she have prepared beforehand. Warspite stared at the man as he was being treated, looks like he suffered some soreness and few part on his body seems to be red due to her powerful strikes. Warspite was honestly impressed he could keep up with her training regimen for an entire hour…George V approached Warspite as she also looked at William who's currently being nursed by Belfast, she tapped Warspite shoulder once then stood beside her.

"…You are quite merciless with him, Warspite" George commented out loud.

"If he wants to get better at swordplay quickly, he will need to endure this" Warspite said to George.

"I know, but you didn't exactly use standard procedure with him" George said to Warspite while she smiled a bit.

"…I want to see his fighting behavior first, that way I could adapt to his combat style quickly…Commander William is very aggressive, he aimed to kill his opponent as quickly as he could and it shown as clear as day when he equipped a melee weapon" Warspite said to George.

"Maybe that has to do with the lack of swordsmen on modern day humans, that is why there aren't many that has the proper ability to fight with a sword…He's probably trained to fight with guns more and in case of backup, a hand to hand skill or a knife" George said to Warspite.

In a sense Warspite agreed with her, in modern combat melee kills are usually used during stealth infiltration or last ditch attempt to kill your opponent when the situation is getting desperate. That's why the focus shifted from the primary method to kill into a last resort which also changed the technique being used to execute the attack, however if she remembered correctly the soldiers are also taught on how to fight in a melee combat although with a knife instead of sword. Why didn't they put those technique to use now? No, it's too different…But if she remembered even further, William managed to hold his ground fighting Zuikaku who has a katana and he only used his machete. Then why did he get so beaten up when using that wooden broadsword if he could actually fight well in melee combat using a machete?

"Agreed. But there's something that bugs me" Warspite said to George.

"What is that?" George asked Warspite curiously.

"He's able to hold on against Zuikaku for a while" Warspite said to George as she rubbed her chin a bit.

"Isn't that because he used machete? Could it be that he only need to adjust with the broadsword before he's able to fight better?" George asked out loud while she smiled.

"Quite possible…" Warspite said to George.

"Ouch!" William winced and jerked his body as Belfast rubbed his skin with an ointment for bruising.

"Stay still, master" Belfast said to William as she continue her work.

"Sorry, reflex" William said to Belfast while he frowned.

"These will bruise later, I recommend you to not push yourself too much" Belfast said to William while she smiled.

"Thanks for the tip, Bel" William said to Belfast while he smiled before he stood up.

"Ho, are you ready to go again?" Warspite asked William while she smirked.

"Bring it on, Warspite!" William said out loud while he gripped on his broadsword.

"I think Vestal will have a guest coming today!" Warspite said out loud before both of them crossed swords again.

…William walked back to his house while groaning in pain, the sun is high up in the sky and he want nothing to do but to clean himself and rest after hours of training…no, hours of getting beaten up by Warspite, seriously that little lady is good with blades! William entered his house, took off his shirt and sat on the sofa as he relished in the cool air provided by air conditioner. He need to dry his sweat first, it's not good to take a bath immediately after working out, let your body cool down a little before hitting it with jetstream of cold water or the sudden change of temperature could make one sick later. So William turned on his TV, not like he has any urge to watch any show but so there's an ambience sound to the room. Not long after that he heard the door was knocked few times, William look toward the door where there's a small glass window on it so he could see whoever is at the front door and he noticed a pair of green cat ears…

"Come in Akashi" William said out loud.

"Shikikan! Konnichiwa nyaa! I've completed the schematics for your new armor, want to take a look at it?" Akashi asked William as she sat beside him with a data pad in her hands.

"Sure" William said to Akashi as he nodded.

"I took some liberty in the design since you ask for the jet thruster nyaa, we can use one based on the design of the prototype that was sent here" Akashi said to William as she handed him the data pad.

William looked at the design displayed on the data pad, he immediately smiled upon seeing the armor that's displayed there. The helmet has some kind of lizard head motif on it, the armor overall look less bulky than the previous Albion Armor he used and looks to be designed for agility in mind. William spun the armor around to the back side and he noticed that instead of flat back side armor there's a backpack on there with dual thrusters on its underside, there's also a stabilizer thruster on each limbs which could reverse their direction of thrust at will. Yes! William could finally be a pilot for a titan! Whoops, wrong universe, nevertheless the man is grinning widely because he really like what he's seeing.

"Nice, so the main thruster in the back, two stabilizer near the elbows and two stabilizer thrusters on each legs. Did you use the Wisdom Cube on the old armor?" William asked Akashi while he grinned.

"Hai, the cube is unharmed so it could be used again for this armor. This one is called Serpent Armor" Akashi said to William.

"Hmm? It's not Albion?" William asked Akashi with surprised face.

"While it is based on Albion, the armor is quite different nyaa. For starter, it is lighter than Albion which means the emphasis is on the agility part. This armor will be able to move around quicker than Albion, but it will have less protection so you should be more careful. Despite that, you don't have to worry because the exoskeleton will still have enough power to easily kill hostiles and I will implement many tools to offset the less protection aspect" Akashi said to William while she smiled.

"I see…I like it" William said to Akashi while he grinned.

"Ah, but that's not all nyaa. If you want more protection, then this Praetorian Armor will do" Akashi said to William.

A new design appeared on the data pad that he held, if Serpent Armor gave off the emphasis on agility this one emphasize defense as its primary trait. It looked to be completely protected on all side, larger than even him and looks so bulky. It has no jet thruster whatsoever, the limbs armor are bulky and let's not even mention the torso armor which seems able to tank an RPG warhead. This thing is built to last and William theorized that this armor would possess enough power to carry heavy weaponry with ease, just imagine if he could carry missile launcher, shoulder mounted mortar and Gatling gun in hand? Firing all of those weapon at the incoming enemy as their flimsy bullets didn't work against him? If one thing could feel someone invincible, this armor is…

"It's…bulky" William commented while he rubbed his chin.

"Hai, since this will use bigger exoskeleton based on the schematics that your okaa-san sent to me I have more freedom to put the armor platings and other defensive measures. Supposedly, this will have enough power to kill a normal human with just a single punch and the protection of a tank. As expected, the drawback would be its agility. But, this armor is designed to be equipped with heavy weaponry, Gatling guns, cannons, missile launcher, mortars or even large durable shield for added protection" Akashi said to William.

"…I can see why this would be quite dangerous. One of this could wipe an entire battalion if used correctly…So, we have two armor designs" William said out loud.

"And right now we could only create one…Which one do you want to prioritize, shikikan? Yuubari and I could make the two of them, but we only have the time and resources to build one at the moment" Akashi said to William.

…Alright, real talk, agility or defense? What? There's no option for attack? How about an armor that really focused on taking down your enemies? You know, add some really powerful cannon for armored engagements, machine gun to mow down enemy troops, AA Missiles to shoot down enemy aircraft and you would have a killing machine right there! Oh wait, William thought he could do that with Praetorian Armor, all William need is to put the right configuration for the armaments and he'll be set to kill anything while having powerful defenses at once. Sounds good? Yeah! But William is a trained Commando which mean he valued speed as critical aspect in a warfare. He knows that when fighting against Sirens who have overwhelming firepower if they manage to surround him means he need to have the agility to escape or attack, so based on that conclusion…

"…I'll take the Serpent Armor. Against their weaponry, Praetorian Armor would be quite effective in killing them but I would be stuck if I got surrounded. Serpent Armor would be quite agile to move around and should be effective for hit and run situation, considering the large offset in power balance in our equipment against the Sirens…This will do for now" William said to Akashi.

"Wakatta nyaa, in that case we will proceed with the Serpent Armor" Akashi said to William.

"Thanks for this, Akashi" William said to Akashi while he smiled.

"Don't worry nyaa, although in exchange, can you give me a bit more 'freedom' for resources access? I need it for my experiments nyaa~" Akashi said to William while she smiled smugly.

"…You'll have them" William said to Akashi with half closed eye.

"I knew you'll come around! Good doing business with you, nyaa!" Akashi said to William while she grinned.

Akashi left after she confirmed his order, William found that Akashi might be even smarter than his mother because so far there's nothing she honestly couldn't make. She even managed to miniaturize that large jetpack that Lucas gave them into a small thrusters, what else could she make? Probably should ask her to make something that will help him out in battle but he didn't doubt the cost would make him go broke, why? She's a greedy green cat, what do you expect?! William sighed as he stood up but then he heard knocking on his front door, the man walked towards it and opened it to reveal Illustrious standing behind it with a soft smile on her face.

"Good afternoon, Lord William" Illustrious said to William while she smiled.

"Afternoon, Illy" William said to Illustrious while he smiled.

"You looked to be quite beaten up milord" Illustrious said to William as she stared at his naked upwards body.

"Thanks to Warspite…Anyway, come on in" William said to Illustrious as he let the door open.

"The cabin looks magnificent, it's very comfortable" Illustrious commented as she entered the house and closed the door behind her.

"Agreed…Make yourself at home, I'll be taking shower for a bit" William said to Illustrious while he smiled a bit.

William took the sweaty shirt on the couch, went to the bathroom, put the dirty clothes inside a washing machine and proceed to take a relaxing shower. Illustrious came for afternoon tea, when she heard that he got his own house now and the fact that he's on his day off have caused her to decide that she will hold their routine on his new home. Illustrious made her way to the kitchen, she decided to whip up a fresh batch of tea and put the cookies she brought on the paper bag in her hands before putting them on top of the plate. She brought everything to the living room in a tray before she put them down on the coffee table, she then sat on the sofa as she watched the TV. She turned the channel from the soap opera that William accidentally set on TV, she changed the channel to news channel and watched it for the afternoon news.

"Didn't take you as the type that watch news" William commented out loud as he sat beside Illustrious.

"I'm quite curious on what's happening on the other part of the world too" Illustrious said to William while she smiled.

"That so" William said out loud as he poured himself a cup of tea.

"How is it?" Illustrious asked William as he sipped his tea.

"Hmm, you really like to put some sugar on your tea…Delicious, not too sweet which is perfect for me" William said to Illustrious after he tasted the tea.

"Ufufu, I'm glad you like it" Illustrious said to William while she smiled.

"Any sweeter than this and the drink would be named 'Illustrious' I reckon" William said to Illustrious while he smirked.

"Mou, now you're being cheesy" Illustrious said to William as he pouted.

"Hahahaha" William only laughed at her in response.

William took some of the cookies and watched the news channel being displayed on TV, let's see what the world has in store for today…Hmmm, its Northern Union is sending large concentration of their forces and focused on defending the Artic shore? He should ask about that later. Hmm, looks like Royal Islands are tightening their defenses too? Could it be because of the massive stockpile of phosphorus that Lena and the others found? There's also news that Sakura Empire assembling-. William's train of thought stopped as he felt a weight on his right shoulder, he could clearly see Illustrious is leaning on him with eyes full of thought…

"Milord…are you and Hood in relationship now?" Illustrious asked William.

"…Yes, yes we are" William decided to answer honestly.

"I see…If you're going on a date with me, would you feel it's wrong? To go on a date with another girl while your lover is at home?" Illustrious asked William.

"…Honestly, yeah…Maybe that's because how I was raised, dating more than one girl haven't even crossed my mind until I became your commander…It's something that will take a while to get used to" William said to Illustrious as he stared down to the floor.

"Milord, did you not like polygamy?" Illustrious asked William, concern could be heard in her voice?

"I don't mind about them…But, other people will do once they found out. It's just how our current society works, Illy…That is why, there are chances that even when I marry other girls I will only have one wife on papers" William said to Illustrious as he stared at her.

Yup, that's one thing he have to think about later. How screwed will he be in legal side once he marry a ship girl? As far as he concerned, there are no laws regarding marrying your military asset. But William's contingency plan that he have sent to Lucas in the form of draft should be the perfect starting point, he's no law expert but he thought the old man would help him out. There is a probability to avoid issues with majority of the world's population that he will be restricted with one legal wife only. Really, he couldn't imagine the face of the men around the world if they found out he's married to bunch of beautiful ship girls. Either he'll be envied or admired as a man, he couldn't careless.

"Ah...is that so…You know, I don't really mind not being your legal wife…All I ask is for you to return my affection and to cherish me" Illustrious said to William softly.

"That I can do…but, let's talk about his later down the line. I just got into a relationship and I want to ease down into this entire matter so it won't overwhelms me" William said to Illustrious with serious face.

"Then I'll be waiting, Lord William" Illustrious said to William while she smiled.

"Hmm? Hood's calling?" William asked out loud when his new phone rings.

"Oh my, did she found out about that conversation?" Illustrious asked out loud while she smiled.

"I hope not haha…Hello?" William said to Illustrious then answered the call.

"Will! We have an emergency, where are you?" Hood asked William on the phone.

"I'm on my house" William said to Hood on the phone.

"Come to the control center quickly! We have an emergency situation!" Hood said to William on the phone.

"On my way…Damnit! Illy, I have to go!" William said to Hood on the phone then to Illustrious.

"Alright! I'll alert the other girls!" Illustrious said to William with serious face.

A day off and an emergency happened! For fuck sake! He couldn't exactly complain though since he already got an entire week long vacation beforehand, but it's still suck when this happened! William ran straight for the control center on the academy building, he quickly got inside the room and he noticed that several ship girls are already there. There's Hood who called him, Amagi who's talking with Belfast about something and Ranger who's coordinating the Manjuus as they operated the console inside the control center.

"Status report!" William asked out loud as he step further into the room.

"I think it'll be better if you know what happened directly" Hood said to William as she turned around.

The large screen in front of William changed its display to a video call screen where he could see a dark skinned man seated on a command chair of a ship, William immediately recognized his face for he is Commander Carl Johnson who he haven't heard from for weeks. William was sure that the man went off for an operation somewhere on the pacific which involves a research facility, did something happened that requires him to contact ALASUC? Is he going to ask for reinforcements?

"Carl?! Is that you? Mate, I haven't heard from you for weeks!" William said to Johnson while he smiled.

"Well William, I wished to fight those Sirens and I think we bit more than we could chew…Listen, I'll explain more about the operation we participated in later but right now we need your help. Siren mass produced ships have been chasing us for an hour while keeping their distances, probably trying to determine where we are going. We are severely outnumbered, four to one in estimates. We need immediate support, this ship I'm currently on cannot sunk. I have transmitted our coordinates, but no doubt this will act as a double edged blade" Johnson explained the situation with grim face.

"…Alright. Keep moving and make sure those ships won't get near you, minimize damage as much as possible and only return fire if you have to" William said to Johnson with serious face.

"Roger that. We're counting on you and the ship girls" Johnson said to William.

"…How far are they from our base?" William asked out loud.

"Too far, around 193 kilometers. Manjuus, please direct and display our satellite feed on their position" Ranger said out loud.

The large screen changed its display into a satellite feed, it zoomed in several times until the screen displayed a small human fleet and a large Siren mass produced fleet of ships chasing them from behind while occasionally firing their main guns at them. The screen zoomed in further and followed the human fleet which William will assume to be Johnson's fleet…He have one aircraft carrier, one battleship, five cruisers, four destroyers and three transport ships. They are severely outnumbered and outgunned, if William didn't send a reinforcement fast he didn't doubt that those ships will be sunk. But there's one thing he couldn't help to ask himself, Johnson said they've been chased for an hour…Why didn't the Sirens finished them off? Why give a lengthy chase? They could've just open a portal in front of them, encircled them and sunk the ships in overwhelming firepower…

"Amagi, assessment" William asked Amagi who's staring at the screen.

"Commander Johnson's fleet looks to be in battered state and the large Siren mass produced fleet behind them seemingly not having any intention of letting them go…Shikikan-sama, this is clearly a trap" Amagi said to William with serious face.

"A trap?" William asked Amagi as he pursed his lips.

"They're expecting us to show up. The Sirens would've just annihilated that small fleet if they really intend to destroy them, it's not a coincidence that Commander Johnson's fleet could survive an hour without at least being disabled. There's a high chance that Sirens will deploy their reinforcement the moment we arrived, we should prepare for every possible scenario" Amagi said her hypothesis to William.

"Hmmm…Hood, what's the status of our helicopter?" William asked Hood.

"Ready to go Lord William. In addition to our helicopter, the Acheron Dropship that General Kabakura promised have arrived few days ago alongside a long letter of apology regarding their mishap on Furushima and the aircraft is ready to be used. We could practically loaded almost of our entire base population with the two aircraft…Your decision, milord?" Hood asked William for his executive order.

…A possible trap, William shouldn't go underpowered with this one and he have to prepare for every contingency because if he got caught with his pants down then it's game over for the ship girls and Johnson's fleet...William racked his brains as he quickly thought up the strategy he's going to use on this one, he's tempted to just straight up ask Amagi for a strategy but he figure he shouldn't do that. He want to show that he's competent enough as their commander, Amagi is a newcomer and he have to make a good impression with her. After five minutes thinking to himself regarding the strategy that he will use during this operation William is finally decided his plan, elastic defense will do for this one.

"…Alright, we'll use both at the same time. The two aircraft could function as support gunship with the Wisdom Cube tech, two transport craft would also mean we could carry a lot more supply for the fight…Load up the helicopter with munitions and the Acheron with the ship girls" William said out loud.

"How about the fleet composition, shikikan-sama?" Amagi asked William.

"…I want balanced composition but we shouldn't hesitate with the numbers we will deploy. I want at least four carriers, four battleships and dozens of cruisers alongside destroyers...The destroyers would be our preliminary respond against their maneuver, place four carriers and four battleships close to one another then have them form a perimeter around the fleet supplemented by cruisers in the gaps which should serve well for AA screening in case their jets managed to reach the fleet. I want submarines to prepare themselves for counter sub operation and reconnaissance…Also, someone call Vestal and Akashi, I want our repair ships ready to work on the center of the formation. Ready the rest of the ship girls as reinforcement in case we need them because we are going to keep this up all the way to our base or until they give up…Amagi, Hood, I'll let you two take care any details regarding personnel placement" William said to Amagi and Hood.

"Understood" "Wakarimashita" Hood and Amagi responded as they immediately get to work.

"William. My base are currently assembling two squadron of jets for sortie, they'll go alongside you once you are ready to go. They already scrambled around five corvettes and three frigates to help us, they should arrive within fifteen minutes" Johnson informed William through the ongoing video call.

"Alright, thanks for the info Carl. I'll see you there" William said to Johnson.

"Don't take too long, you hear me?" Johnson asked William with a small smile on his face.

"Yeah" William said to Johnson as he nodded.

So the base next door already scrambled a small group of ships and two squadron of jets, William thought that those units will even the odds for a bit. Relatively speaking, the distance of 190 kilometers shouldn't be that far for a modern day ship to travel but the time it took to arrive on their bases which is fully equipped for defending against them? The Siren has more than enough time to wreak havoc, turning their fleet into a bunch of scraps with concentrated firepower. There's also the fact that Johnson said that the ship he's on cannot sunk for some reason, what was so important that he have to request ALASUC help to protect the ship? William thought he will found out what as soon as he arrived on that ship, the reason better be worth it because he's going to pull all the stops to make sure that fleet stay afloat.

"Shikikan-sama, the rooster have been determined and munitions are being loaded right now" Amagi said to William.

"Well done, notify everyone regarding the situation, we are going for a tough fight" William said to Amagi as he turned around.

"Are you going to the front?" Belfast suddenly asked William.

"Yeah, I will" William said to Belfast while he nodded.

"Then you should get prepared…Oh dear, your armor was severely damaged wasn't it?" Amagi said to William.

"My old armor will do. It's not like I expect to fight any of their ground forces on this battle, but having armor is still comforting. Bel, you're the one who stored my armor, show me where please" William said to Belfast.

"Understood master, also, allow me to equip and prepared you for this fight" Belfast said to William as she stared walking.

.

"Someone, give Laffey an oxy cola, she need to stay awake" William said out loud.

"Laffey! Don't fall asleep now! Come on, drink this!" Javelin said out loud as she shook Laffey.

Laffey woke up lazily and Javelin handed her a bottle of oxy cola which she downed in two big gulps, William stared at the destroyer group to his left side with half closed eye. Man, didn't they feel nervous at all? William is a veteran in a sense and he could still feel nervous when heading into battle. William sighed before he turned around, forty ship girls from all class is inside this dropship and if all of them still couldn't protect the fleet? Then there's nothing else they could do because these girls are the best they got at combating those Siren ships. By the way, the Manjuus operating this dropship are capable! William isn't even sure he could pilot this aircraft but the Manjuus on the seats in front of him? They could controlled this aircraft like experienced pilots…Man, he really should relearn how to fly jets, don't want himself to get outdone by bunch of chickens!

"Commander Blaze, this is Apollo One. Siren fighters' formation up ahead, we're going to protect the helicopters. Recommend you to keep going in low altitude straight toward the fleet, Garuda Squadron will escort you there" Apollo One said to William on the radio.

"Roger that Apollo One. We're engaging Mach three…Alright everyone! Fasten your seatbelts or you will regret it!" William said to Apollo One on the radio then said out loud to the ship girls.

"Mach three? What is that?" Carabiniere asked out loud.

"It's a velocity indication" London said to Carabiniere while she smiled.

"How fast is that?" Avrora who sat beside London asked her.

"Really fast, as fast as those fighter jets could fly" London said to Avrora.

"Chotto matte! As fast as them?!" Takao asked out loud after she overheard London.

"Go for supersonic speed Manjuus!" William said out loud after he closed the door to the cockpit.

Yup, there are no free seats on the passenger bay and he's for sure would fall down the moment the drop ship accelerated so he closed the door to the cockpit and sat while leaning on it. The Manjuus chirped at each other for few seconds before one of them pushed the acceleration lever and the aircraft goes faster, William could feel himself firmly planted at the door as the dropship reached the speed of Mach three…The ship girls themselves have varying reactions, some smiled or grinned at the velocity momentum because they love the thrill, the other has composed face as they calmly waited for the dropship to decelerate and the rest are either squirming or grabbed on to their seat for life since they are not comfortable with the dropship speeding in supersonic speed.

"Shikikan-sama! How much longer do we have to endure this!?"Akagi asked William on the radio.

"Should be few seconds more!" William said to Akagi on the radio.

…Few seconds later the dropship decelerated and the ship girls breathe out in relief for the makeshift rollercoaster ride has ended, William reopened the door to check in on the ship girls who are recovering after their first supersonic travel. William checked their face briefly, most of them have normal face but few did seems traumatized to some degree...After checking that most of them are alright William turned around toward the cockpit and he saw bunch of ships quite the distance away in front of them, the man's face turned serious as he put on his old helmet because they're in the combat zone and he don't have his Albion Armor. If ALS Anderson, the flagship of this Battlegroup got boarded? William would have to be extra careful, he's more exposed with his old armor that he wore as Azur Lane Commandos and if he got hit…a certain Royal Navy aristocrat would be very upset followed by the rest of the ship girls on the base.

"We made it…" William said out loud.

"Unidentified aircraft! This is ALS Anderson, identify yourself or we will fire on you!" Looks like their dropship got picked up by radar.

"This is Commander Blaze of ALASUC, we have arrived and ready to provide reinforcement" William said out loud on the radio.

"William?! Damn good to hear from you! They're approaching us! We could really use some help!" Johnson said to William on the radio.

"Got it, we're coming to you…Alright! Those men on those ships need our help! It's our job to make sure they are protected from those Sirens! Stick to the plan and let's get this over with! Commence Operation Phalanx!" William said to Johnson on the radio before he turned around and said to the ship girls.

William walked toward the edge of the passenger bay, he slammed the door control button with his fist and the rear hatch opened. The dropship steadily decelerate to a stable low speed hovering so the ship girls could deploy themselves without risk of landing accidents, the ship girls stood up from their seat and line themselves up. William looked out to confirm that there are no Siren fighters inbound or anything and they're certainly out of range from the chasing Siren ship's weaponries, he looked back and raised his hand up before throwing it forward. The ship girls got his cue and they begin their deployment, one by one they jumped out of the dropship while deploying their riggings. Hood is the last one to jump out, however she stopped herself before she jumped off as she choose to stare at William himself.

"Be careful out there" William said to Hood.

"You don't need to worry about me, it's you who I'm concerned about" Hood said to William while she frowned a bit.

"I'm on the safest spot in the formation, just focus on your task Hood. I'll be fine" William said to Hood as he smiled reassuringly.

"Alright. Be safe dear, don't be reckless" Hood said to William before she kissed him on the lips.

"…You too, now go" William said to Hood as he nodded.

Hood tipped her hat a bit before she also jumped off the dropship while deploying her rigging, William confirm that the ship girls already moving to their designated position before he closed the hatch. He looked back and saw Amagi who stared at him with blank expression, the man stared back while he cocked his eyebrows in confusion before he widened his eye in realization. William and Hood did agree that they shouldn't do any PDA especially when they just got into a relationship, but that doesn't mean they will deny it if anyone ask. But in this case, it didn't even take a genius like Amagi to immediately know that there's something going on between the two of them and the woman only smiled when she connected the dots.

"Ah…So that's what happened" Amagi said to William while she smiled.

"Yeah…Alright Amagi, time to show them how good you are" William said to Amagi as he walked past her.

"I'm with you, shikikan-sama" Amagi said to William as she turned around to follow William.

Both Amagi and William watched from the doorway as the dropship approaching the Anderson, a man guide the dropship with big glowing neon stick as the dropship hovered in front of him and trying to keep up with the carrier going full speed ahead…After making sure the dropship is on the right spot the man crossed the sticks as a signal to stop before the Manjuus lowered the dropship while lowering the landing gear alongside the hatch at the same time, the wheels touched the surface of the aircraft carrier while the engine keeps running so it could take off again the moment the last passengers get off the dropship. William and Amagi waited as the hatch lowered itself before they disembarked from the aircraft, William looked back and contacted the Manjuus.

"Stay close to the carrier, if any of those Sirens get too close you are clear to engage" William said to the Manjuus on the radio, the Manjuus chirped in response.

"Commander Blaze? Commander Johnson is waiting for you at the bridge ASAP. Please follow us" A marine fireteam approached William and Amagi.

"Lead the way, marine" William said to the marine.

The marines led William and Amagi through the corridors of the aircraft carrier, sailors and marines running all over the corridor to get where they are needed. The ship is on high alert but William noted something that is quite odd, the aircraft carrier still has her F-35 fighters parked on the surface of the carrier. Why didn't Anderson launch her fighters? She would definitely need them! There are Siren jets in the vicinity for god sake, William decide to ask Johnson when they meet. After walking for quite some time William and Amagi reached the bridge, the door was opened and the two of them stepped in. Johnson stood up from his seat, he looks tired with his sleep deprived face and battered uniform…

"William" Johnson said to William as he offered his right hand.

"Carl, mate, you looked like shite" William said to Johnson as he shook his hand.

"At least I'm alive. Good to see you here buddy" Johnson said to William while he smiled a bit.

"Yeah, you too. Hey, why are your fighters still on deck? There are Siren jets ready to pound this ship" William asked Johnson.

"We can't afford to lose a single plane up there, we don't even know how many jets they're going to throw at us until we could contact you so we decide to play it safe. If air activity picks up, we'll send out our fighters for air supremacy" Johnson explained to William.

"I see…Alright, what's the situation here Carl?" William asked Johnson.

"You want the good news first or the bad news?" Johnson asked William while he frowned.

"Bad" William answered as he folded his arms.

"…Half of our task force are killed in the operation…This fleet here is the only remainder of the combined Battlegroup Dakota, the facility we're supposed to reinforce are under siege by Siren mass produced units and ground forces. We fought there for weeks, all to buy the researchers some time to finish their work…Unfortunately, they never did. The facility is breached and in the edge of failing when we receive order to evacuate, normally we'll go to the Pearl Harbor since they're closer but…since this involve the ship girls, we choose to go back here" Johnson explained to William.

"…Why? Did you brought something out of that facility?" William asked Johnson with narrowed gaze.

"Yeah, we did…Simon, I leave the command to you" Johnson said to the man beside him.

"Yes sir! Be advised, XO is taking command of the Battlegroup!" Simon said out loud.

"Follow me" Johnson said to William.

Johnson led William and Amagi from the bridge, they descended into the lower levels and into the hangar area. Aside from several fighter jets and helicopters there's something over there that really stood out, a large metallic gray machine. The machine has three large tubes in front of a complicated looking machines behind it, most of the machine is covered up but the tubes are not. The one in the middle glows bright blue while the sides one are transparent and it is empty, William still have no idea what's the function of this machine. Judging from the looks of it, is it possible that this machine serve as stasis machine?

"This…is what we have to pick up. The machine that capable of summoning the ship girls…" Johnson said to William who stared at him in surprise…because his assumption was very wrong.

"…This machine? It's the first time I've seen it" William said out loud as he walked closer to the machine.

"You didn't know?" Johnson asked William as he folded his arms.

"More like my access is quite restricted, for some reason…The machine, there's three tubes. So we can summon three ship girls at once? And why one of them has that blue glow on it?" William asked out loud.

"You could only summon two, the biggest tube in the middle? They have special purpose…" Johnson said to William.

"…I've heard about that one" Amagi suddenly spoke.

"You do?" William asked Amagi as he stared at her.

"Hai. That middle tube? It's for Priority Research, to research about ship girls from a ship that shouldn't exist" Amagi said to William as she walked toward him and stopped by his right side.

"Shouldn't exist?" William asked Amagi with cocked eyebrows.

"A ship back during the great world war two that never come to fruition, never built…That middle tube, is used to summon them as a ship girl. But since they never existed in the first place, they require more than a Wisdom Cube" Amagi explained to William.

"Like what?" William asked Amagi.

"Other resources like the materials, blueprints and research data…Friedrich Der Gross, the mighty battleship that supposedly has even more power than Bismarck? She was summoned using this technique" Amagi said to William.

William widened his eye in surprise, wait, so Friedrich never existed back then? Granted he didn't know the whole story of World War Two but many parts of it felt eerily similar to what happened during the Great War few years ago, hell it feels like some of the battles of World War Two happened again in modern times and with deadlier weaponry…But William put his thought aside, he refocused himself on Friedrich. She never existed yet he heard of her as one of the powerful ship girls that humanity has, so to summon something that never existed it would basically require the thing that technically could create a ship? Materials for the hulls, blueprint for the design, William wasn't sure about the research data part but he's certain that Wisdom Cube would be needed to summon her.

"As a matter of fact, that's her inside this tube" Johnson said out loud.

"…What?!" "…Nandesute!?" William and Amagi stared at Johnson with shocked face.

"The head researcher told me, Ironbloods sent her to that facility because she's 'incomplete' in a sense" Johnson said to William and Amagi.

"Incomplete?" William asked Johnson.

"Well…The most correct analogy would be what's in there is a body, a soulless body. Her body exist, but it has no soul" Johnson said to William while he shrugged.

"Ah…that makes sense" Amagi said out loud.

"Didn't you just said that she has more power than Bismarck? If her body is here but its dead figuratively speaking, then why did she's known as Ironblood strongest battleship?" William asked Amagi as his gaze narrowed.

"She is theorized to be stronger than Bismarck based on her blueprints, I heard that during the testing she is technically alive…But she's closer to a robot than a human, she didn't have her rigging, she didn't speak a word, she didn't move and her face are kept in permanent poker face" Amagi explained to William.

"Like a soulless body, an incomplete human" William said to Amagi.

"Hai, sono touri desu" Amagi said to William.

…Alright, so she is incomplete. She is technically alive but without a soul, what did she lack? William didn't know jack shit about summoning a ship girl and the system behind it, he didn't even understand how Wisdom Cube manages to do that. There are many unexplainable things in this world and this is the example of it, William felt not even the person who somehow manage to invent this system fully understand how this summoning process works…Now that he thought about it, who invented the Wisdom Cube summoning system? What are their names? How did they discovered it? There are no records about its invention but the scientist knew somewhat somehow? It was right there and then William realized that there's a huge blank in that territory…No, William shook his head sideways a bit, they got more important things to do now. He could always ask Lucas or Lena later…

"…What can we do to bring her to life?" William asked out loud.

"Right now? Many things like ship construction materials and research data. She's already infused with Wisdom Cube back on Ironbloods, ten of them. That is the reason why she has her physical body" Johnson said to William.

"Ten?! Blimey, she's worth that much?!" William asked out loud as he stared at Johnson with widened eye.

"I think it's pretty clear now on why this ship cannot sunk, no matter what" Johnson said to William while he frowned.

"Agreed…Status report everyone!" William said out loud on the radio.

"Northern group, all clear over here" Enterprise responded on the radio.

"Eastern Group, some of their destroyers are moving to our starboard. They're pretty far away, I think we're still clear" Akagi said out loud on the radio.

"Southern Group here, their battleships are quite ferocious with their shelling but they're too inaccurate to hit us. It's like they're firing at us randomly!" Ark Royal said out loud on the radio.

"Western Group here, we're still clear at the moment" Graf Zeppelin said out loud on the radio.

"Destroyer Group Leader here, we are ready for interception" Z1 said out loud on the radio.

"Submarine Group Leader here, we're on position, kommandant" U-556 said to William on the radio.

"Repair ships here, Akashi and I is on standby beside the carrier, commander" Vestal said to William on the radio.

"Copy all, keep it up everyone! We still got long way to go!" William said out loud on the radio.

…The strategy William choose for this fight is circular elastic defense formation, that means he placed four carriers, four battleships, dozens of cruisers and destroyers on front, sides and behind Battlegroup Dakota's formation. The carriers and battleships would be the placed as anchor point of direction reference for the other ship girls, the cruisers and destroyers would form the defensive line covering the whole fleet in one tight circular formation. The cruisers will hold their position within the formation but the destroyers are capable to intercept enemy ships in case they got too close, that way they could always keep the defense flexible. Repair ships are ready on the middle of the formation and the submarines are scattered somewhere in between the circle for rapid interception and reconnaissance, this formation offered the best protection during escorts. The formation of ship girls would provide massive AA flak fire screening, no aircraft could hope to enter this formation and didn't get wrecked in the process.

Northern Group is led by Enterprise and Hood, it compromise the combination of Royal Navy and Eagle Union ship girls which serve as anti-blockade unit. That means if Siren attempt to halt their progress by going in front of them? They would not find it easy with the likes of Enterprise deadly airstrikes, Hood fast reloading guns, Belfast savage HE shells, Sheffield's gunslinging skills, Cleveland sisters anti air capability alongside Glowworm and Charles Auburn ramming maneuver complimented with support fire from the other destroyer. They would be able to smash through Siren blockade lines relatively easy, overwhelming offensive ability coupled with speed and critical hits? Now that's a recipe for a good path clearers.

Eastern Group is led by Akagi complimented with Fusou, the fleet consisted of Sakura Empire ships and serve as their flank guard and interceptor fleet. The fleet consisted of ship girls who possessed the ability to quickly respond to threats which means they have speed and devastating torpedoes ready to intercept any Siren that got too close, not to mention these girls are deadly proficient with their melee weapons so they got all the base basically covered. Akagi has her fast Zero planes, Fusou has numerous guns she could use, the likes of Takao and Atago with the other cruisers got the sides covered with their guns, torpedoes or blades and Ayanami with the other destroyers would devastate anything with their torpedoes supplemented by their speedy maneuvers.

The Western Group is led by Graf Zeppelin complimented with Scharnhorst, the fleet consisted of combination between Ironblood and Eagle Union ships which function the same as the Eastern Group as flank guard and interceptor fleet. However, if Eastern Group rely on speed and devastating torpedoes, the western group rely on raw firepower and endurance. Graf Zeppelin might not be the strongest carrier but she's versatile enough to take on any task, Scharnhorst might not be the strongest battleship but she got the tenacity, the skill to shoot from distances and torpedoes if they got too close, Graf Spee and Deutschland could provide additional battleship class firepower while supported by Konigsberg sisters and Atlanta sisters. Z1 will lead the other Ironblood destroyers in case of interception and she's proven to be exemplary leader in combat, both Ironblood and Eagle Union destroyers have no qualms with her in charge.

Now the Southern Group is the mix for fun part because it's a combined ships from many factions, the fleet is being led by Ark Royal with Warspite as support. They got the toughest jobs out of the other fleets, they're the ones that will deal with the Siren fleet that's been chasing Battlegroup Dakota and outnumbering them four to one. For that purpose, William put everyone with interesting gimmicks on this fleet. Ark Royal's Swordfishes are quite savage in battle, Warspite proficiency for sniping would give them an edge, Prinz, Hipper and Zara shielding ability would make sure the Battlegroup Dakota or the other ship girls are well protected, Helena's SG Radars would make sure none of those ship sneak up on them undetected, St. Louis defensive AA fire would make sure none of the jets made through their formation, Avrora's knowledge and experience regarding Siren combat would be invaluable for the fleet, Carabiniere devastating torpedo strikes would be critical in intercepting suicidal ships alongside Kawakaze sword fighting skills and indiscriminative torpedo strikes.

William thought he got everything covered with this fleet formation and roosters, any attack from any angle would be met with a counter so relatively the Battlegroup Dakota is safe. However, knowing the Sirens, that might not last long. William knew they will attempt something that will give them a hard time, they got everything covered for naval and air combat but there's one thing William dread and find to be very possible to happen…Boarding action. Sure, Amagi is with him but her main job here is as strategy coordinator, she could hold herself for a while but William knew she's not made for close quarter ground combat. If the Sirens do board this ship…Well, William Blaze himself must participate in the defense, locking themselves up within the bridge or later Combat Information Control room wouldn't do their defenses any good. William got the skills to fight, he shouldn't restrain himself when-

"All hands! Brace for impact!" Simon said out loud through the PA system.

BOOM!

BOOM!

The ship shook heavily, Johnson kneeled on the floor while William struggled to stay standing and he managed to do so before he caught Amagi who's about to fall, Amagi then smiled at William as reassurance that she's fine. After making sure she's alright, William looked around the hangar area to see where they have been presumably hit, but so far he found no holes or anything on fire so the aircraft carrier must be hit somewhere else. The shake they experienced? It indicates that something big just hit them and it's not a destroyer sized shells, William immediately presumed Siren battleship manage to get a hit on this ship. But if that's true, then that either a lucky shot or The Sirens already done their math and waiting for them to set up shop…Either way, he knew that the battle have just begun.

"God that was loud! Simon! What the hell is that?!" Johnson asked Simon his XO on the radio.

"Siren Battleship shell! Our propulsions are knocked out sir! We're dead in the water!" Simon reported to Johnson on the radio.

"Motherfucker! I want those propellers fixed ASAP Simon!" Johnson said to Simon on the radio while he gritted his teeth.

"Aye aye sir!" Simon said to Johnson on the radio.

"Let's go to the bridge, plan for our next move there" William said to Johnson while helping him to stand.

"Right, follow me!" Johnson said to William and Amagi.

…Hood was cruising forward with Enterprise in steady speed, both scanned the horizon for any signs of hostiles. Hood checked with the digital map she has and she realized they are still pretty far from reaching safe zone where the rest of the ship girls could provide fire support alongside the base defenses, she estimated that they will be there in thirty to forty five minutes with their current speed. Her musing was interrupted by a two deafening explosion coming from behind her, Hood immediately turned around and saw a smoke coming out of ALS Anderson's rear side. Enterprise did the same and her face turned serious, their protection target just somehow got hit and that means Battlegroup Dakota is within firing range of the Siren's fleet.

"What in the bloody hell is that!?" Hood asked out loud on the radio.

"Anderson just got hit! Their propellers are dead!" Warspite responded to Hood on the radio.

"…All units, this is ALS Anderson! Halt! Maintain formation! Slowly decelerate until we come to a complete stop!" Johnson said out loud on the radio.

"Hood! Ready your AA guns! Incoming!" Enterprise suddenly said out loud.

Hood stared at Enterprise before she looked upwards and noticed a swarm of Siren jets are diving towards them, the Battlecruiser and other cruisers alongside destroyers immediately lit up their AA guns and concentrated their fire on the incoming jets. As expected the combination of AA fire resulted in a thick no fly zone around them because none of the jets survived diving towards them below ten seconds of getting spotted…Hood sighed in relief before she noticed something coming towards her from the sky, she dashed backwards just in time as a Siren bomb dropped on her previous position and causing a big splash on the water.

"This is indeed a trap!" Hood said out loud while she frowned.

"Portals! West side!" Scharnhorst said out loud on the radio.

"East side too! Ship girls and a lot of mass produced ships!" Akagi said out loud on the radio.

"Start shelling them! Don't let them got too close to the formation! Carriers, launch all fighters!" William ordered them on the radio.

"Southern Group here! They're advancing toward us at full speed!" Warspite said out loud on the radio.

"This is it ladies! Hold them back! Whatever you do, do not break formation! Destroyer group! Begin your hit and run maneuver!" William ordered the destroyers on the radio.

"Jawohl kommandant! All destroyer groups, let's go!" Z1 said out loud on the radio.

The western destroyer group charged ahead than the rest of the group, in front of them there's at least five Siren battleship, seven cruisers and around ten destroyers. Since mass produced models are easier to take down than their ship girls the destroyers wouldn't have a problem, especially them being a larger target. All they have to do is to pay attention to the mass produced ship attacks and avoid it, once they're in point blank range its over for them. Z23 watched as nine HE shells flew above her head, the shells hit the Siren ships in front of them. Unfortunately out of the three ships that got hit only one is set on fire, the rest of the Siren ships make their counter as they return fire with their main cannons. The charging destroyer group evade the shells easily, they reached their effective range and they prepared their torpedo tubes for simultaneous release.

"Oh well, close quarter it is! Get close and torpedo them! Make sure each one counts!" Z1 said out loud on the radio.

The destroyers break formation with each one gunning for specific gap among the Siren ships, to soften them up the destroyers used their HE shells to set fire on the superstructure of the Siren ships, some disabled their cannons by damaging it first before killing them or outright torpedoed their sides while speeding past them. In less than a minute the ship girls managed to wreck the mass produced ships easily and those ships are being left to sink to the bottom of the ocean, all that remains on the western side are the Siren battleships. The battleships turned their cannons from the main fleet toward the advancing destroyer group and fired at them, most manage to avoid their shells but unfortunately for Z23 several HE shells are directed at her. She manage to avoid a direct hit, but the resulting explosion still thrown her off.

"Nimi!" Laffey approached Z23 who's recovering after being thrown into the air.

"Don't worry, I'm fine Laffey! There are still few ships-. SCHEIBE!" Z23 said out loud as she widened her eyes.

A portal appeared above them and four Explorers Siren ship girls descended with guns firing, Z23 and Laffey dashed back before charging again to take on the Explorers in close combat. Taking two at once isn't a problem for Laffey but Z23 prefer safe approach so she fired her guns loaded with HE shells toward one of the Explorer, burning her to a crisp, dashed past her toward the other Explorer who raised her hands in defense while firing her main guns. Z23 evaded one round which nearly missed her head but another struck her in the gut, although it felt painful that hit doesn't deter her advance toward her target. Z23 got into point blank range, put her cannon and pressed it to the Explorer's chest before she fired her HE shells.

"Take this!" Z23 said out loud while she scowled.

BOOM!

All that remains of the Explorer after that point blank HE shot is her lower half body which sported large amount of yellowish blood before it limped forward a second later, Z23 confirmed that her target is killed before she winced and looked down at her abdomen. Her clothes are ripped and her stomach is exposed, she could see her stomach area where it got hit is darkening and she knew it will bruise later. Looks like she have to take a day off tomorrow…Z23 gritted her teeth and resolved herself, the battle is far from over and there's no way she will retreat after getting hit only once. She turned around and noticed Laffey is dueling the last Explorer in their immediate vicinity.

That seemingly lazy, sluggish and sleepy rabbit is a lethal killer if she got serious and that's shown right now, she effortlessly evaded the Explorer that chased her while firing her gun before she suddenly stopped moving. Laffey launched one torpedo at the Explorer which evades it by side stepping to the left, the moment that Explorer stopped moving Laffey is already in front of her before she launched another torpedo at point blank range, giving no room for the Explorer to move. The explosion caused by the torpedo settled and what remains in front of Laffey is the upper body of the Explorer which still moving despite losing it's lower half. Laffey stared at it with blank expression before she directed her cannons at it and fired her HE shells, obliterating it and erased its trace from the battlefield…

"Western destroyer group, what's your status?" William asked out loud on the radio.

"Z1 here! We're making a good time kommandant! Most of their current advancing units are being taken care off!" Z1 said to William on the radio.

"Excellent. Akagi, we got new ping on radar around fifty kilometers away from your current position to the east. Be ready for large fighter formation!" William said to Akagi on the radio.

"Hai, wakaramashita shikikan-sama! I will not let you down!" Akagi said to William on the radio.

…Akagi launched all of her fighter planes for interception, in front of her the naval battle still rages as they battled the ever advancing Siren ships and ship girls. Fusou have been firing her main guns nonstop, some even got too close and forced her to use her secondary guns to protect herself and Akagi from harm. Akagi herself already sending her bombers in and out, the western side are having a great time but on the eastern side the battle is still undetermined because of the chaos. She have to turn the situation around quickly, she did not want to fail William's trust in her to lead the left flank's defense. She might not be as smart as her sister, but she's quite the tactician herself and she racked her brains quickly for the solution of the problem…Oh if only Kaga is here, the both of them could take these aliens on as the First Carrier Division-

"Akagi-san, are you alright?" Fusou asked Akagi with concerned tone.

"Ah, I'm fine Fusou-san. It's just something that bothers me…Why does the Sirens keep pouring out their ships on our flank? The western side could handle the threat with just their destroyers alone, on this side our cruisers even have to get involved in the fight with how many of them" Akagi said to Fusou as she watched the battle unfold.

"Hai, I agree with you. Why do they keep pushing on the eastern flank? Is it because of our reliance on speed and torpedo attacks?" Fusou asked out loud.

"We have to answer that later. Here come their fighters!" Akagi said to Fusou.

The Siren jets have arrived and make its attack run, Akagi did her best to control her fighters to intercept the jets. Fusou immediately helped by lighting up her AA guns, their comrades that are trapped in close combat with the Sirens would need help. Takao and Atago dashed forward with katanas slashing and hacking apart Siren ship girls formation in front of them, Chaser class, Navigator Class or even Smasher class are not a problem in the way to get the ultimate prize, the Strategist class which function as their carrier ship girls. The Siren ship girls seems to find out what are Takao and Atago doing so they tighten a defensive line in front of Strategist to shield her, Takao and Atago nodded at one another before they swiftly launched their torpedo barrage at once.

"That should take care of them" Atago said to Takao while she smiled.

"Wait…something is not right!" Takao said to Atago.

"They…tanked those torpedoes?! How? One or two of them should fell from the combination alone!" Atago said out loud as he watched the line of Smasher and Navigator still stood firm in front of them.

"Huh?! Atago! Dodge left!" Takao suddenly said to Atago.

Atago didn't even think because the moment she heard Takao said that she immediately moved her body to the left, the Smashers and Navigators combined their firepower and launched a massive barrage of shells toward the left flank. Takao and Atago didn't have time to warn the others as they watched the Siren ship girls that's locked in battle with their comrades all jumped backwards, as the result the only left on the field and kill zone are the Sakura Empire destroyers and cruisers who are too late to notice the massive shelling barrage heading toward them…Explosion littered the eastern flank, screams of ship girls being hit or injured could be heard on the radio and from a brief glance many of the destroyers and cruisers are injured as they are either on the water or kneeling to ease their wounds, Atago widened her eyes before she turned toward the formation of Siren ship girls in front of her with eyes full of anger. She readied her katana, loaded her cannons and reloaded her torpedo tubes. They are going down and painfully!

"Eastern group! What's your status!?" William asked out loud on the radio.

"East Flank is taking major casualties, shikikan-sama!" Akagi said to William on the radio.

"Roger! Akashi that's your cue! Get there and heal everyone! This battle is far from over!" William said to Akashi on the radio.

"Hai! Omakase nyaa!" Akashi said to William on the radio.

But Takao was one step ahead of her, just when Atago about to make her move Takao already wreak havoc by skirting their formation's left flank, firing her guns rapidly and launching torpedoes indiscriminately. Atago followed suit by going for the right flank and did the same thing as Takao, the moment both cruiser have to reload the Strategist escorts have been battered and ready to be finished. Before they make their move however, twelve AP shells tore through the Sirens frontal formation consisted of Chasers and Navigators, sending body parts flying around the area and distracting the Siren ship girls. Before they could make their move, dozens of torpedo and dive bombers unleashed their payload at them. The Siren escorts are in disarray and too confused to decide on who to attack first, the long range backline or Takao and Atago.

Both sisters dashed forward toward the Strategist with their katana in hand, several Smashers attempted to move back and covered the Strategist from Takao and Atago which is an unsuccessful attempt because as soon as they move into position another twelve AP shells from Fusou tore through their bodies. With the way mostly clear Atago and Takao approached from each side of the Strategist, both dashed, katanas drawn, passed each other with the Strategist in the middle of them then moved back to finish off the remaining Siren ship girls who survived Fusou rapid fire onslaught and Akagi's rain of bombs and torpedoes…The Strategist didn't move for three seconds before her upper body slide to the left and her head slide to the right as her physical body alongside her rigging split into three, with that the first skirmish on the left flank ended…

"Report in everyone!" William said out loud on the radio.

"Northern flank is free of hostile" Hood said on the radio.

"Eastern flank is clear for now!" Akagi said out loud on the radio.

"Western flank, we've killed them all" Graf Zeppelin said on the radio.

"Southern flank, the party is just getting started!" Prinz said out loud on the radio.

Prinz deployed her shields in front of Warspite as the woman dish out as many rounds as she could toward the advancing mass produced Siren ships, her shelling have managed to sink three destroyers, two frigates and fatally damage a battleship. Ark Royal is busy with keeping the airspace secured with few Siren mass produced carriers keep launching jets from behind their formation, she would've been overwhelmed if it's not for the arrival of Apollo Squadron, Garuda Squadron and the fighter wings from ALS Anderson which focused their aerial defenses on southern flank.

"Ms. Ark, pull back your fighters and focus on your torpedo bombers. A small Battlegroup decided to detach from the main formation and approached us from the southwest, make sure they never arrive" William said to Ark Royal on the radio.

"By your command, Lord Blaze!" Ark Royal said out loud as she launched her Swordfishes.

"What's the status on our propellers?" William asked Johnson on the radio.

"Our engineers are looking at it and they said that it will take a long time to fix" Johnson said to William on the radio.

"Vestal, can you repair the propellers of the carrier?" William asked Vestal on the radio.

"I could, commander. But it will take some time" Vestal said to William on the radio.

"Do what you have to do" William said to Vestal on the radio.

"Understood, I'll do what I can!" Vestal said to William on the radio.

"INCOMING ON SOUTHERN FLANK!" Hipper warned out loud on the radio.

The Siren fleet just launched an all-out attack toward them, hundreds of shells fell upon the ship girl's formation and they have to be quick on their feet to avoid the shells. Those like Zara, Prinz and Hipper are fine with their shielding still up but the others really have to compensate by moving around, the formation also launched fighter jets which blackened the sky like a roaming crows about to feast on a battlefield full of corpses. Everyone readied their AA guns, this would be a free for all shoot em down. Some ship girls even started betting on who will shoot down the most of those incoming Siren jets…

"Great Mariana Turkey Shoot 2.0, here we go!" Phoenix said out loud while she grinned.

"No doubt Ms. Zuikaku would be so triggered if she participated on this battle and heard that" Brooklyn said to Phoenix while she smiled wryly.

"Lord Blaze! That small formation has several Siren ship girls on it! My swordfishes are shot down, that Battlegroup will require our ship girl's interception!" Ark Royal said to William on the radio.

"The southern destroyer group is a bit on a tight spot with the mass produced ships right now! Someone else from the backline need to handle them!" Fletcher informed on the radio.

"Alright Fletcher…Avrora, take Javelin with you and make sure those Siren ship girls don't make it here" William ordered on the radio.

"Da, comrade komandir! Javelin, please follow me!" Avrora said to William then to Javelin on the radio.

"O-Okay! I'm on my way!" Javelin said to Avrora on the radio.

"Apollo Squadron, this is Commander Blaze. Priority target bearing 220 on the southwest of the fleet, hit that Siren Battlegroup mass produced units, let our KANSENs take on the ship girls" William said Apollo Squadron on the radio.

"Apollo One here commander, roger that. We're going in" Apollo One said to William on the radio.

Avrora break off from the formation followed by Javelin, the two ship girls nodded their heads at each other as they advanced toward the small Battlegroup consisted of three Scavenger class, three Chaser class, one Peace Breaker, three mass produced destroyers and four mass produced cruisers…Normally, William would be insane to only send two ship girls against such foe but they shouldn't underestimate their support in the air. Avrora and Javelin watched as Apollo Squadron that consisted of eight F-22 Jets flew above them and heading straight for the Battlegroup, they simultaneously launched their anti-ship missile on the underside of their jets, punching big hole on the hull of the mass produced cruisers. However, one jet accelerated even faster than the others and heading straight for the three Siren destroyers.

The lone jet kept charging despite the barrage of anti-aircraft fire and pulse laser shots coming from all over his front side, the jet adjusted its position to the port side of the formation before it launched four joint strike missiles toward one destroyer's superstructure which practically disabling it, the fighter jet launched an anti-ship missile toward the destroyer in the middle which blow a massive hole on its port side and caused the destroyer's internal structure to be flooded by water. The jet flew a little too close to the last destroyer, however it managed to pull up in time and flew upwards. Suddenly the jet lowered its engine thrust which caused it to dive back down before reengaging its thrusters, the jet dived at full speed while launching its last anti-ship missile which hit the Siren destroyer right in the middle and tore it into two. The lonesome jet pull up and get away from the combat area as the rest of the jets finished off the rest of mass produced ships by unloading all of their missiles at them…

"Whoa…" Javelin said out loud as she watched the mass produced ships blown apart in short amount of time.

"Don't worry about him ladies, our boss is always a big show off with his skill" One of the pilot said to Avrora and Javelin.

"Oh we don't, he's quite skilled to single handedly take on three Siren Mass Produced Destroyer by himself!" Avrora commented on the radio while she smiled.

"That we can agree with. We're out of ammo, we'll leave the ship girls to you" The pilot said to Avrora on the radio.

"Thank you for the support, we'll take care of the rest" Avrora said to the pilot on the radio.

"Our pleasure! Apollo Squadron pulling out!" The pilot said to Avrora on the radio.

The jets pulled back while being under fire from the Siren ship girls, Avrora and Javelin swiftly closing in. They're still outnumbered seven to two, but who says Avrora and Javelin alone couldn't take them on by themselves? Avrora begin the fight by firing an entire salvo toward the ship girls formation while Javelin flanked the Sirens to their right side while launching torpedoes, it caused the Sirens to accelerate in order to dodged the incoming torpedoes and that put them in very close range with Avrora. The Russian woman only smirked as she charged through their formation, her guns rapidly spewing HE shells at the Siren ship girls surrounding her. The explosions managed to stun majority of the Siren ship girls temporarily and that give Avrora a room to work.

Back on the Northern Union, they are severely outgunned and outnumbered against Siren naval units and that means every one of them have to do their utmost. If it means single handedly diving toward enemy formation and massacred them? Then so be it, and Avrora is very experienced in a solo fight. Her guns are reloaded, she fired all around her once more as she closed in on one of the Smasher. Avrora avoided the mechanical limbs cannons hybrid by circling around her, she grabbed the Smasher's head before she twisted it around 180 degree and used her cannon to point blank shoot her in the back which basically smashed the Smasher to bits with direct focused fire of HE shells…Ship girls to ship girls combat are deadly, since they possess relatively the same attack power generally the one who could deal massive damage the quickest would be the victor of the fight. The key for the fight is to target the ship girl themselves, not the riggings. But sometimes, disabling their rigging first would be beneficial in the long run though majority of the ship girls prefer to outright kill these Siren ship girls.

With the biggest threat eliminated, Avrora pulled back and switched with Javelin who used all of her guns to commence all-out assault against the Siren ship girls. Her AP shells hit majority of the Sirens, before they could recover Avrora rained them once again with HE shells which effectively stun locked the Siren ship girls. Javelin keeping them pinned while Avrora trying her best to burn them, it's pretty effective tactic especially when the Sirens huddled in close formation. Realizing that both Avrora and Javelin are planning to keep their distances while keep raining them with lead, the Scavengers charged at Javelin who put on her serious face before she set her stance…

STAB!

In one quick movement Javelin hurled her javelin forward and stabbed one Scavenger right in the chest, Javelin also unleashed her torpedoes toward the two remaining Scavenger who jumped and dived toward Javelin, she managed to punch one out of the way but the other one managed to use her rigging to hit her in the head. Javelin was thrown back for some distance away and landed in the water, she resolved to get up quickly because the two Scavenger is coming toward her and fast. Javelin recovered successfully, she fired her cannons and focused her fire toward one Scavenger while letting the others come closer towards her. She managed to slow down the Siren she's firing at and when the Siren that's about to mash her got too close Javelin immediately launched her torpedo barrage at her, Javelin also immediately dashed forward and rapidly fired her guns at the last Scavenger's head…With that, she managed to kill three Scavengers singlehandedly.

"Ouch…my head" Javelin said out loud as she held her head with her left hand.

Javelin sighed a bit before she turned around just in time to witness Avrora singlehandedly punched the last Chaser before gunning her down with all of her cannons, that Chaser is nothing but a burning corpse and full of holes now. Avrora stared at Javelin before she widened her eyes and approached her, Javelin was confused on why she did that until she felt her left cheek warming. Javelin placed her hand on her left cheek and stared at it, he gloved left hand is red with her own blood. Avrora approached her and she pulled out her handkerchief and wiped the blood of Javelin's left cheeks.

"Oh dear, you would have to be treated" Avrora said to Javelin.

"Yeah…I felt a bit dizzy too" Javelin said to Avrora while she frowned.

"Can you make it to the Anderson?" Avrora asked Javelin while she smiled a bit.

"I don't know Ms. Avrora" Javelin said to Avrora while she frowned.

"I see. Come on, I'll escort you back, let's get your head checked" Avrora said to Javelin while she smiled.

.

"Javelin took a hit on her head komandir, I'm bringing her back to ALS Anderson for checking up" Avrora said to William on the radio.

"Understood Avrora…What's the status on southern flank?" William said to Avrora then asked out loud on the radio.

"We're still in the fight commander, but it appears they didn't intend to reinforce this fleet. We're thinning their numbers bit by bit!" Warspite said to William on the radio.

"Got it Warspite, keep it up. Also, attention everyone, our helicopters already arrived which means you could resupply if you need it. Head to Anderson if you're low on ammo" William said out loud on the radio.

So, the fight is proceeding well. William expected casualties and it would appear the east flank took the most damage with many destroyers and cruisers being injured, Akashi is swiftly proceeding with her repairs so the east flank would be as good as new, Javelin got injured and she will be treated on Anderson, some girls on the west flank would also come to the Anderson for treatment…The only flank that haven't engaged in chaotic naval combat is the north flank so far, but William feel it won't be long until they decided to block their attempt to move. William looked toward Amagi who sat on the XO's chair as she inspected the holographic display of their area of operation…She's the one who noticed that Sirens detached a Battlegroup to the southwest side of their fleet and the one who noticed the incoming fighter jet swarm on the left flank, honestly she is good at adapting the strategy even if William was the one who implement it. Amagi made her suggestion to William so he could make the decision, she handled the tactical implementation so well…He's honestly glad that she's with him.

"Our southern group still holds pretty well shikikan-sama, but casualties keeps increasing. If we don't get the propellers repaired soon then all of this would be for nothing" Amagi said to William with serious face.

"Right…Vestal, what's the status of the propellers?" William asked Vestal on the radio.

"Should be done soon commander! I need a bit more time!" Vestal said to William on the radio.

"Let us know the moment it's fixed!" William said to Vestal on the radio.

"Sir! Radar pick something up! It's directly above us!" One of the crew said out loud.

"It's not just above! They're all over us!" Another crew said out loud.

"I'm seeing them too, can you determine what is it based on their signature?" Amagi asked the crew as she operated the holographic display in front of her.

"No ma'am, but the two signature above us is different than the rest and one of them is on the database" The crew said out loud.

"Spotters reporting! Suicide boats! Coming at our starboard side!" A crewman said out loud.

"We got some on the port side too! Coming in fast! Where did they come from?!" Another crewman said out loud.

"Portals! On our front and rear! Another suicide boat groups!" A crewman said out loud.

"Light up our ICWS and secondary! I want every guns on this ship to fight off those boats!" Johnson said out loud.

The aircraft carrier light up every gun she has to defend herself from the incoming Siren suicide boats, the escort fleet around them also fired everything they have at the incoming boats. It was apparent that ALS Anderson is Siren's primary target however the escort ships also being rammed as collateral damage, it was apparent because even though the boats could change direction they just slammed it into anything that gets in their way…The few explosions occurred around the carrier indicated that the escort cruisers on their sides and the battleship in front of them suffer some hit from the suicide boat, and there are several more of them still heading for the Anderson.

"They're closing in fast!" A crewman said out loud.

BOOM!

"One of them made it through!" A crewman reported.

"Hull breach! Hull breach! Port side has a hull breach! We're filling up fast!" One of the crewman reported.

"Evacuate everyone there and seal the bulkheads! Keep the engine room dry and pump water to the other side to keep us stable! We'll lose some buoyancy but as long as the hangar bay is still secure then we're all good!" Johnson said out loud.

BOOM!

"What now?!" William asked out loud in annoyance, this is getting ridiculous.

"Where did that come from!?" Johnson asked one of the crewman.

"We lost a good chunk of our rear flight deck! None of our spotter saw where the attack came from but the hole it left is huge!" The crewman said out loud.

"Commander?! This is Vestal! A large yellow beam just came from the sky and hit the aft! Sirens are attacking from above!" Vestal said to William on the radio.

"Sirens are attacking from above! Eyes up everyone!" William said out loud on the radio.

"SIREN DROPSHIPS! SIREN DROPSHIPS ABOVE US! WE GOT INCOMING!" One of the spotter shouted on the radio.

William and Johnson widened their eyes as the ICWS guns on the Anderson got blown to smithereens, it was then and there they saw around three Siren dropships hovered from above, touched down on the flight deck and dropped its contents. There are dozens of troopers which immediately engaged in combat with the marines, just when everything seems couldn't turn for the worse something landed behind the advancing troopers. A white haired woman, with bright yellow eyes, wearing sailor uniform and a psychotic grin adorning her face…She stared at the bridge and William felt himself tensing as he could sense that Purifier is staring at him directly, she smiled before she casually walked forward towards them.

"Attention! We are being boarded! All units, get to your defensive position and hold this ship at all cost! Protect our priority cargo with everything you got!" Johnson said out loud on the PA system.

"Purifier…" William said out loud her name in dread and annoyance.

"…Friend of yours?" Johnson asked William while he frowned.

"We met on one 'day' stand on Furushima, I rammed her with an F-15 and she's still alive? Guess Prinz was right about her possessing multiple bodies" William said to Johnson while he grimaced.

"And now we got to repel boarders with her in our way…" Johnson said out loud with a grim face.

"Let Amagi and I handle them Johnson, you stay here and coordinate the ship defense" William said to Johnson.

"Well, you're the one who have killed bunch of them successfully. I'll let the pros handle it…Good luck buddy, be careful" Johnson said to William while he smiled.

"You too mate. Come on Amagi, looks like we have to join the fight after all" William said to Johnson then to Amagi who nodded her head in agreement.

…The large purple portal in the sky closed after sending the units it's supposed to send, among the black mass of black metal cladded machines there's a female whose cladded in black rigging while silently hovered on high altitude as she surveyed everything beneath her. Her lips cracked into a malicious grin as she noted that the dropships have successfully landed on top of the aircraft carrier, oh it's all going according to plan. It looks like they manage to fool those humans even though the plan is quite obvious, they are simply too focused in defending their outer perimeter that they didn't really prepare what if some managed to get inside their circle of protection…But perhaps, with him being down there, there's still a probability that their plan would fail.

"Ah, I see you have begun phase two" Suddenly the communicator of the person blared to life.

"I think it's time to see whether or not Azur Lane could fight in full defensive battle, they would need the experience in the near future…I'll be sure to put an entertaining test result for the report, Observer Alpha" The person said Observer Alpha on the communicator while she grinned.

"Fufu, make sure you do. Also, while you're there, I want to know how far that man has 'improved'…" Observer Alpha said to the person on the communicator.

"Yes yes, I understand. Though, it would mean putting a leash on Purifier again" The person said to Observer Alpha on the communicator.

"See that you do, she got the tendency to mess up the equation and we can't keep having that if we want accurate experiment result…Ah, look, the girls are trying to help their commander~, how cute~! Make sure they don't get there, Tester Beta" Observer Alpha said to Tester Beta on the communicator.

"Hmph! That would be a child's play…Now, let the show begin!" Tester Beta said out loud as she snapped her fingers.

Multiple portals opened just outside the formation of Battlegroup Dakota, dozens of ship girls on all class streamed out of it and ready to engage in battle. Tester Beta watched as the human ship girls stopped their advance before they charge toward the newly arrived ship girls, the woman only grinned in satisfaction when she saw that. This battle is far from over and there are still a lot more variable she would like to test out, let's see how far she could push the Azur Lane before they break and Tester Beta hoped they are as resilient as she expected…With that in mind, she will watch from afar, eager to see what surprise waiting for her perfectly planned scenario.

* * *

**...On Aurora Noctis I failed to get Valiant and Perseus from the gacha then failed to get Scharnhorst and Gneisenau for the very much needed Ironblood backlines because all I have for them is Graf Zeppelin and Zeppy! I WILL HAVE TO WAIT LONGER IF I WANT TO GRIND MAMA FREDRICH EFFECTIVELY! Because of that sadness I spent my time simping for v-tubers until I remember, that I got a story to write! And here we go, a bit late from schedule but still managed to get released nevertheless. As usual thank you for the follow, favorite and review guys! This arc would mostly be…yeah, combat oriented I believe. Now, back to watching how YAGOO's dream is slowly being crushed before proceeding for the next chapter.**

**See you next time!**

**\- Dasmara**


	31. Tenacity

"Amagi, will you take on Purifier again?" William asked Amagi with concerned tone.

"Hai, I was caught off guard last time…I won't make the same mistake twice" Amagi said to William with determined voice.

"I'll help you, I can be a very convincing distraction for her" William said to Amagi.

"Very well…But as thing stands, we have to reach her first. My cannons would only wreck this ship from the inside if I used it" Amagi said to William.

"Don't worry, I'll clear the way. Just stick behind me" William said to Amagi.

William and Amagi are inside the ship's armory, she accompanied William as he geared up for the close quarter fight against Siren Troopers and Purifier. He put on his usual combat goggles attached with a small camera on the side alongside a spare protective combat helmet, he swiftly took an M4A1 Carbine and slapped an underbarrel launcher on it alongside an ACOG scope. He then proceed to load all of his available pouch with the magazines and 40mm grenades, after that he still took some time to take several frag grenades, flashbang and a block of C4 explosive along some military grade double tape. William deemed that he already got everything, he already have his revolver as sidearm so he proceed to exit the armory…that until he double backed and took a spare SMAW Launcher from one of the Anti-Tank weapon racks then used it's holster rope to sling it around his shoulder.

"Well, I think I should carry this…for self-defense" William said out loud.

"Good idea" Amagi said to William while she smiled a bit.

"Carl, where is that Purifier current position?" William asked Johnson on the radio.

"She's still on the entrance based on our CCTV, Siren Troopers are pushing hard toward the hangar. The marines would definitely need your help, if you stumble upon them-" Johnson said to William on the radio.

"Then I'll help them. I'll take out as many of them as I could during my way there" William said to Johnson on the radio.

"Understood, good luck" Johnson said to William on the radio.

William rechecked his loadout to make sure he still carried everything before he nodded to himself, alright he's set for combat. Amagi's rigging would only tore this carrier from the inside if she used it for combat so it's up to him to clear the way, however if they encounter Purifier then it would be a different story. Based on Johnson's info Purifier is still near the entrance to this aircraft carrier superstructure, which means both of them could still sent her outside and do their battle there. Easier said than done, to do that they would need to make Purifier lower her guard and it's going to be a tough one…What can really distract that psychopath? Regardless of how, they already have a plan and they should try to execute it.

"…Let's go Amagi" William said to Amagi as he cocked his M4A1.

"Lead the way, shikikan-sama" Amagi said to William.

Both of them started to make their way around the inner structure of the carrier with William in the lead, he keep his weapon on alert stance as they made their way through the corridors. Around a minute later they saw several purple plasma bolts flying in front of them which prompted William and Amagi to stopped moving, they could hear several gunfire in retaliation which is answered by additional streams of plasma bolts. A marine dived in front of William before he took cover on the wall beside him, the marine steadied his breathing before he noticed that William and Amagi are looking at him.

"Commander, you better take the other way! This path is a kill zone sir!" The marine said to William as he threw his thumb toward the corridor where the plasma bolts came from.

"Alright, thanks!" William said to the marine.

The marine only nodded before he returned fire with his M4A1 toward the Siren Troopers, William and Amagi turned around and try to find another way to get to the exit. There is a detour they could use though it'll take longer to head for the entrance, but they didn't have other options so they took it. Crewman and marines are running around them to do their job, the both of them already bumped into dozen of people as they make their way to another entrance. They are close to one after navigating the crowded corridors and there's a squad of marines in the next intersection, suddenly a plasma bolt flew and hit a marine on his back.

"GAAAAAHHHH!" The marine screamed in pain as he fell to the floor.

"Man down! Man down! Hostile at six o'clock!" One of the marines shouted out loud.

The marines immediately take cover behind the walls on the intersection and starts to fire their weapons, it looks like this route is also compromised. But William knew there are no other ways they could take based on the schematics of the aircraft carrier he saw before, they should just push through this route. The marines who are pinned down by Siren Troopers retaliated with their weapons, but seems it isn't enough to deter the troopers to take cover one of the marines had enough and he took out his fragmentation grenade, unpin the grenade and tossed it toward the Siren Troopers.

"GRENADE!" The marine shouted out loud.

BOOM!

"Good! Now keep them pinned!" One of the marine ordered.

The marines suppressed the Siren Troopers by firing in turns as they advanced forward, they managed to push the troopers into falling back and take cover. It turns out the area they're falling back to is a mess hall and the troopers immediately spread themselves out behind desks or supporting pillars, they also fired at the marines who's coming through the narrow entrance to the mess hall which effectively downed two marines who's charging at them. The rest of the marines take cover by whatever cover they could find, overturned tables, doorways or even laying prone on the floor. William and Amagi slowly approached the marines from behind, he noted that two of them saw him approaching and alerted their sergeant who looked back and waved at William and Amagi.

"What's the situation here sergeant!?" William asked the sergeant in charge of the squad.

"Those troopers have been flooding this entrance for the last five minutes! There's just so many of them and this one is the most problematic so far!" The sergeant said to William.

"We need to get to the entrance sergeant! We need your support!" William said to the sergeant.

"Alright sir! Men! We'll push through the mess hall! Get a flashbang in there, pick your targets, suppress them and get close!" The sergeant said out loud to his men.

"Yes sir! Flash out!" A marine said out loud.

BANG!

"GO! GO! GO!" The sergeant shouted out loud.

"Amagi! Get behind me!" William said to Amagi as he readied his M4A1.

Amagi hold on to William, she took his revolver and hold it in her hand in case she need to shoot one of those troopers without her rigging. The marines alongside William and Amagi stormed the mess hall, William made sure Amagi is well protected behind him as he moved while firing his M4A1 at any Sirens who dare to show up their face…The clearing took a while as the troopers keep moving around and basically played the cat and mouse game with the marines, it took them a full minute until the last trooper died from a headshot from one of the marines. Amagi sighed in relief as she returned the revolver to William who took it and sheathe it, the sergeant approached William after he make sure the troopers died.

"We'll hold this section sir! You better get moving!" The sergeant said to William.

"Thanks for the help marine!" William said to the sergeant.

Both Amagi and William continue to move toward the entrance, the area near the entrance is quite as it's been taken over by the Sirens. Both of them have to move carefully, William use his every sense he has to detect any signs of enemy. He paid very close attention to any details around him, his ears are working on overdrive to detect any footsteps other than his and Amagi or the occasional sounds of gunfire around them…He then heard the sound of metal door being thrown open and torn from its hinges and that caused both of William and Amagi to stopped moving, they knew their target is close to them.

"William, you're close to Purifier" Johnson said to William on the radio.

"Come out come out wherever you are commander~! I know you're here~!" William and Amagi could hear Purifier taunting him.

"…No shite, I could hear her. Where is she?" William asked Johnson on the radio in low tone.

"…Two corridors away from you, judging by her direction she'll cross path with you in that intersection in front of you. She have four Siren Trooper escort with her" Johnson informed William on the radio.

"Not a big deal…Amagi, listen up…" William said to Johnson on the radio before he spoke with Amagi.

Purifier stared at the hallways in front of her with four troopers on her side, she knew the moment she made eye contact with William he will prepare to engage her in close combat. He's just that kind of commander, Purifier is eager to face him again after their brief meeting on Furushima. Plus, she actually want a payback since he rammed her with an F15 jet and basically 'killed' her. This time that man wouldn't have any vehicle at his disposal, it'll be easy to kill him but since it will bore her Purifier decide that toying with him would probably be more fun than just outright killing-

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

BANG!

"…For someone who got crushed, you look awfully fine" Purifier grinned when she heard that masculine voice.

The four Siren Trooper that escorted her dropped dead on the floor with bullet holes on each of their heads, Purifier turned her head around to stare at the one and only Commander William Blaze who still has her head under gunpoint with his M4A1. Why the fuck didn't William also put one on Purifier? He learned a lot back on Furushima, he knew that his rifle would do nothing but annoy her and the grenade launcher could probably stun her for a bit. But, he already got a plan on how to handle her and get Purifier out from this corridor so they could fight on the flight deck instead.

"Haha! There you are! I have to say commander, you didn't know how to handle a girl! I just want to talk to you back then!" Purifier said to William while she grinned.

"I don't speak laser beam in case you noticed, so how about we speak in English?" William said to Purifier while he frowned.

"Too bad, I'm more fluent with laser beam" Purifier said to William as one of her drone appeared beside her.

PSIU!

Purifier used her drone, attached it on her left arm and used it as a wrist cannon to shoot at William who widened his eye before he dashed back and rolled to the side which caused him to successfully dodge the laser beam shot out of Purifier's drone. The laser beam melted the wall in front of her, several marines appeared behind the hole with their weapons in hand but one look at her and they immediately took cover and did not engage her…well, they certainly knew not to mess with her. Purifier scowled as she lowered her left arm, William could be categorized as a giant yet he still manage to move that fast and deftly avoided her attacks. Purifier sighed as she readied her second drone on her right hand, this might take a while.

"…For someone that large, he's quite agile" Purifier muttered to herself.

"Alright, fine! I'll take you head on!" William suddenly said out loud.

"Ho!? You're taking me on by yourself?! Hey, I think you forgot that you are a mere human, commander!" Purifier said to William while she grinned.

"You thought I'm an ordinary human? Well, you're wrong and I'll show you! STANDO POWAH!" William said to Purifier as he came out of cover and started posing.

"…Huh?" Purifier stared with confused face at William who's posing strangely with his left hand covering his face, his M4A1 dangling on its ropes on his left side.

"For I'm a stand user! Witness my true power of my stand! Star Platinum!" William grinned cockily as he crossed his arms together.

"…The fuck?" Purifier asked out loud, still confused with what she saw.

BOOM!

CRASH!

Purifier got no time to respond because she's suddenly got hit on the side by two battleship grade AP shells, got thrown because of it, hit and smashed through the wall then ended up laying prone outside on top of the flight deck with torn clothes and large bad bruising on her left sides…William sighed in relief and looked to the corridor on his right side, there stood Amagi with her rigging deployed. That's the simple plan they discussed before, William would get her attention then Amagi will blew her out of the carrier's inner superstructure with her AP shells…can't risk setting the ship on fire if she used her HE shells especially from the inside.

"Took you long enough, I'm starting to look ridiculous in front of her" William said to Amagi with half closed eye.

"Not just in front of her, the entire bridge crew" Johnson said to William on the radio with amused tone.

"Urgh…" William groaned out loud as he facepalmed.

"Hontouni gomenasai shikikan-sama, I had to evade one of the nearby trooper squad" Amagi said to William as she bowed a bit while she frowned.

"Well, you arrived before I even make further fool of myself so it's fine. Come on, let's take on that bitch" William said to Amagi as he grabbed his M4A1.

Both of them exited through the hole in the wall where Purifier was thrown through and came face to face with the Siren as she try to stood back up, being hit by two AP shells hurt like hell and she's for sure didn't expect Amagi to also be on this ship. Not even Tester Beta saw Amagi on this ship…Or did she actually knew but didn't tell her? No, there's no way that's the case. That woman would surely notify Purifier if she did notice, why? Tester Beta ordered Purifier to take on William Blaze up close, had she known that Amagi will be there then she will advise to 'take care' of Amagi first before proceeding to engage William Blaze.

"Ugh, fucking hell…" Purifier muttered as she stood up and turned around.

"I can't believe a Siren would fall to such trick" Amagi said to Purifier.

"Hey! Who wouldn't when he's looking that stupid with that post eight grade syndrome posing huh!? I'm baffled!" Purifier said to Amagi while she scowled.

"…Eh, she's not wrong" William said out loud as he shrugged before he raised his M4A1.

TRATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

"Tch! You think those small bullets could harm me?!" Purifier shouted as she tanked an assault rifle barrage with her drones, none of the bullets give any meaningful damage to it.

"No, but hers will!" William said to Purifier as he reloaded.

"Away with you!" Amagi said out loud as she fired her cannon.

BOOM!

"Not this time bitch!" Purifier said out loud as she dodged the AP shells and used her drone cannons to fire at Amagi.

PSIU!

BAM!

The moment Amagi noticed the drones in Purifier's arms was directed at her the Sakura lady immediately used the stack of boxes nearby as cover while she dodged her attack, the laser beam fired by Purifier hit the boxes, punched through it and hit one of the parked planes behind it. Amagi shown up and fired once again at Purifier who still managed to dodged her shells before she retaliated in lighting speed, Amagi moved to the side and as result the energy beam hit her left side rig and caused a big explosion. William widened his eye before he swiftly returned his attention toward Purifier and unload the rest of the rounds in his magazine.

TRATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATATA!

"You're so annoying!" Purifier said to William as she scowled.

"Glad to hear you suffer for it!" William said to Purifier as he reloaded his M4A1 while he ran away from her.

"Lord William!" Hood said to William on the radio.

"Kind of busy here Hood! What is it?!" William asked Hood on the radio.

"We are dead locked! Sirens keep pouring out of the portals! If we keep this up and we will run out of ammunition fast!" Hood said to William on the radio.

"Alright! Deploy our reinforcement!" William said to Hood on the radio.

"Understood!" Hood said to William on the radio.

William fired at Purifier again as he moved between the stacks of boxes on which Amagi previously used as cover, he briefly noted that Amagi have managed to get away by dropping down from the aircraft carrier using the thick black smoke that came from the burning jet behind him as cover. She must've been trying for flanking maneuver, then that means William should continue to distract Purifier. William shown up from behind one of the boxes and he launched a 40mm grenade toward Purifier who jumped backwards to dodge the explosion, Purifier returned fire toward the box William took cover on but she found out that William have moved away from his last known position. He took cover behind the aircraft carrier's superstructure wall, he thought his next move as he adjust his equipment and reloaded his weapons.

"…Everyone, Lord William has spoken! Reinforcement alongside big guns have been authorized! They'll be here in five minutes! Hold the lines ladies!" Hood said out loud on the radio.

"Let's hope they'll be enough to punch all of these lots!" Warspite said to Hood on the radio.

"I'm sure they will" Hood said to Warspite on the radio.

William regulate his breathing before he come out from behind the wall, but he found that Purifier was nowhere to be found. He walked forward slowly while his eye keep scouring for the entire area for any sign of the Siren, she couldn't have just disappear into thin air. William scoured the whole area before he noted a shadow moving past in front of him, the man instinctively turned around and aimed high to find Purifier jumped down toward him. William didn't get the chance to fire his gun because Purifier kicked it away, she grabbed his shoulders, used it as anchor point to move toward his back before she kicked him hard that the man was thrown forward toward the wall. The impact proved to be quite hard which caused a loud noise and it prompted several marines to go outside, they froze when they realized that Purifier walked toward them while she grinned.

"…Get back! Seal this door!" William said to the marines as he try to regain his bearings.

"Y-Yes sir!" The marine said as he led his comrades inside and sealed the door to the inner superstructure.

"Aww, I never take you as the compassionate type!" Purifier said to William while she grinned.

"…Shikikan-sama, I'm ready to support you. Break off from her line of sight so I could distract her, then plant the C4 you have on her. That should give us the window to kill her, please nod if you receive this message" Amagi said to William on the raido.

William nodded his head once as he felt his breathing have normalized again, he stood up and prepare himself to engage Purifier in close quarter. How to do this without killing himself? That's when he realized, he should've unload everything at her. William fired his M4A1 at Purifier who's advancing slowly and cockily as the 5.56mm bullets failed to give her any meaningful damage, the bullets mostly struck her rigging but few that did hit her flesh only serve to give her some yellowish spot on her skin. It didn't take long for the magazine to run out of ammo so he used the underbarrel launcher to launch a grenade at Purifier, a 40mm grenade should hurt her. The Siren crossed her arms equipped with her drone cannons in front of her and that's enough to tank the damage alongside the kinetic force, she grinned in satisfaction before her smile fell because she realized she have fallen for William's trap. The man unsheathed the SMAW Launcher from his back in lightning speed and fired at Purifier split seconds later.

WHOOSSHH!

BOOM!

Purifier was thrown forward due to the explosion caused by the warhead that hit the floor behind her, she's thrown straight toward William's direction. The man let go of the launcher and tightened his right fist as he watched where Purifier was going, when she's confirmed will narrowly passed him on the right side William launched an unrestrained punch toward Purifier's stomach region. His fist connected, it produced a satisfying sound and William used all of his upper body strength to punch forward then brought Purifier down to the flight deck floor. Purifier was slammed down with widened eyes and agape mouth, her stomach region was being crushed by a giant fist and it drilled her toward the floor. William didn't let up as he sat on top of her, he launched his left fist toward her face in lightning speed, then his right, then his left again…In ten seconds flat he launched full unrestrained barrage of punches toward Purifier's face, after savagely hitting her in the face he used his hands to choke on her as he tried his best to snap her neck…However, Purifier only grinned in combination of satisfaction and malice…

"…Choke me harder daddy~!" Purifier said to William while she grinned.

…That managed to stun William for a bit in disbelieve, despite putting every ounce of physical strength he could muster he still couldn't even put any kind of pressure on Purifier. The Siren easily used her arms to grabbed on William's chocking hands, forced them apart before she headbutted his face and that forced him to let go of Purifier…His nose is broken and blood streamed out from his nostrils, William put on his unarmed combat stance to face Purifier. The Siren accepted his challenge as she dashed forward with a thrust kick, William managed to narrowly avoid it, grabbed on her extended leg and thrown her toward the deck wall. Purifier's back hit the wall and William dashed forward with a swinging right fist, she noted the incoming strike and moved her head to the right which caused William's fist to hit the deck wall instead.

BANK!

His fist is connected to the metallic wall, William widened his eye because he realized he's wide open. So he counteract that by jamming his left knee at Purifier, she caught his knee and stopped it dead on its tracks with her right hand. Realizing that he's out of option William dashed backwards as he take out his revolver, he unloaded six .44 magnum rounds by rapidly firing it in cowboy style. However, that didn't deter Purifier in the slightest as she started to sprint forward with a swinging left fist which William dodged narrowly by side stepping to the side. That leave him vulnerable once again because as soon as he came to a halt Purifier is already in front of him, left leg extended in a horse kick. William crossed his arms together and take the full force of the impact, it send him toward the stack of boxes behind his position and he broke one of them when his body hit it in full force.

BRUAK!

The man gritted his teeth in pain, first he got his nose broken, now his body are sore all over the place, his arms hurt a lot and not to mention Purifier still haven't taken any meaningful damage from him other than some torn clothes! Frustrated? Hell fucking yes he is! William however noted that these boxes would serve well as a maze to prepare for the ambush that Amagi said to him, he couldn't risk speaking and give away his position because he didn't know for sure how good are Purifier's hearing sense. So William tapped his earpiece, he used the transmit feature that will give a head's up ping toward the receiver when a transmission is broadcasted towards them. William used the transmit button to contact Amagi but repeatedly pushing it in a set of rhythm, William is sending a morse code toward Amagi using his radio and he told her to commence the attack now.

"Come on commander! Come out and fight me like a man! Or did you-" Purifier said out loud while she grinned cockily.

BOOM!

Purifier was thrown forward when she's hit in the back by two HE shells and crashed into one of the boxes which destroyed it, she got up while she growled angrily and turned around to see Amagi herself stood near the edge of the flight deck. Her left rigging are badly damaged, the port turrets are unusable but that doesn't mean she couldn't fight with her starboard turrets…Purifier rear side are scorched, she lost the clothing on her rear, her bloomers are barely hanging which revealed her butt cheeks and threatened to reveal what's hidden on her crotch area, her clothes are burned by the HE impact and she's basically topless right now with the exception of the remains of her sailor uniform's collar.

"Tch, you're quite persistent, Amagi! Just die!" Purifier said to Amagi as she aimed her drone cannons.

"I'm afraid that is not possible" Amagi said to Purifier while she frowned.

Both of them trade fire once again, Amagi being extra careful not to hit the stack of boxes where William was hiding. Both of them jumped all over the place while firing all of their weapons at each other…William noted that Amagi have got Purifier's attention, it's time for him to prepare. William took out the C4 Block from his pouch and the military grade double tape, he swiftly got to work by coating one side of the C4 with the double tape. After making sure the C4 won't fall off from any surface, William peeked at Amagi who's still battling Purifier…Amagi managed to catch a glimpse at William behind the stack of boxes and she immediately knew what to do, she let herself be exposed by standing still and that successfully baited Purifier to approach her for close quarter kill.

"Now shikikan-sama!" Amagi said out loud.

Amagi dashed forward and grabbed on Purifier's arms before locking her in place, William dashed out of his cover with the C4 block on his right hand. He rammed into Purifier, tackled her to the floor while planting the C4 on her back at the same time. To distract her, William tried his best to choke her from behind with his right arm. But despite his best effort, Purifier still managed to resist by standing up despite William pinning her with his weight. The Siren then jumped high before flipping herself and that caused William to land on the floor with his back, added with Purifier herself above him and it managed to knock the wind out of him. Amagi swiftly closed in to assist but Purifier whose on guard dashed toward Amagi, seizing the initiative in their duel. Both trade jabs at each other, trying to secure a grip on one another. Purifier managed to grab onto Amagi's left sleeve which she latched on and start to spin her around, the Siren then let go of her and thrown her toward William who's just about to get up…Amagi landed on William who tried to caught her, it caused his right forearm to get dislocated as the payment for Amagi landing softly.

GRUK!

"ARGH!" William groaned in pain.

"Tch! I thought you're better than this, commander! When will you learn that I am more powerful than-" Purifier said to William while she scowled.

PIIIP!

BOOM!

Purifier didn't finish her sentence as the C4 attached on her back detonated, it sent her flying past William and Amagi into the center of the flight deck. William stored the detonator on his left hand and he gently let Amagi who's groaning down to the floor, William stood up and assessed the damage. Any normal human would've been torn apart but Purifier survived with a charred backside, her hair's a mess, her ponytail have been cut significantly by the explosion and he presumed that she got a severe concussion alongside trauma from that explosion alone. But since she's a Siren, he could never know for sure…Hey wait a second, how about bringing a dead body of a Siren ship girl for autopsy? Surely it'll shed some light on how their biology works…

"…It worked? I'll be damned…" William muttered to himself as he stared at Purifier.

"I don't think so. Here, let me fix your forearm" Amagi said to William as she approached him and corrected his right forearm joints.

GRUK!

"Urgh…Thanks. Well, she's unconscious at least" William said to Amagi while he smiled a bit.

"…Guh…" Purifier could be heard groaning.

"Or maybe not" William said out loud with half closed eye.

"Let's throw her out of this ship, I'll continue to face her on water" Amagi said to William.

"Great idea" William nodded his head.

The man walked toward Purifier as he rubbed his right wrist to ease the pain for a bit, he noted that Purifier is basically naked! But somehow, despite the humanoid body he didn't get any some sort of sexual reaction. Probably because she's an enemy? The fact they're battling each other right now? Would he pop a boner if she approached him naked outside combat? William shook his head sideways to clear his thoughts, he got a job to do so he need to focus…William grabbed Purifier's right hand and dragged her all the way to the edge of the carrier's flight deck, Purifier shook her head to clear her vision and that's when she noticed that she's being dragged to the edge of the ship.

"Wha…Hey wait!" Purifier said to William with widened eyes.

"Bon voyage, bitch!" William shouted out loud.

SPLASH!

William used all of his strength and tossed Purifier down to the sea, he looked down briefly and noted that she didn't make any attempt to resurface but deep down he knew that she will come back to the surface with her rigging ready to go…Well, that's one problem solved temporarily. William stared at Amagi who stood beside him as she inspect the surface for any sign of Purifier, he noted that her rigging's portside is heavily damaged so he's concerned on whether she could fight Purifier by herself. But one glance coupled with a reassuring smile from her eased his worry for a bit, he knew she will came up with something that should give her an edge to kill that Siren bitch.

"…Good luck Amagi, don't be reckless" William said to Amagi with serious face.

"Arigatou. Though, I could say the same to you" Amagi said to William while she smiled a bit before she jumped off the carrier...

"…Attention everyone, Purifier is near the Anderson. Those who could disengage, head over here now. Amagi will need your help" William said out loud on the radio, better be safe than sorry.

"Avrora here komandir, I'm on the way" Avrora said to William on the radio.

"Belfast here, I shall provide support for Madam Amagi" Belfast said to William on the radio.

"Kawakaze, I'm on the move, shikikan" Kawakaze said to William on the radio.

"Zestorer 46 here, I'm inbound to the Anderson" Z46 said to William on the radio.

"Copy all. Thank you" William said out loud on the radio while he smiled in relief.

PSIUPSIUPSIUPSIUPSIUPSIUPSIUPSIU!

"Son of a-" William said out loud.

Several hails of purple plasma bolts flew at him as a Siren dropship attempted to land on the flight deck and William sprinted for the nearest cover, luckily Anderson still has many of the wooden boxes near the entrance of the superstructure so he took cover there as he reloaded all of his weapons and prepared his equipment because he knew he will start fighting those Siren Troopers. He still got several magazines for his M4A1, several 40mm grenades, bunch of fragmentation and flashbang grenades…William deemed he still got enough to engage in a firefight, but probably had to loot the corpse of those troopers once the firefight ends.

"Additional dropships! How the hell they keep passing through our anti-air kill zone!?" Johnson asked out loud on the radio.

"They dived…the dropships fly straight above us before diving down like a fighter, they stopped just before hitting us as they hover…Ingenious, our aircraft would've been torn apart from the sheer G force alone" William said to Johnson on the radio.

Yeah, that's what those dropships do. They dived down, 90 degrees in angle while firing their chin mounted plasma cannons, stopped around a hundred meters off the sea surface while engaging their stabilizer thrusters in full strength and managed to hover on top of the Anderson flight deck relatively safe since their ICWS guns are destroyed and their secondary cannons are busy with the other Sirens in close distance…William watched the dropship from behind one of the boxes, it opened the hatch on it's underside and Siren Troopers came out in double lines then jump down to board the carrier.

"More troopers. They really want that machine, Carl" William commented on the radio.

"…Odd" Johnson said to William on the radio.

"What is?" William asked Johnson on the radio.

"If they really want the machine, they could just blow a hole on our hangar bay and get in. Why did they storm us from above? Pretty redundant and inefficient if you ask me" Johnson said to William on the radio.

"…Right. But for now let's keep our guard, we have to be prepare for everything" William said to Johnson as he loaded a 40mm grenade to the launcher.

"Yeah. Oh by the way, if you don't mind Will, that platoon is going to pass your position in approximately ten seconds since they want to get inside. Give them some warm welcome would you?" Johnson said to William on the radio.

"I'll make it 110% with extra boom" William said to Johnson on the radio as he grinned a bit in malice.

There are around fifty Siren Troopers marching toward the entrance and William is hilariously outnumbered and outgunned, but he never confirmed that he's outmatched. Though, not wearing Albion armor means he's going to be so much vulnerable as one plasma bolt could spell doom for him. So, in order to take out fifty Siren Troopers? He need to get creative. William prepared two flashbangs and two frag grenades from his pouch, he pulled the pin on one of the flashbang before throwing it toward the Siren Troopers platoon. The flashbang exploded and blinded as well deafened the fifty of them, William swiftly took out the pin on two frag grenades and tossed it toward the troopers. Two explosions occurred and it managed to take out a good chunk of their numbers, but not enough to reduce it to the numbers William could handle by emptying his carbine so he need to do more…daring approach.

William used the last flashbang and it blinded some of them, few looked away when they saw the second flashbang being thrown at them so William didn't manage to blind all of them. However, that's enough since William used his underbarrel launcher to launch a grenade toward those that are blinded. The previous attack combined with the 40mm grenade explosion took out more than half of their numbers, William swiftly noted that there's at least twelve of them remaining and taking cover behind the stack of boxes or laying prone with their plasma rifle aimed at his general position. Since he ran out of grenades to use and only having one last 40mm grenade, William decided to go all out. He came out of cover with his M4A1 rapidly spewing 5.56mm rounds toward the troopers laying in prone and successfully take out four of them, the rest of the troopers returned fire but the plasma bolts missed since William already moved away from his cover.

He actually circled the box stacks and came up on the side of the Siren troopers, William approached one of them who's too busy searching for him and used his combat knife to stab its neck from the right side. The trooper's scream of pain managed to get the attention the other seven and they turned their guns to fire at him, William used the trooper he's grabbing as a meat shield as he retreated behind the boxes then appeared split second later to launch the last 40mm grenades toward the troopers and the explosion take out three of them at once. So, in the end, William had to face the four remaining troopers who's probably pissed at him for taking out forty six of their friends in under two minutes. William noted that he's down to last magazine for his M4A1, he swiftly reloaded the gun when he heard something fell beside him. He looked down and widened his eye, it's a Siren plasma grenade.

PSIUBAM!

The grenade exploded but fortunately William already dived toward the other boxes so he's safe from the energy blast, he did feel the heat on his legs but he's certain that it didn't get cooked and turned into well done human leg roast…William rolled when he touched the floor, he came out of cover and sprinted toward the four chasing Siren Troopers who were shocked to see him not running but charging at them while burning the ammo on the last magazine for his carbine. Two of them fell after receiving dozens of bullets to the chest armor piece, the other two try to fire at William but they were too late because William is already in front of them. He unsheathed his knife and jammed it to one trooper's neck right side, he then brutally yanked the knife to the left side and that caused the trooper's throat to be sliced open then spewed massive amount of yellowish blood. The other one fired its weapon but the projectile managed to miss William's head since he immediately ducked after slitting the throat of a trooper, William grabbed on his M4A1 before swinging the butt stock upwards at the Siren's head. The swing caused the Siren to be stunned, William let go of his carbine, disarmed the Siren by knocking of its plasma rifle to the side, sent barrage of punches toward its head before finishing it off with a powerful frontal thrust kick as he shouted out loud for shit and giggles.

"FUS RO DA!"

BRUAK!

The last trooper got kicked hard and flew toward one of the boxes, it crashed into and broke the box. That last trooper groaned in pain and try to get up, but it never got the chance as William pinned it down by stepping on its chest, putting his entire weight on his feet before he swiftly took out his revolver and fired three shots to its head…William confirmed the trooper died after it stopped moving with three holes punctured the surface of its helmet, he got down and sheathed his revolver before he take a look around. He actually managed to kill fifty of them by using everything he have, admittedly William felt proud of himself for managing to do that. No doubt this event will be used by Lucas somehow to increase morale, he's sure of it.

"Damn…remind me to not piss you off" Johnson said on the radio.

"Don't piss me off Carl" William said to Johnson on the radio while he grinned.

"Eh, not that soon but oh well…Thanks to that you got incoming hostiles, you have enough ammo?" Johnson asked William on the radio.

"No, almost out of everything…But their plasma rifle would do nicely" William said to Johnson on the raido as he picked one of their plasma rifle on the floor.

"Careful on using it, there's no telling how many shots you have because we don't know its exact battery capacity" Johnson said to William on the radio.

"I see…Then, I'll take two…and some grenades too" William said to Johnson on the radio.

William crouched down on the nearby Siren Trooper, he took two plasma grenades that's connected to their crotch armor sides through some kind of magnetic lock. The rounded plasma grenade is a bit larger than their standard fragmentation, black in coloring with small reddish area on top of it which served as the primer of the grenade. The operation is quite simple, all you have to do is to press the button which will turn on the five seconds timer with a beeping tone and then the grenade will explode. Simple isn't it? The problem is that this grenade has no safety measure on it, if you accidentally pressed the primer well you better hoped that you got a space to threw it away because a point blank concentrated plasma energy explosion? Oof, better play the coffin dance meme as the countdown reached zero because you're a dead man walking at that point.

However, William noted that the plasma rifle that these troopers carried? They are overall longer than the one he saw on Furushima. This one has a butt stock, the barrel is longer and it is heavier. Did the ones he saw back on Furushima are Plasma Carbines? Who knows, the Intel regarding Siren Troopers type and weaponry are still inconsistent. But the fact that they have different weaponry is apparent now, maybe looting their corpse will be worth it in the future especially when their plasma grenade is quite deadly. The troopers also have their sidearm, the plasma pistol. As large as Desert Eagle but with slower and weaker plasma bolt than the ones produced by the rifle, it's still quite a formidable weapon nevertheless…William take the plasma rifle and the plasma pistol, now he's set for additional firefight.

"Additional dropship has arrived, show them what you got" Johnson said to William on the radio.

"…Game on" William said out loud on the radio as he watched the next dropship landing…

.

"Why does those portals keep opened?! They usually only send some batches before closing them!" Ark Royal asked out loud.

"They intend to pour out as many as they can for this battle?" Prinz asked out loud as she tapped her lips in wonder.

"If that's the case it won't be long before we lose this fight! I'm already running low on ammo here!" Hipper said out loud.

"Same, they are like endless horde! Here comes another wave!" Helena said out loud.

True to Helena's words, a large fleet of Siren ship girls accompanied by several mass produced ships appeared from portals in front of them. Zara huffed in annoyance and to steady her ragged breathing, she is exhausted to be honest and there's not many Semi Armor Piercing rounds she have left so she will have to be careful on what she fired at. In worst case, she will have to rely on her secondary guns alongside her sword if this attack keeps up…Zara took a glance at Warspite, the petite woman held her crimson longsword as she surveyed the enemy in front of them. A glance at her eyes however and Zara knew that Warspite has a plan in mind, her suspicion is confirmed when Warspite turned around to face toward the ship girls.

"…Signora Warspite, what are your orders?" Zara asked Warspite with serious expression.

"…Steady our formation everyone! Let them get closer!" Warspite said out loud.

"Let them get closer?!" Hipper asked Warspite with disbelieved tone.

"Believe me, let them. We timed this right and those Sirens are fish food" Warspite said out loud while she smiled confidently.

"Warspite! The Sirens outnumbered us! Three to one!" Hipper said to Warspite while she frowned.

"Then it is an even fight!" Warspite said to Hipper with confident smile on her face.

Zara nodded her head, Warspite is a seasoned warrior so Zara trusted her. The other ship girls who known about her prowess also decide to heed her command, they're in good hands. The Siren fleet approached them closer with each second passed, the rest of the ship girls who held the southern flank already aimed their cannons toward each of their target while occasionally dodging some projectiles that were fired at their position. More than few of them glanced at Warspite in anxiousness as they wait for the command to fire their guns, did Warspite intend to get those Sirens into melee range before they are cleared to fire? That's the same as suicide. However, once the Sirens are close enough within one kilometers of range Warspite raised her hand that held her sword upwards before throwing it forward and pointed her sword at the Sirens.

"All ships! Fire at will! Full salvo! Pin those bollocks down!" Warspite shouted out loud.

Thunderous cannon shots could be heard across their formation and hundreds of shells immediately rain the approaching Siren fleet, the Sirens didn't take too kindly of being fired by combination of HE and AP shells so they returned fire on the ship girls. The fight ensues, but being the defenders, ALASUC ship girls manage to avoid almost every attack that the Siren fleet launched. In return, they managed to cause severe damage against the enemy formation, burning almost all of their mass produced ships and sinking the rest. Their main problem now is the enemy KANSEN which will prove to be a pain in the ass to deal with, when the Sirens got even closer Warspite nodded her head because the time has come to finish them off.

"Ark, round them up! Zara, Prinz, Hipper, follow me! We'll take them on close quarter! The rest of you, hold them down!" Warspite commanded out loud.

"Si!" ""Ja!"" Zara, Hipper and Prinz said to Warspite.

The three cruisers followed Warspite as she moved to the Siren's right flank, some of them noted this maneuver and turned their attention toward Warspite's group. Dodging their incoming fire in close quarter aren't easy by any means, especially given some of them have directed energy cannon which could melt their armor with relatively ease. Dozens of energy bolts flew toward Warspite, Zara, Prinz and Hipper which find its mark on Zara, an energy bolt struck her starboard side rigging and the Sardegna woman gritted her teeth due to the shock and heat it gave off.

"Zara!" Prinz said out loud as she witnessed Zara got hit by Siren's projectile.

"Grazing hit! This is nothing! My armor will hold!" Zara said to Prinz as she gritted her teeth.

"Well we got their attention! Shield wall!" Warspite said out loud.

Dozens of the Siren ship girls have turned toward their small group, the plan to bait them is a success and now they have to hold out for a bit and that is the reason why Warspite brought Prinz, Zara and Hipper with her. The three heavy cruiser stood in front of Warspite, they immediately projected and combined their energy shielding in front of them just as dozens of Sirens fired their cannons at them. The result? The combination of the shielding become strong enough to tank the Siren KANSENs mighty firepower, the Sirens kept firing before realizing that firing on them is futile so they choose to move in for close quarter strike. Prinz smirked when she saw the Sirens moved closer on them, so this is what Warspite intended to do from the start. She intend to fight them head on in close quarter…

"Now Warspite!" Prinz said out loud.

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!

Several battleship grade AP shells tore through the Sirens in front of them but that didn't deter the Sirens from closing on them, Zara took out her sword and she charged forward followed by Prinz and Hipper who's rigging are ready to engage in melee combat. Zara's sword might be thin in nature but that doesn't mean it's weak, she didn't hesitate to close in on several Explorers, hacking and slashing them apart with precise movements while dodging their respective melee or ranged attacks. Prinz grinned maliciously as she take on multiple Chasers and Navigators, by her side stood Hipper who's readying her rigging. Both of them launched their torpedoes as they advanced, striking many Sirens on the way, their rigging fired AP shells nonstop while occasionally grabbing some of the Sirens and bite them into two. Warspite roared loudly as she jumped straight toward combination of Navigators and Peace Breakers, this is what she have wished for quite some time, pure melee combat to hone her swordsmanship and she's having the time of her life moving from foe to foe with her sword coated in yellow blood as it swung or stabbed through Siren's body.

The other ship girls fired their guns nonstop to support the ship girls who's engaged in close combat with the Sirens, they have to be extra careful with their aim to avoid friendly fire but since the Sirens are distracted by the massacring KANSENs in their formation the other ship girls could take their time to confirm their shot. Ark Royal used her Swordfishes to make sure none of the Sirens flee from their kill zone, not an easy task concerning the harassment coming from them with their AA guns coupled with laser beam firing toward her relatively slow Swordfishes…After fighting for five minutes they managed to massacred the Sirens and only one of them remains, a Navigator who tries to flee from the combat area.

"One of them is escaping!" Fletcher said out loud on the radio.

"Not on my watch! Belli Dura Despicio!" Warspite said out loud as she fired her cannon which hit the fleeing Navigator straight on her back.

BOOM!

"…Merda…I guess you still got it, Signora Warspite" Zara said to Warspite as she smiled a bit, seeing her sniping skills brought some unpleasant memory for Zara.

"Thanks…Well, we finally cleared the southern flank. Everyone alright?" Warspite asked out loud.

"Most of us are running low on munition, we wouldn't have enough for the next extended firefight. I suggest we restock now while we got the chance" Hipper said to Warspite.

"Agreed. Alright, prioritize the destroyers, we'll go after them. I heard that Purifier is near ALS Anderson, I want to make it clear that you are NOT to engage her in combat. Just like Commander William said, stick to the plan" Warspite said out loud.

"Got it…Okay! Follow me everyone! Full speed ahead!" Fletcher led the destroyers back to Anderson.

"I'll accompany them!" Ark Royal said out loud as she smiled and followed the destroyers.

"Wait Ark! We still…and there she goes, she really couldn't help but to worry about the destroyers during battle, too much on occasions" Warspite said out loud with half closed eyes.

…Enterprise keep scanning for the enemy while she occasionally watched the west or east flank as they battled the Sirens, it's strange that Sirens didn't intend to block their advance by setting up a barricade to the north. Then again, they could never predict those bastard's intentions so Enterprise thought all they could do now is to react to whatever obstacle in front of them…Enterprise noted that several purple colored portals appeared in front of them, multiple Siren ship girls accompanied by dozens of their mass produced ships appeared. The northern flank defenders readied themselves, there are lot of them and they have expended some munition to remotely help the other flanks.

"Incoming from the north!" Enterprise said out loud.

"Our time has finally come. You ready Enterprise?" Hood asked Enterprise as she stood beside her.

"I'm always ready to fight, let's show them why they shouldn't mess with us!" Enterprise said to Hood while she smiled a bit.

"I concur…Destroyer team! Split up and advance on their flank!" Hood said out loud.

"We're going in!" Glowworm said to Hood as she and the other destroyers started to move.

"Let's cover them" Hood said to Enterprise while aiming her main guns toward the approaching enemy.

The destroyers split into two, one led by Glowworm and the other led by Charles Auburn. The large Siren formation on the northern flank will botch the entire battlegroup's advance when ALS Anderson propellers got fixed, so they have to take care of them quickly. Hood opened the fight by firing her main guns toward the advancing Siren ship girls, her HE shells rained upon them and caused them the ship girls to move erratically in effort to dodge the shells while the mass produced ships failed to evade them and several of them caught on fire. Enterprise launched her dive bombers up high, the planes flew each to above an enemy ship before it dived down while releasing its payload and punched a hole on their hulls or blew a ship girl's head…Glowworm advanced toward a burning profusely Siren mass produced battleship with maximum speed, she grinned as she jumped forward toward its hull.

"Meteor slam!" Glowworm said out loud while she grinned.

BANK!

Glowworm rammed through the battleship from its starboard side and exited through its port side, all the while setting the inner structure on fire by shooting her cannon equipped with HE shells. When she exited the ship, the holes on the ship exuded flames and thick black smokes. Glowworm continued and rammed into a mass produced Siren cruiser and she gave it the exact same treatment as their battleship…Enterprise watched from afar with awed smile, honestly she never expected that a destroyer like her managed to down two ships just like that and that pumped her to perform better.

"She never cease to amaze with how hard her head is" Enterprise said out loud while she smiled.

"Attention! Repair's complete! Anderson could move again!" Vestal said out loud on the radio.

"All ships! Full speed ahead! Let's get the hell out of here! Ms. Hood, we need those Sirens in the north flank taken out!" Johnson said to Hood on the radio.

"Understood Commander Johnson, we're handling it" Hood said to Johnson on the radio.

"The battlegroup is advancing" Enterprise said to Hood as she noticed the rest of the battlegroup advancing in slow speed.

"Then let's clear a path for them, the sooner we could reach friendly waters the better" Hood said to Enterprise.

"Enemy reinforcement incoming! Straight ahead!" Cleveland said out loud.

"There's a lot of them…" Denver muttered to herself beside Cleveland.

"I'm going in! Get them when they are distracted!" Enterprise said to Hood as she charged at them.

"Enterprise! Wait! We need to-. Hah…That woman…" Hood said out loud while she frowned.

Enterprise fired her light arrows rapidly as she charged at the large Siren formation, the destroyers would have a hard time if they got caught fighting with enemy reinforcement coming so Enterprise charge at them to distract the Sirens by putting on a show of force. Cause enough damage or chaos and eventually your enemies would start to focus their attention on you instead of your friends, tank class on Role Playing Games in a nutshell…But since she's not a battleship she's not built to tank damages, Enterprise better be quick on her feet as she keep their attention on her. However, even the dozens of shells that's continuously fired at her which she managed to dodge eventually hit her by pure chances as one AP shell coming from a Peace Breaker struck her in the head. Enterprise fell to the surface of the sea, her head's throbbing and bleeding. But not even that's enough to shatter her will and resolve, Enterprise immediately get back up even though she did so shakily. She saw around five Chasers and four Navigators approaching her directly, the woman sighed a bit before she scowled as she drawn her bowstrings, summoned her light arrows, fired it and the arrow hit a Chaser straight on her head. She repeated the process, making sure to aim and fire faster each time. But that didn't cut it, two Chasers and two Navigators have managed to get in close to Enterprise so the Grey Ghost herself choose to get up close and personal.

"HA!" Enterprise shouted out loud.

SMACK!

Enterprise jumped, spun once in the air and she brought down her left leg hard at one of the Navigators, the Siren plummeted into the water and her neck snapped from the sheer force behind that kick. Enterprise summoned two arrows and she fired in quick succession at the Chaser in front of her, the arrow each lodged on the center of their chest and the Sirens died easily. Enterprise felt something hot hit her back and she gritted her teeth in pain, she moved to the side just in time to dodge torpedo barrage and several energy bolts that came from the last Navigator. Enterprise quickly fired another arrow that turned into a dive bomber, it launched two torpedoes at the Navigator, blew her rigging and caused her to be thrown into the air. Split second later an arrow shot through her head and tore it into two, the Siren fell to the sea while spurting yellow blood…Enterprise sighed in relief before several more Chasers approached her while firing their cannons, Enterprise clicked her tongue as she drawn her bowstrings once again. But before she could shot her arrow the approaching Chasers were blown to bits by several HE shells, she looked back and saw Hood approaching her with stern face.

"…You are a mirror to how Lord William acts in combat, did you know that?" Hood said to Enterprise while she frowned.

"If I didn't do that the entire battlegroup behind us would be wasted! You heard what happened to Akagi and the others on our eastern flank!" Enterprise said to Hood while she frowned.

"But this isn't the way, you could have skirt around them, keep your distances as you chipped them bit by bit instead of rushing in with no strategy. I commend aggressiveness, not recklessness. Do you understand?" Hood asked Enterprise while she scowled.

"Yeah…got it" Enterprise said to Hood as she nodded her head.

Hood grabbed Enterprise right hand, she lead her back toward their perimeter where they are protected by the other cruisers. Hood took something out from a pouch she strapped on her left thigh hidden beneath her skirt, it's a compact first aid kit that she carried in case of emergency. Ever since their engagement on Terania, Hood considered that there might be a time where Vestal is unavailable to help in case William or any of them gotten injured thus she want to be prepared when that time comes. Honestly, back then when William almost got hit by a Siren bomb, she felt helpless for being unable to help him and that became the reason on why she carried the kit whenever she goes to sortie from that day on. Hey, she should tell the others to carry some as well, Vestal would surely be grateful with her job lessen…

Treating someone while moving has never been easy, fortunately both Hood and Enterprise able to steady themselves despite the constant near miss of energy bolts coming from the Siren formation. Hood made sure that she treated Enterprise's bleeding head properly, wrapping the bandage around the sterilized gauze quickly before tying the bandage around her head like a bandana. Enterprise nodded her head as thanks to Hood and both of them return to their task, to make sure those alien scum get what they deserved…But even after five minutes engaging them, the Sirens in front of them shown no signs of letting up as they constantly reinforced their barricade with additional ship girls or mass produced ships. The Northern group is driven to the point of exhaustion when they got no chance for a respite, furthermore their ammunition are almost expended and that leaves them on a bad position to continue the fight.

"Running low on ammo!" Cleveland said out loud.

"So am I!" London said out loud.

"We shall fight to our last shell! Even if we don't have any more rounds to shoot them with, we shall face them head on in close range!" Hood said out loud while she frowned.

"Belay that order" William suddenly said on the radio.

"Lord William!?" Hood asked out loud on the radio.

"That's commendable Hood, but I don't want any sacrifice. Southern group, restock your ammo and switch with northern group temporarily. Northern group, form up and return to Anderson to resupply" William said his orders on the radio.

"Warspite here, roger that commander. We are moving" Warspite said to William on the radio.

"…By your command, milord. All ships, form up on me! We will retreat slowly while keeping our guns aimed toward them!" Hood said out loud on the radio.

"Aye ma'am! Damnit! Siren reinforcement! Just how many are they planning to throw at us?!" Cleveland said out loud on the radio.

Additional reinforcement plugged any holes on the Siren barricade formation, each time they sunk a ship or kill a ship girl another one took their place. But fortunately it would seems the southern flank are clear at the moment, William intend to rotate them? Maybe that's because the Anderson could move again and the fact that northern group wouldn't last for additional ten minutes facing that endless horde, however they still have to retreat slowly before letting the southern group taking their position and to do that they would still need to face the Sirens in front of them. Suddenly, several missiles rained the Sirens from behind and briefly startled them and the ship girls. Who did that? Their answer came in the form of their Acheron dropship blazing through the Siren formation in mach two while firing its chin mounted chain gun, injuring several Siren ship girls in the process of their flyby.

"Wait, that's our dropship! Reinforcement has arrived!" London said out loud on the radio.

"Wohoo! We are saved!" Cleveland shouted excitedly as she pumped her fist.

"Thank heavens!" Hood said out loud as she sighed in relief.

"…Wait, they landed on Anderson?" Enterprise asked out loud as she stared at the dropship hovering on top of the carrier.

"…And it only has Manjuus inside it alongside supplies! Where are the ship girls!?" Hood asked out loud in wonder.

"I am Nagato! Nagato of the Sakura Empire! And thou shall fall before our might! Fire!"

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!

The Siren formation in front of the northern group suddenly come under heavy bombardment, shells upon shells fell upon their position. One of the shells is enough to either blow them apart from the sheer explosion of the HE shells or tore their bodies apart after being hit by the AP shells, the bombardment didn't stop for a while and eventually the portals that keep summoning the Sirens dissipated and it stopped providing reinforcement. Despite that bombardment, the Sirens still possess superior numbers compared to the northern group but they are more resolved than ever because behind those Sirens? A glimmer of hope could be seen on the horizon…Nagato stood proudly, the barrel of her cannons on her riggings still smoking after sending several barrages toward the enemy fleet. Mutsu stood beside her, her face being happy go lucky as usual even after she basically helped Nagato murder the enemy fleet in front of them. Nelson and Rodney stood tall behind them, cannons still smoking after sending barrages in unison with Nagato and Mutsu. Around them, several cruisers and destroyers from combined factions on their base provided escort…If the Sirens didn't know fear then they will now for ALASUC have decided to play one of their ace card, the members of The Big Seven on ALASUC base have arrived on the battlefield.

"Nelson-san, Rodney-san, make sure the flank of their path remains clear" Nagato said to Nelson and Rodney.

"Understood" Nelson said to Nagato.

"I understand, Madam Nagato" Rodney said to Nagato while she smiled.

"Mutsu, stay close to me" Nagato said to Mutsu.

"Hai! I'll give it all I've got, Nagato!" Mutsu said to Nagato while she grinned.

"The rest of you, rain those Sirens! We will relieve the northern group from here!" Nagato said out loud.

The cruisers and destroyers complied by firing their guns and launching their torpedoes while Nelson and Rodney split up and went to the Siren's formation flank, they will finish this in one go. The Sirens were basically stuck between rock and hard places, either they die from the combination fire of northern flank defenders and Battlegroup Dakota or the savagery of Nagato and Mutsu alongside their escorts. Naturally, they choose to break through Nagato's formation since they are smaller. However, they didn't account for the fact that fleet has two battleship designated as Big Seven on it.

"…Impudent fools" Nagato muttered in low tone.

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!

Nagato fired her cannons once more and followed closely by Mutsu, the shelling successfully tore apart the Sirens in front of them with many being injured and their formation in disarray. However, ALASUC didn't let up even for a bit as Rodney and Nelson immediately fired after Nagato and Mutsu have to reload and their HE shells set fire to the rest of the Sirens on the northern group. Warspite and the others arrived near Hood and the rest of the northern group only to witness the might of the Big Seven, well there's also the fact that they are fully stocked while the rest of them are already exhausted and almost out of ammo so they have to be careful on what are they shooting at.

"Looks like there's no need for us to switch places, commander. The Big Seven and their escorts have arrived" Warspite said to William on the radio.

"Excellent timing! Nagato, we need the path cleared out. How are the routes back to our base?" William asked Nagato on the radio.

"They are prepared shikikan-sama, we have two checkpoints before we reach our base defensive emplacement range. The planes should arrive momentarily…Ah, punctuality at its finest" Nagato said to William on the radio before she looked up.

Hundreds of turboprop fighter planes from all faction filled the sky, some dived down and fired their guns to finish off the burning Sirens on the northern flank. Then the planes broke formation as they went to each side of the defensive position that William have set up earlier, Zeroes, F4s, Spitfires, Swordfishes, Barracudas, Devastators and even Avengers provided the much needed fire support and screening from the Siren's relentless offensive…This is the backup plan in case they are pushed to the brink, it was Amagi who suggested that in case their circular defense didn't work then they might need to use check points strategy where the remainder of the ship girls will be hold a point on the sea near their base. Once the battlegroup passed this checkpoint, they will switch out with two of the flanks so the one who were in the fight since the start could take a break. With two checkpoints, they basically could replace the entire defenders while keeping their pace. The carriers will have to work the hardest on this backup strategy, their job is to keep steady flow of aircrafts going back and forth to help the defense of the battlegroup. That is why to save some time the carriers decided to launch their planes in unison, they will launch their second wave after the planes they sent first run out of ammo. That way, their planes will always present on the defensive perimeter so there's no holes in their defense that could be exploited by the Sirens…Going all out is better safe than sorry, especially now that William knew about the content of the carrier. If Anderson is sunk? It might be the point where humanity would be slowly being push to the brink of defeat, and that man won't let that happen.

"…Hmm? There's a battle going on near the carrier" Rodney commented on the radio.

"Oh yes, that is the Siren called Purifier. She have been giving the team some trouble" William said to Rodney on the radio.

"Shall my sister and I go assist them, Lord William?" Rodney asked William on the radio.

"No need, just keep out route secure…Those ladies will be fine" William said to Rodney on the radio.

Purifier back flipped as she dodged several shells coming at her, she landed back on the surface of the sea while smirking at her adversary…or adversaries. Who would've thought those girls would come to assist Amagi just when Purifier started to gain advantage, Purifier was fighting Amagi when barrage of HE rounds alongside some torpedoes approached her at high speed and thus forced her to fall back. When she stared ahead, Amagi is surrounded by Belfast, Avrora, Kawakaze and Z46 who made it just in time to assist her. Oh well, to be honest fighting these girls are not her mission…but who said she couldn't have fun? She'll get him once she's done with these ship girls.

"Phew! Been awhile since I sweated and took damage this much! But look at this, the personal bitches of the commander hmm? So eager to abandon your post so you could save his ass? Afraid to lose the only cock in the base huh?!" Purifier asked out loud while she grinned.

"My, how vulgar…" Belfast said out loud while she frowned.

"Indeed…How about we wrap this up? This fight have gone on long enough" Amagi asked Belfast.

"Agreed. We're at your command, Madam Amagi" Belfast said to Amagi as she smiled a bit.

"Z46, Kawakaze, you two will take her head on. Avrora, Belfast, support those two and keep your distance. Let's see if we can 'purify' her with HE shells" Amagi immediately commanded them, she already have a tactic in mind to deal with Purifier once they're on the sea.

"Simple, I like it. Let's go tovarisch!" Avrora said out loud before she led the charge against Purifier.

"Ho, here they comes" Purifier said to herself while she grinned.

Purifier snapped her fingers and two purple portals appeared beside her, Siren ship girls immediately streamed out of the portals and moved in front of Purifier. Two Smasher, five Navigators alongside ten Chasers and that successfully caused the ALASUC ship girls to sweat a bit in nervousness, it would seems Purifier intend to finish them off. If they want to get this done they would need to burn through enough ammo because there is no way those Sirens going to die without unrelenting barrage from them, five against eighteen and not to mention there's a great chance Purifier would summon more backup? They're in tough spot to say the least.

"That was unexpected" Avrora said out loud.

"Yes, I also thought that she will take us on by herself" Belfast said to Avrora.

"Avrora, Belfast, handle those other Sirens please" Amagi said to both cruisers on the radio.

""Understood"" Avrora and Belfast said to Amagi on the radio.

Avrora and Belfast didn't waste any time to fire all of their guns, the HE shells successfully caused the Sirens to put themselves in defensive position which caused them to fail intercepting Z46 and Kawakaze who jumped high above them straight toward Purifier who immediately backpedaled to avoid two swords that were swung at her. The Siren ship girls would turn themselves around and fired at Z46 and Kawakaze's exposed back if they're not distracted so that's what Belfast and Avrora do, being so threatening that even though their leader is in danger they prioritized the two that's actively engaging them…Avrora skirted around their formation, she will engaged the two Smashers directly. Reckless? Oh yes, but she have faced them a hundred times during her time serving in the artic frontline so she's not worried about engaging them in melee range.

The Russian woman dashed to the left side just in time as one of the Smasher fired off all of her guns, the energy projectile missed Avrora just by few inches. Avrora fired all of her guns once more toward one of the Smasher, stunning the Siren for receiving direct HE shells hit and it got no time to respond when Avrora jumped high and dived toward her with her right leg extended. The result is the Siren got kicked down harshly to the sea surface, Avrora failed to kill her but at least she stunned it for a bit so she moved on toward the other Siren who readied her main guns. Avrora advanced fearlessly and when she saw the energy bolts gathered on the barrel of the cannons she did the unthinkable, Avrora deactivated her rigging, jumped and dived toward the sea. The Siren fired a bit too late as the only thing her projectile hit is a white fluffy cap, Avrora's cap…A pair of hands appeared from beneath the sea, grabbed on the Siren's legs and threw her off balance before Avrora herself reemerged from below the sea surface. The Siren is still in the air when Avrora grabbed on to her legs once more, she noticed that the previous Smasher tried to stand up so Avrora used all of her strength to lift up the Smasher in her hands, raised her up high and 'smashed' the Smasher with another Smasher. The two Sirens stacked on top of one another, head's cracked and bleeding yellow blood after it got slammed with each other…

"Umeret', blyat!" Avrora said out loud with serious face.

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!

Avrora fired off all of her cannons which were aimed at the stack of Smasher, the Sirens burned profusely from the HE explosive shells and it died from a painful immolation…After confirming that the Smashers are dead, Avrora huffed and flexed her shoulders. Looks like she exerted herself for a bit, maybe she should go to that Manjuu massage parlor that the base has since the renovation after this battle is done? Maybe even take a soak in the provided man made hot spring? Mhm, the mere thought alone already got her excited…Avrora then turned to her side as she wondered, how will Belfast fare against fifteen Siren cruisers by herself? Will she need help?

"Hmm, so many guest to serve..." Belfast said out loud as she stared at the Sirens in front of her.

Really, outnumbered fifteen to one and Belfast found herself didn't feel any sort of fear in her heart. She knew the stakes and she knew what she must done, the question is will she alone be enough? Belfast shut her eyes briefly, she alone is enough to face these cruisers. Avrora is dealing with their battleships and Kawakaze alongside Z46 make sure Purifier won't be able to intervene, all Belfast has to do is to focus on the enemies in front of her and who's charging straight at her. Perfect, she won't hold back…Belfast loaded her HE shells, preparing her guns for rapid fire and she took out the torpedoes on her rigging before holding it in her hands. She prepared eight torpedoes between her fingers and then she posed, Sakuya Izayoi style.

"Everyone, here's the main course for the day!" Belfast said out loud as she smirked widely.

Belfast quickly noted the eight closest Sirens to her and threw her torpedoes at them in blindingly fast movement, she danced around them by spinning herself and throwing torpedoes at any approaching Siren. As a result, Belfast successfully killed eight of them with a torpedo straight to their faces and leave her with additional seven to take care off. The Sirens counter attacked by focusing their fire at her, Belfast choose to temporarily retreat and skirted around the cruisers while quickly noting their positions. When she got their position memorized, Belfast stopped running away and charged straight onto the Siren's formation. Belfast jumped as high as she could, forcing the Sirens to look up and fired upwards at Belfast. The head maid keep smirking all the time and just as she's about to land in the middle of the cruiser's position, Belfast deployed her smokescreens which blinded the Chasers and the Navigators. That's when the head maid begun with her work…

The Sirens actively searched for Belfast amidst the thick white smoke, she should be around them as she wait for the right moment to strike. One of the Chaser heard something behind her and just as she turned around she only found a fist connected to her face and the wrist cannon on top of it fired at the same time. Two Chasers heard the cannon shot and they turned around only to see a headless body of their comrade flying toward them, the body landed and the Chasers stared at it which proved to be their fatal mistake as Belfast jumped above them while throwing two torpedoes at their heads. The explosion served as a beacon that lured the other Sirens…Only four Navigators remained within the thick smoke and they just started to fire blindly at the hope that one of their projectile would hit the head maid, however that only serve to give away their position to Belfast who approached their position and took out the rest of them with a cannon to the head or torpedo to the chest…

"…Oh my, I didn't spend as much effort as cleaning up a stain in tablecloth" Belfast remarked as she got out of the thick smoke.

She singlehandedly fought fifteen Sirens and came out unscathed, a testament to just how skilled the head maid of the Royal Navy ship girls and why some are downright afraid facing her in direct combat. Belfast was approached by Avrora who nodded at her before looking at the scene to their side, Kawakaze and Z46 working together to kill Purifier. Both destroyers has their respective blades out, swinging it at the elusive Siren who keep dodging the two blades with little effort. But for some reason Purifier didn't counter them, she want a sure shot against the two destroyers. But dodging forever didn't work for the Siren as Z46 approached her sides and managed to grazed her right arm, Purifier frowned a bit as she stared at the wound.

"…Looks like I also have to get serious now!" Purifier said out lout while she grinned maliciously.

"You're mine!" Kawakaze said out loud.

"Heh! Predictable!" Purifier shouted at Kawakaze while she grinned.

Purifier dodged a fury of slashes from Kawakaze's katana before she fired her wrist cannons in quick succession, Kawakaze had no choice but to stop her advance and dodged the energy bolts coming her way. After her successful evasion Kawakaze made her second charge at Purifier while she launched several torpedoes, Purifier made no attempt to dodge as the torpedo hit her and that really set Kawakaze off. Did her torpedoes dealt so little damage that Purifier confidently took an entire barrage without caring? Oh she'll show that bitch on why she shouldn't make light of her. Purifier then suddenly hovered above the water for a bit, he rigging stand ready below her and its main cannon are fully charged. Kawakaze was too late to stop because split second later the cannon fired its energy beam and Kawakaze took the full brunt of it, the beam caused a big explosion and Kawakaze was thrown toward the direction of ALS Anderson, hit the ship hull before she fell to the surface of the sea...

"Kawakaze is hit! It's all on you now, Z46!" Amagi said to Z46 on the radio.

"Jawohl…" Z46 said to Amagi on the radio.

Z46 ready her sword before she charged forward at Purifier, this time she is supported by Belfast and Avrora covering fire since they took care of the Sirens backup. Purifier avoided most of the shells and took some yet shrug the explosion off easily by using her drones as a makeshift shield, her drones are badly damaged yet it could still fire. Z46 evaded the projectiles and closed in on Purifier in lightning speed, even the Siren herself didn't expect that the destroyer to close in that quickly. Z46 jumped onto Purifier's rigging and swung her sword to the Siren's head…Purifier successfully dodged it at the cost of her right ear being cut off, she scowled both in pain and in anger as she grabbed Z46's right hand and strike her elbow with her own.

GRUK!

"UGH!" Z46, normally a bit stoic, groaned in pain as her right elbow joints snapped…

"Now, fuck off!" Purifier said to Z46 while she grinned.

Purifier swung Z46 to the side then used her rigs main cannon to blast her away despite being showered by HE shells from Avrora and Belfast who witnessed what happened to Z46. Both cruisers are more resolved than ever to put that Siren down, two of their comrades are already incapacitated and quite possibly severely wounded because of that Siren. Purifier however fired all of her guns toward Avrora, Belfast and Amagi which forced them to dodge the incoming projectiles for a bit…In the end Amagi, Avrora and Belfast choose to regroup because if they split up there's a big chance they will end up like Z46 and Kawakaze.

"Oi oi oi, ganging up on me isn't fair~! But it looks like that was all talk! Next time, face me yourself and don't send me those pathetic destroyers, Amagi!" Purifier taunted the Battlecruiser as she smiled cockily.

"…Shikikan-sama? I'm listening…I understand…Hai…Guess we have no choice. Avrora, Belfast, listen carefully. Get close to Purifier and prepare to restrain her, when she is stunned, move in immediately" But Amagi paid Purifier no attention, William have contacted her on the radio with a plan and she relayed it to Belfast and Avrora.

""Understood"" Belfast and Avrora said to Amagi.

"Hmm? They look like they're about to charge…Heh! Fine! Come at me!" Purifier said out loud as she prepare to face the three of them.

To be honest, both Avrora and Belfast didn't know how to throw Purifier off balance since Amagi mention that 'when she is stunned'. How? Did Amagi already have a plan in mind to do that? So far that Siren didn't show any weakness especially when she summoned her rigging which provide superior firepower compared to their guns, Belfast and Avrora would just have to trust Amagi and William for now. Both Belfast and Avrora flanked Purifier at the same time, sure she used her drone cannons but their projectiles are relatively easy to dodge. Both cruisers waited for Purifier to move her main gun toward one of them, they are waiting for her response against them closing in on her. But suddenly Purifier's head jerked backwards and both of them knew that's the signal, they didn't know how that happened but that doesn't matter now. Both cruisers dashed toward Purifier, shoot down her drones with their AA guns, jumped on board of her rigging, grabbed her arms and pinned her legs down with their own legs.

"Ugh! Release me you bitches!" Purifier howled in anger as she try to set herself free.

"Not a chance! Now Amagi!" Avrora said out loud.

Amagi accelerated at maximum speed toward Purifier, the Siren realized the danger and she fired her main cannon toward Amagi. But since she's still quite far away, not at close range like Kawakaze or Z46 she's able to dodge the laser beam by jumping as high as she could. Purifier started to sweat heavily in nervousness watching Amagi dropped down on top of her rigging, in front of her, her cannon aimed toward her torso while…Amagi smile sadistically, like a predator who successfully corner her prey after a long hunt.

"Ufufufufu…" Amagi chuckled sinisterly as she stared at Purifier's nervous eyes…

BOOM!

Amagi fired her main guns, at point blank range and aimed straight at Purifier's torso. The result? Big explosion, massive splatter of yellow blood that coated Amagi, Avrora and Belfast and Purifier herself being thrown backwards after getting hit by Amagi's AP shell…The three ship girls stared at Purifier, or what's remain of her. The Siren lost her stomach all the way down to her legs which is also torn into several chunks all around her, she looked into the sky with disbelieve etched on her face…Purifier gritted her teeth as she raised her head to stare at the three ship girls who looked down on her from on top of her rigging, each having a satisfied smile on their face as they watched her squirms while floating on the surface of the sea.

"Fuck! Fuck! FUCK!" Purifier cursed as she gritted her teeth and try to

"Serves you right…Now, finish her off" Amagi said out loud as she stared at Purifier with zero sympathy in her eyes.

"As you command" "Da, tovarisch" Belfast and Avrora said to Amagi.

"DDDAAAAAMMNNNNN YYYYYYYOOUUUUU-" Purifier roared at the ship girls in anger.

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!

Dozens of HE shells rained upon Purifier's half upper body, both cruisers keep firing at the Siren for a while just in case that woman manage to survive being roasted by several naval guns…Both Belfast and Avrora stopped firing few seconds later and they waited for the smoke to dissipated to check Purifier's physical state, they saw nothing remains on the surface of the sea other than repugnant smell of overcooked flesh. Amagi, Belfast and Avrora sighed in relief, the greatest threat on this battlefield have finally been dealt with.

"That's for Kawakaze and Z46, cyka…" Avrora said out loud to the spot where Purifier is last sighted.

"She should be dead…for now" Belfast said out loud.

"…Excellent work Amagi, Belfast, Avrora…Get Z46 to Vestal for treatment, Kawakaze is already with her" William suddenly contacted the three of them on the radio.

"Spasibo komandir, are you watching us from the carrier?" Avrora asked William on the radio while she smiled and looked at Anderson.

"Yeah I am. Get her to Vestal now" William said to Avrora on the radio.

"We're on our way, master" Belfast said to William on the radio.

…William stopped looking through the scope of the M87 Anti Materiel Rifle he took from the armory straight after he dealt with the last group of Siren Troopers, he used it to watch at the fight between Amagi's group against Purifier. Boy, he's glad that he choose the anti-tank rifle because he knew despite not going to give that much damage against Purifier he at least knew the kinetic force would be enough to stun the bitch. William went from prone to kneeling on the flight deck as he retracted the bipod that he previously used, he couldn't help himself but to think that he's in fact quite lucky. Shooting a humanoid target, approximately five hundred meters away, aboard a carrier that's moving at top speed and the fact that Purifier could dodged it by mere chance? Yup, he's a lucky one…

"…Hmm, that was unexpected" William suddenly heard someone said to his left side.

"Huh?!" William exclaimed as he turned his rifle to the left.

In front of him stood another Siren, long white hair, with sinister half closed yellow eyes, she has malicious grin on her face though not as psychotic as Purifier and a large rigging behind her that shaped like a glider with cannons on it. Just one look at that and William knew she's a bad news, the Siren aimed her cannons toward William and the man already dashed to the rear with the M87 aimed toward her head…Tester Beta smirked, she watched everything that William did ever since the start of this battle. She witnessed his fight with Purifier, how he massacred their Troopers and how did he helped the other ship girls as they faced off against Purifier. The man in front of her would do for a Siren, maybe they should capture him and turn him as one of their own? Not as easy as it sounds and certainly she would need the higher ups permission for that because that could be categorized as a strategic move.

"…For a man your size, you're quite fast" Tester Beta said to William.

"Well you're not the first one to notice that" William said to Tester Beta while he scowled.

"Hmph. But speed won't save you from me" Tester Beta said to William as she charged her cannons.

"Shite!" William cussed as he saw her rigging cannons started to glow yellow.

PSIU!

BOOM!

William rolled to the left just in time to dodge Tester Beta beam shot which hit the Anderson's superstructure and caused a big explosion, William immediately charged at Tester Beta and closed in on her within split seconds. What was he thinking getting up close to a Siren KANSEN? Well, he didn't and that is why he manage to close in without actually fearing that he might get obliterated with a single shot from her cannons. William aimed his rifle straight toward her head and fired his gun in point blank range, this should shatter her head.

BANG!

"…I see" Tester Beta said to William while she smile widely.

A .50 caliber bullets that could pierce a tank, lodged inside that Siren's skull and she's still smiling at him like it didn't do any kind of damage? All William could think at that time was WHAT THE FUCK?! Does KANSENs are the only one who could kill a fellow KANSEN?! He could cause some dent on Purifier by using a C4 before, but this bitch in front of him seems stronger than her and that means William would need something more powerful than a C4! But what else he could use? Nothing, he's out of everything so he did a last ditch attempt to wound this Siren. William quickly aimed down straight to her flat chest and put the barrel on point blank direction where a human heart supposed to be, he didn't exactly know whether her heart is there but right now he's moving on instinct. William squeezed the trigger, firing a .50 caliber round straight into her chest before he swung the rifle upwards and effectively uppercutting the Siren with the butt of his rifle…Tester Beta flew a bit due to the attack but she backflipped and landed on her knees before she stood back up, her chest clearly got punctured and it leaked yellow blood but she's still able to stand without any signs of being hurt! William stared in disbelieve, just who is this woman?!

"Interesting. Stronger and larger than your average human, combat movement pattern suggest an advanced form of military training and vast accumulated combat experience, capable of accurate shot even while moving, braver…or even more foolish than your ordinary man, to think he's daring enough to face a KANSEN in close range" Tester Beta said out loud while she smiled widely.

William paid her no attention as he fired again toward her left leg which caused her to kneel before he swung his right leg toward Tester Beta's head, however this time Tester Beta decided to take action. The Siren caught his right leg and flipped him off the ground with ease despite his size and weight, William fell down shoulder first and he quickly rolled to the rear as he grabbed his fallen rifle. But Tester Beta moved fast and she knocked the rifle out into the sea, realizing that he got nothing to fight her William dashed forward and opted for a good punch to the face. However his fist was stopped right before he hit Tester Beta, the Siren casually held his hand in place with her own left hand…

"Tenacious too…You stay true to what Alpha has described about you" Tester Beta said to William while she smiled.

"…You're her friend huh?" William asked Tester Beta as he released his fist and dashed backwards.

"Friend? I don't know about friend, but it is true that we are…affiliated" Tester Beta said to William.

"What do you want with us?" William asked Tester Beta while he scowled.

"Oh? Eager to find out, commander?" Tester Beta asked William while she smiled.

"I'm tired of fighting you cunts without any context so tell me, why did you attack us?" William asked Tester Beta while he scowled.

"…It's simple, what we seek is power" Tester Beta said to William.

"And how's fighting us going to get you more power if we fight back and killed your troops and KANSENs?' William asked Tester Beta while he frowned.

"Ah, you misunderstand. We gain power through knowledge, the longer and the more you fight us then the stronger we become…Especially, since you are here" Tester Beta said to William as she smiled meaningfully.

"What's that supposed to mean?" William asked Tester Beta with confused tone.

"I'll be honest, you are not the first commander that have crossed our path…There are many of you out there, many versions of you" Tester Beta said to William.

"You're talking about entire humanity, of course there will be others than me" William said to Tester Beta while he frowned.

"Ufufu…ah, such innocence, you misinterpret my words easily…But so be it, I'll play along" Tester Beta said to William.

Honestly William was sure that he's not the only commander she ever fought in the frontline during the course of this war, but how many among them that actually fight in the front like him? Wait, the Siren did hinted that she encounter many of them but she didn't specify how did she engage them…William watched as Tester Beta advanced toward him and the man found himself backing off from her, he raised his hand in anticipation for any kind of melee attacks and soon he found himself hitting the carrier's superstructure wall. Tester Beta closed in on him, despite being smaller than William the man found himself nervous and wary when Tester Beta is just a meter away from him who's backed into the wall…

"Among them, you are the one that we encounter to fight directly in the front since the start of your career…Some did so from their ships, some did fight with their own creative ways…But you, despite not having a rigging, the power of a wisdom cube and the endurance of a KANSEN, you fought us…Even when you're only armed with your flimsy human weapons, your primitive armor and subpar technology…You still fight against us…Why is that?" Tester Beta asked William curiously.

"…I didn't expect you to understand, alien. But humanity have always been known for their stubbornness, how do you think we make it this far? By shaking hands, spreading love and peacefully coexisting? No, we fight one another and we thrive the most in the face of extinction. The bullets which we used to replace arrows because they are more effective at killing, the bows we traded for guns since they could kill faster, we built bombs with bigger and more powerful explosive energy as time goes on, war machines which always improved in the times of conflict…You seek power by fighting us? I got news for you, it works both ways…We will keep on improving, we will keep fighting you invaders and until the last of us die, humanity will continue to strive to reclaim the safety of our home. Mark my words, you're in for a hell of a fight" William said to Tester Beta while he scowled.

"Hehehehehe…Human tenacity and bravado, it wasn't the first time I've heard about those. Are all of you that simple minded? Perhaps…But people like you are more interesting than those that cower in fear. You feared me commander, I could see it in your eye. But unlike majority of the human, you choose to fight that fear" Tester Beta said to William while she smiled wickedly.

Yes, it was apparent that William feared her but he still put up a fight despite of that. Tester Beta commended him for not running away and he delivered what could be considered the speech of every human commander with bravado across the timeline the Sirens explored, all of them said those words while not an exact copy in wording but the implication are still the same…All of them believe that humanity will fight to the last, they won't give up that easily despite in the face of extinction. Well, to their credit, some timeline did do just that as they fought to the last man when Sirens deemed that timeline were beyond saving. She wondered, how about this one? So far, she found this timeline to be very interesting…she should discuss it with the others when she's done with this experiment.

"…Hmmm, looks like our plan has failed" Tester Beta said out loud when she noticed that her forces are dwindling quickly.

"Don't underestimate us especially in battle, Siren" William said to Tester Beta.

"Fufu…Ah well, I managed to get the data we need. Purifier also have fallen, again…I think this is where we part for now, commander" Tester Beta said to William as she started to hover.

"Wait! Who the hell are you!?" William asked Tester Beta while he frowned.

"I? Tester Beta, at your service, commander…Enjoy your victory while you can, there's a possibility that one day you will look at it as a fond memory" Tester Beta said while she grinned wickedly.

Tester Beta snapped her fingers and a portal appeared above her, she hovered through it and the portal closed few seconds later...William sighed in relief as his knees failed him, the man slid down to the deck floor and sat on it as he recounted on what just happened. Holy shit, other than when he fought Midnight, this is the second time fear almost overwhelm him when he saw that none of his attack mattered against his opponent. Seriously, William need to find a way to be able to hurt those high ranking Sirens because so far their conventional weaponry barely put a dent on them. That Tester Beta took a headshot, a shot to the chest and her left knee caps and she could still function normally! How?! Amagi didn't fail to tear Purifier into two with a single shot and she could still move! Did the Sirens could still function normally as long they have their head?

"…Alien bitch" William muttered to himself, he really need to do some research himself…

"This is eastern flank, Sirens are retreating!" Akagi said out loud on the radio.

"Southern flank here, we experienced the same thing!" Warspite said out loud on the radio.

"Western flank Sirens also disappeared" Graf Zeppelin said out loud on the radio.

"…Copy all…Maintain formation, I don't want to take any chances…" William said to the ship girls on the radio.

"Wakarimashita" "Understood" "Ja, mein kommandant" Akagi, Warspite and Graf Zeppelin said to William on the radio.

.

…The battlegroup managed to reach the base without encountering anymore Sirens along the way, looks like that retreat was a genuine one. The ships are in bad shapes, while they're in luck that none of the ship sunk they are still so heavily damaged that few will need to be repaired immediately. The battleship of Battlegroup Dakota lost a third of its superstructure, two of her turrets are blown off and holes filled her hulls. Some of the destroyers lost their bridge so the cruisers helped by towing them back to the base, the corvettes and frigates that were sent from Johnson's base are also heavily damaged to the point they will sat on dry dock for a while. ALS Anderson is in a bad shape, her superstructure were filled with holes with some part of it melted after receiving direct hit from a high intensity energy beam, there's a huge hole on her port side from a bombing ship and her flight deck are unusable so her aircrafts have to land on Johnson's base airport…The sun is setting on the horizon by the time they reached the base, everyone is tired, injured or both and they'd like nothing more than to rest and lick their wounds. On the case of William and Johnson, the both of them are currently inside William's office as they attend a video conference with the high commanders. Lucas alongside Diana and Erich alongside Theresa who is his secretary are present in the form of hologram screen, William and Johnson reported everything that has happened today in details. The machine that Johnson carried inside the carrier, how they managed to fend off the Sirens, how they salvaged Purifier's rigging out of the water for research, William's encounter with Tester Beta alongside the video evidence and the outcome of this battle…

"…I'm glad all of you manage to get out of there in once piece. Commander Johnson, you especially have my heartfelt thanks" Lucas said to Johnson while he smiled.

"No need to, I'm just following my orders sir" Johnson said to Lucas while he smiled professionally.

"Indeed…But it's a smart decision on your part to bring the machine to ALASUC base, with it, ALASUC will be able to summon additional ship girls should they need to and develop our Priority Research Ship, codenamed Siren Killer" Lucas said to Johnson.

"Siren Killer?" William asked Lucas with cocked eyebrows.

"Ships that didn't exist in the past and having so much potential for their abilities and power, those ships will be our edge in this potentially endless war" Lucas said to William.

William fell into thinking pose as Brooklyn and Belfast who attended the debriefing as the ship girls representative quickly take notes on any new Intel or details about the meeting, so based on Lucas words Friedrich could be categorized as Siren Killer type of ship? That's new, William was sure that her official designation isn't that but something like an H-Class. Maybe that's just a way for high command to identify her easier, having Siren Killer as your description make the message regarding your strength and specialty pretty clear after all.

"…What's the status on the machine, kommandant?" Erich asked William curiously.

"Right now, the Manjuus are working on it to dismantle the machine and reassembling it on our underground facility, once they are done we can expect the machine to continue operating as it is before" William said to Erich.

"I see…Kommandant Blaze, I have a request to make…Please, complete Friedrich. She will be a priceless addition to your unit" Erich said to William with serious face.

"I intended to from the start, Chairman Erich" Oh he really did.

"Once you have completed her, we will give you the additional blueprint options for the others Siren Killer ships. So far, we have seventeen of them including Friedrich" Erich said to William.

""Seventeen?!"" William and Johnson asked out loud in surprise, holy shit that's a lot!

"I know. Once they are assembled? You have a mighty powerful fleet that are very suitable in combating the Sirens…Once you do, we will actively search for their base of operation" Erich said to William.

Seventeen ship girls designated as Siren Killers? Man, William thought Siren would have a really bad day if the Siren Killers sortied against them. He's really curious regarding all of their power and skills but he would have to wait, one Priority Research ships like them took a lot to 'construct' so there's no way he could form a fleet of them so soon after they just got the machine. But hey, if they manage to construct Friedrich then William would got sixteen more options so he could prioritize on who to construct first…William briefly looked at the data pad on his hand, it's about Friedrich estimated required materials and few other thing for construction. He could technically use their current resources to build her instantly, but after that the ship girls won't be able to sortie for weeks and they would have to fish for food this month…Yup, she is that expensive that even a fully stocked running military base would be in the red if they didn't plan her construction time carefully...

"About that, sir, permission to speak freely" Johnson said to Erich who raised his eyebrows at him.

"Granted kommandant, speak your mind, please" Erich said to Johnson.

"…I believe their base of operation isn't located on Earth, sure they have strongholds and bastions on this planet. But I believe in order to find out where they really came from, we need to get inside one of their portals" Johnson said to Erich and Lucas.

"…Interesting idea, what prompts you to thought about this?" Erich asked Johnson with intrigued face.

"A simple observation during my assignment sir…I find it strange that they seemingly can't just open those portals wherever they wish to, there must be some kind of requirement or conditions to fulfill. Or worse, they are holding back against us by purposely limiting the amount of their forces through" Johnson said to Erich while he frowned a bit.

"That's a great insight…However, how do you propose we do this?" Erich asked Johnson once more.

"Right now? I don't have any technical details ready but I do have a theory…How about we get one of our most powerful mobile sensor array and send it through one of those portals? That way we could determine their home base. Even among the stars, it would be possible to pick up the signal" Johnson said to Erich.

…That strategy made sense but the technological hurdle is quite high. What if their homeworld is on the other side of the Milky Way? How long would it takes for earth to receive the signal being broadcasted from the machine? Though it is a good plan, they would need a very powerful sensor for that. Their signal broadcaster for deep space communication require a freaking building and the more compact one couldn't even broadcast messages out of their solar system fast enough, they are running out of options before they even started…While everyone is thinking hard regarding the plan, Diana's eyes lit up a bit in a moment of realization. There's a good chance that this plan will work…

"…I believe that could work" Diana suddenly spoke out.

"What's your idea, Diana?" Lucas asked Diana as he turned to the side to face her.

"Right now one of our engineering and astrophysics department on Azur Lane Mediterranean research base are developing tachyon radar, does anyone familiar with it?" Diana asked out loud.

"Can't say I do" Johnson said to Diana while he shrugged.

"Wait, I've heard about this. Aren't those something like a hypothetical particle that travel faster than light?" William asked Diana while he smiled a bit.

"More or less William, you are quite knowledgeable, son" Diana said to William while she smiled proudly.

"…What? I watched Nat Geo occasionally" William said out loud when he noticed everyone are looking at him.

"It is believed to be an anomalous particle that didn't exist on our realm because we believe anything faster than light is impossible to exist, but as we witnessed with the Sirens we could throw that argument outside the window. We believe that Sirens telecommunication device used Tachyon particles or something else to communicate with one another, we are currently analyzing how the device works and also attempt to replicate it. Our team are also currently trying to utilize a wisdom cube to give us the necessary information and data for this project, I believe with the right attunement to the cube might provide us with some insight. Or at the very least, act as a power reserve for a potentially long term operation" Diana explained to everyone regarding their potential way out for their current problem with this plan.

"Alright! We got that problem solved…Now, how do we expect to find a Siren portal that randomly opened in the middle of nowhere?" Lucas asked out loud.

"That won't be necessary. Intel reports from the twin Siren Artic Base revealed a giant arch on the center of the installation. Based on the design and placement? It seems to be a powered down portal generator, many of our scientist believe so" Diana said to Lucas.

"…That's convenient" Erich commented at the revelations.

"I refrained on making this a news for two simple thing. One, we are not sure how it actually functioned and two, even if we do know how we don't have the means to control it…Take it this way, even if we somehow manage to open it we couldn't know for sure where it might lead. It could be Siren's homeworld, or even somewhere on Earth. We need to be careful with this one, especially the place located in North Pole. If we accidentally opened it to a magma pocket? We could flooded earth with the water of melting ice caps, safe to say it's like we shot humanity in the foot. We won't die immediately but we will be crippled in our struggle" Diana explained to everyone.

Right, now they got the means to execute this plan even though they would still have to be careful with its implementation. William smiled despite that, he's sure that his mother could overcome this hurdle. She's proven that she could make many things or solve problems using science, William sure that she will find out how to execute this plan without a big risk. Erich nodded his head, this debriefing turned into a great meeting to solve one of their big questions regarding where the hell are these Sirens come from? Well, Erich know that they are not in position to commence any kind of counter offensive even if they know where their home is because Erich realized they are hilariously outgunned and outnumbered. Maybe they could sent the biggest bomb they have or relentlessly fired all of their nukes to their homeworld through the portals.

"…What do you think, High Commander?" Erich asked Lucas while he pursed his lips.

"…This plan has so many risks, but I believe it's worth a shot. If it works, we got a reference location for our retaliations and if we don't? At least we'll discover how the portal structure works and we could commence research from that to reverse engineer it for our own use. It's a win-win in my opinion" Erich said to Lucas with serious face.

"I have to agree with Lucas. We got nothing to lose by attempting to implement this one idea…" William said to Erich.

"That means we will have to revisit the Artic base. Northern Union forces are still there, guarding the scientist as they research all the technology they could get their hands on. However, there's one thing that's been bothering me" Lucas said out loud.

"Ah, you're talking about the situation at Northern Union" Erich said to Lucas.

"That I am, take a look at this map projection…What you see right now is a dark zone on the north side of Bering Strait. This significant dark zone looks normal from satellite view but in actuality it's a singularity" Lucas said out loud as he shown a screen on the hologram projection.

Lucas shown them a map display of the northern Russia, specifically near the Bering Strait. From the display they could see a large darkened area on the surface of the sea, it is quite large but there's nothing inside it that warrant any attention whatsoever. But William wondered on what does Lucas mean by singularity? As far as he know, it's a term that has many meanings behind it depending on the context but looking at their problem right now? Could it means something like a rift or holes in a space time continuum? William didn't know, he reads Art of War by Sun Tzu not a physics books. But he got a feeling that Lucas would explain what he means by that shortly…

"Singularity?" Johnson asked out loud in wonder.

"Sirens have been known to deploy a zone of influence that we call singularity zone, they are very anomalous in nature. Few of us manage to get in and survive the encounter with the Sirens dwelling in it, based on their reports the singularity have tendencies to mess up with long range communication equipment and causing strange things to happen in there as well. For example, one temporarily appeared near the Caribbean on Bermuda triangle few months back…Well, the place is already anomalous to begin with but with the singularity? The zone turned into a reality defying area...At that time, a fleet of Eagle Union ship girls patrol led by Aircraft Carrier Essex stumbled upon this zone. They successfully defeat the Siren that's the cause of the singularity, all of a sudden the mist surrounding the entire area cleared out and long range communication were restored" Lucas explained what he means out loud.

"Wait, so you're saying that the cause of those dark zones are a single Siren?" Johnson asked Lucas with his hand rubbing his beardless chin.

"Powerful ones at least…Purifier, Observer Alpha or even this Tester Beta that we encountered today. Those class of Siren KANSENs could be the source of these singularity…" Lucas said to Johnson with serious face.

"…That being said I remembered something" William suddenly spoke out loud.

"Hmm?" Erich hummed in intrigue.

"I don't know about Midnight, but I recall few similar things about these Siren higher ups. Alpha, Beta and even Nyx all somehow able to create their personal portals" William mentioned his experience with them.

"…As I thought, the Siren leadership has even more power than their underlings. It shown us that their hierarchy are based on levels of power each individual has…" Erich said out loud with grim face.

"If that's the case, I really don't want to meet their supreme leader or anything…They must be overwhelmingly powerful" Lucas said out loud with a deep frown on his face.

…If by power rating themselves William have a hard time figuring out their hierarchy because damn all of them is powerful! Purifier could take a lot of hits before she goes down, Tester Beta could take on several anti-materiel rated bullets without being crippled, Midnight or at least his armor could tank bullets like they were nothing though it could be damaged for a bit with grenades, William had no idea about Nyx true power or his abilities and Observer Alpha's tentacles could certainly crushed a human skull without effort and she haven't even shown her prowess in combat…What about their highest leader? How powerful are they? William shuddered when he thought about the possibility of them being invulnerable even to the ship girls, it would spell their doom…

"…Okay, at least we're all in agreement to try Commander Johnson's plan. Let's talk about the details in later date…William, the council would like to talk about something with you in person. Come over to HQ in a week" Lucas said to William while he frowned.

"…What do they want to talk about?" William asked Lucas while he folded his arms.

"…There's the fact that some have become concerned that you have 'too much' power in your hands" Lucas said to William while he frowned.

"…Here I thought you handled that already" William said to Lucas with cocked eyebrows.

"While I do manage to convince them from sacking you in this upcoming hearing, you still need to convince them. Don't worry, Lena and I will help you out" Lucas said to William while he smiled a bit.

Seriously, what the fuck is wrong with those people?! They already have to deal with the possibility of the extinction of their civilization but they are too concerned regarding the fact that William held so much power that they're afraid they become irrelevant!? Those men and women with the exception of Lucas and Lena need to get their head out of their own asses then stop sniffing their own farts! THEY agreed with Lucas and Lena regarding posting William as the commander of the international ship girls unit, they agreed because they recognized his skills and capability, right!? He proved so in past battles where he brought victory or at least managed to retreat safely! Now they want to talk to him because they're afraid that he held such power on his hand? They want him to save humanity but they don't want him to possess the means to? Bunch of idiotic bastards!

"…Humans huh? The threat of extinction is in front of us and some leadership are more concerned that one of their commander has command of the most powerful fleet in history of mankind, they're afraid he will use it against their agendas…Lucas, I understand that this is a risky move to execute. But do you know that one misstep could get you thrown out of the Azur Lane High Command council?" Erich asked Lucas while he frowned and folded his arms.

"I am well aware, Erich…I wish there are more I could do regarding this situation, but there aren't many that has the same potential or the earnestness for the common goal like Admiral Helena McAllen. She's the only one I brought to High Command Council without any test because frankly, she have proven herself…The rest of them? I could only say two of them that hold a candle and there are ten of us" Lucas said to Erich while he massaged his right temple to stave off the incoming headache.

"Hah…It's an endless debate when it's about politics, let's stop talking about this for now less we bored the both commanders and the ship girls" Erich said to Lucas after he sighed.

"Haha, yeah right. Well anyway, I expect a report about the entire operation in detail later, Will" Lucas said to William.

"I'll get it done later, alright? Honestly, we just get back here and frankly speaking my body is sore allover!" William said to Lucas while he frowned.

"Who told you to engage dozens of Siren Troopers and Tester Beta herself?" Lucas asked William with half closed eyes.

"First off, it's Carl Johnson here who suggested me to engage them" William said to Lucas as his right thumb thrown at Johnson.

"Hey" Johnson said out loud as he stared at William with a disbelieved look.

"And Tester Beta didn't really give me any gap to slip through, might as well fight her head on" William said to Lucas while he shrugged.

"Heh. Glad you're alive at least…Get some rest, all of you have did a splendid work. We will talk more regarding that meeting later" Lucas said out loud while he smiled.

"Thanks Lucas" William said to Lucas while he smiled a bit.

"I will be going as well, there are other matters that I have to attend. Let me know on the update regarding Friedrich, Kommandant Blaze" Erich said to William with serious face.

"For sure, Chairman Erich" William said to Erich while he smiled.

With that, both screens disappeared and William rested himself on the sofa because his head throbbed in pain from what he just heard near the end. Hah, even after all that they still couldn't figure out his intention which is to fight for the entirety of humanity against the Sirens. They got one thing done and another problem surface as the big fuck you against William's spare time and schedule…Man, he need to keep a cool head especially when he have to deal with those assholes on the top. Johnson himself stared at William for a bit with sympathy in his eyes, being the commander for ALASUC is surely tiring.

"…Debriefing done and done. Well then, I'm going to head back to my base" Johnson said to William as she rose up from his seat.

"You're not staying for a bit longer? We still got some tea and cookies to finish" William asked Johnson.

"Got my own shit to deal with over there, Will. Need to sort this out as soon as possible" Johnson said to William while he smiled bitterly.

"I see…Come on, I'll walk you out" William said to Johnson as he also rose from his seat.

Johnson and William walked toward the helipad above the canteen where a single Blackhawk from Johnson's base already waiting for them, Belfast trailed closely behind the two men and she couldn't help herself but to notice that William was being quiet. It could be due to his tiredness or regarding what she heard that he's about to be summoned to the central headquarters in a week, it is clear that he will need to unwind so perhaps she could help with that? She should suggest him to take a dip on their new public bath, the warm water will surely help him out though he have to be careful with his face since his nose would need some time to heal. Maybe she could help washing his back? Perhaps, depending on his answer though Belfast got a feeling that he only wants to take a quick shower before heading straight into bed…

"…How are the ship girls, Will?" Johnson suddenly asked William.

"Few have to stay at the infirmary due to their injuries, but none of them are heavily injured. Overnight Regel therapy should work…with some exception like Z46 and Kawakaze" William said to Johnson while he frowned.

"I'll be sure to send some gift basket as thanks later" Johnson said to William while he tapped his left shoulder.

"I'm sure they will appreciate it" William said to Johnson while he smiled a bit.

The three of them reached the helipad, William briefly looked down below to the ALS Anderson which is docked on the pier with hordes of Manjuus working to disassemble the machine inside the carrier. The man could make out the chunk of parts that were being carried by the Manjuus and brought out of the carrier, for that reason alone the courtyard and the pier are currently being restricted for access by other personnel other than Akashi and Yuubari who coordinated the chickens. William returned his attention to Johnson who's just done talking with the crew of the Blackhawk regarding something, the commander then turned around to face William.

"…Thanks a lot for your help William, you saved our ass" Johnson said to William as he offered his right hand.

"It's not just me Carl" William said to Johnson as he shook his hand.

"Yeah, but you are their leader. I feel obligated to say my thanks to you" Johnson said to William while he smiled.

"Heh…Think nothing of it. You got my back I got yours, right?" William asked Johnson while he smiled back.

"Right…Man, if you need a regular troops alongside cavalry and air units? You holler me, alright?" Johnson said to William while he smiled.

"I'll be sure to keep your number on hotline. Get some rest, Carl" William said to Johnson as he nodded his head.

"Yeah, you too brother" Johnson said to William.

Johnson saluted at William which he returned immediately, then Johnson boarded the helicopter which immediately take off for the base next door…William watched the helicopter flew for a while before his shoulder sagged and he sat on the ground, this alarmed Belfast as she immediately goes toward William's side to see what's wrong with him. The man noted that Belfast stared at him worriedly but he shook his head to indicate that he's fine, he just need some rest. Who would've thought that all the energy he gathered during their one week vacation could be drained in single battle alone? William felt like he want to go on another vacation again to disperse the stress and to ease his mind off things…

"Master? May I recommend you to take a dip on our new public bath facility?" Belfast asked William while she smiled.

"No need, I'll take one on my own house. Let the other girls use them, they'll need it" William said to Belfast as he stood up.

"In that case, shall I make you some dinner?" Belfast asked William.

"…If it's not too much of a trouble" William said to Belfast while he smiled for a bit.

"Nonsense, it will be my pleasure. Is there anything you want to eat for dinner?" Belfast asked William while she smiled.

"…Something fulfilling" William said to Belfast.

"I know just what to make then. Shall we be off?" Belfast asked William while she smiled.

Belfast offered her hand toward William, the man just smiled a bit before he took her hand and walked back toward his house hand in hand without saying anything else…

.

…A portal appeared inside a dimly lit building, constructed with reflective black metal with yellow high tech lining on some part of its walls. Tester Beta hoped out of the portal without her rigging and the portal closed shortly after, the Siren then walked forward toward a large black metallic double doors with yellow outlining. She didn't knock as she opened the door and met with a large room with few pedestals on the center of it, there stood Observer Alpha beside the middle pedestal with Nyx and Midnight to the far left side. Observer Alpha stared at Tester Beta with an impassive face, one that makes anyone looking at her question whether she will praise you or disembowel you once you're in range. Tester Beta stood in front of Observer Alpha before she handed her something, a wisdom cube but instead of glowing bright blue this one glows dark purple, almost black in appearance…

"You have returned at last" Observer Alpha took the cube before she put it on one of the pedestal.

"Reconstructing Purifier took a bit longer than I expected. How about the data we collected?" Tester Beta asked Observer Alpha.

"Splendid, to say the least…We have so much data regarding the formation that they use. Circular defense formation, it's proven time and time again that this formation could take on any kind of threat. It's a shame that you didn't use any submarines during the testing, Beta" Observer Alpha said to Beta as she smiled a bit.

"I am tempted but I send hordes of bomber boats instead, it still works like we intended" Tester Beta said to Observer Alpha.

"Indeed…Let's contact her" Observer Alpha said out loud.

Observer Alpha put her right hand above the cube, the thing started to glow in purplish black light for a bit before something appeared while hovering in front of them. A pale woman with white skin tone, possessing white hair that has some blue streaks on her bangs, blue eyes half opened as it stared at the Sirens in front of her with apathy and her black rigging glows blue menacingly behind her. One of the higher ups among the Sirens, Observer Zero herself have shown up in front of them. Observer Alpha smiled at the Siren in front of her as she prepared to make her report and to suggest a course of action based on what she saw...

"Observer Alpha, how is the experiment?" Observer Zero asked Observer Alpha.

"I just sent the data to you" Observer Alpha said to Observer Zero.

"Hmm…interesting" Observer Alpha hummed as she inspected the screen that suddenly popped in front of her.

"Also, it would appear that world is ready for the next step, Observer Zero" Observer Alpha said to Observer Zero.

"…Is it truly ready?" Observer Zero asked Observer Alpha while she dismissed the screen in front of her.

"I have run the calculations regarding the condition of that world, they are advancing faster than we originally thought with each new technology they keep inventing…This world are ready for higher form of warfare, must be because of how united they are in the face of common danger…" Observer Alpha said to Observer Zero regarding her reasoning.

"…I am reluctant in using Tier Two units in our arsenal because of one thing, we cannot for sure know if they have what it takes to take them on. Multiple timelines have fell even when we only use our Tier One units, I ask you again Observer Alpha, are you sure in deploying our higher tiered assets?" Observer Zero argued with Observer Alpha.

"…Zero, I'm sure you know about their commander on this timeline" Observer Alpha said to Observer Zero.

"William Blaze…Isn't he the one that's supposed not to exist across the worlds we encounter? I am surprised to…find another one" Observer Zero said to Observer Alpha as she stroke her chin.

"Yes, across all timeline we encountered, that man died before he even become the commander of the KANSENs on those worlds. His survival? It is an anomaly…Something interfere before his death or the chain of events that led to his demise has been disrupted. Regardless of that, the fact that Subject William Blaze survived and become the commander of the KANSENs on this world is undebatable…And so far, he passed our conditions for testing. This man might not be the brightest tool in the shed, but among the commanders that we have encountered he's certainly the one that's 'adequate' in facing us directly in the front. I am assured to think that Subject William Blaze would develop even further if we increase the threat level" Observer Alpha explained to Observer Zero while she smiled meaningfully.

"But he's the almost impossible existence, Alpha. What if he dies when we escalate the intensity of our invasion? I don't want that to happen again, losing one is enough…" Observer Zero said to Observer Alpha.

"Then, he might not be worthy after all…Besides, the other one manage to fought to the very end~. I'm sure this one could do the same" Observer Alpha said to Observer Zero while she grinned.

…Observer Alpha do make a sound argument, if he fail to put up a good fight against them then maybe he's not worthy of their effort. But Observer Zero want to make that sure their experiment is subjected to the right amount of pressure, put too little and they won't develop but put too much and there's a great chance they'll break. Balancing between the two have always been a constant challenge for them, there are no exact calculation or even formulas available on how to measure their endurance. That is why the constant observation during the experiment is needed, to gather as many data as possible while keeping the experiment going and intervene when needed. Observer Zero finally agreed with Observer Alpha, maybe it's time for them to escalate the threat level for a bit.

"…I understand, that does seems reasonable…However, I want to make one thing clear. While I granted the both of you the permission to conduct experiments as you see fit, I want the both of you to control the pacing" Observer Zero said to Observer Alpha and Tester Beta.

"I see, was she angry that we are pushing too quickly?" Tester Beta asked Observer Zero.

"More like she realized that she will get bored if you concluded the experiments too soon. She didn't want the same incident back on the Isle of Furushima" Observer Zero said to Tester Beta.

"Ah, so it's about that one" Tester Beta said out loud in realization.

"That goes for you two as well, Nyx, Midnight" Observer Zero turned her attention at the two male Siren.

"…Yes mistress" "Understood" Midnight and Nyx answered to Observer Zero.

"Good. Now, since we agree to increase the intensity of the invasion, you better start with your preparation…I leave the method and the timeline to you, Alpha" Observer Zero said to Observer Alpha.

"My pleasure~" Observer Alpha said to Observer Zero while she smiled.

"Remember this fact, Arbiter will be watching. So, make sure it will be an entertaining one" Observer Zero said out loud.

After that, Observer Zero summoned a portal behind her and float through it. After the Sirens disappeared, Observer Alpha's face fell flat once again. She got the permission which means it's a green light to use her more 'exotic' tools and units, she already imagined that she will have fun with that world. Observer Alpha wondered on how long that world will last against their toys, she hoped they will put up a worthy fight that prompted her to request for the deployment of their final tier three units. Oh, the thought alone already inspired her with hundreds of possible scenario to run on that world. However, Observer Alpha restrained herself, she decided to take things slow and right now there's one scenario she already prepared. Let's see how good the humans if one of their regional HQ is under attack, that should put on a good show.

"…Nyx, you are to go and oversee the preparation for the invasion. Midnight, you will accompany him" Observer Alpha said to Nyx.

"Oh, putting your guard dog to watch over me?" Nyx commented as he folded his arms.

"I don't want you to deviate from the plan like you did before, Midnight will assure you wouldn't on this one" Observer Alpha said to Nyx.

"Heh, despite your flirty attitude with me on occasion you have so little trust in me" Nyx asked Observer Alpha with amused tone.

"I have no trust for anyone. You're no exception, darling…" Observer Alpha said to Nyx while she smiled a bit.

"…Fine. Let's go Midnight, I'll walk you around" Nyx shrugged as he opened a portal.

Nyx stepped through the portal followed by Midnight closely behind, the two of them exited the portal to land on the rooftop of a building somewhere on earth and faced with a moonless night sky. Nyx was about to turn around when he felt a blade touched his neck, the Siren hummed in amusement as he looked at the holder of the obsidian black blade. Midnight held his sword and make sure it touched Nyx's neck firmly so he could feel the sharpness of the blade, however the Siren that is currently threatened didn't shown any sign of fear behind his helmet or on his body language.

"…Don't treat me like a dog" Midnight said to Nyx in firm tone.

"Then stop being one to Observer Alpha. Come on mate, why did you being submissive to her anyway?" Nyx said to Midnight in annoyed tone.

Nyx casually used his hand to put the blade away without effort, the Siren looked at Midnight who's still silent before he put his sword away. Midnight walked past Nyx to the edge of the building's rooftop they're on, he looked down to observe the busy streets and the human civilians who's minding their own business. Nyx still waited for Midnight to answer his question, but as time goes on it is apparent that he have zero intention to answer it so Nyx walked to his side, he also looked downwards toward the streets and Nyx himself sighed…

"Hah. Enjoy the sight while you can, in three months this place might be nothing but an abandoned and war torn city" Nyx said to Midnight.

"…We could just attack them now, why give our enemy a chance to put a defense against our forces?" Midnight asked Nyx.

"Hey, remember what Zero said? Arbiter will get bored if it's over too soon. We need to prepare them for the showdown, if we attack now it would be a 'massacre' instead of 'battle'. Personally, I prefer if we just declare that we will take over this entire city before sending in our forces through. That way the civilian casualties would be quite light…What do you think?" Nyx asked Midnight.

"…You talk too much" Midnight said to Nyx.

"Bah, you stuck up bastard. Live a little Midnight and stop being so moody, a second chance didn't come for everyone" Nyx said to Midnight.

"…Like it came for you?" Midnight asked Nyx as he stared at him.

"Honestly, I preferred if I stay dead. But, you make do with the shite destiny thrown at you and it still wants me to live for a while longer so here I am…fueled by my regrets…What about you? Is it revenge?" Nyx asked Midnight after he shrugged.

"…You always have a retort" Midnight said to Nyx in annoyed tone.

"You don't want to answer that one, huh?" Nyx said to Midnight in unamused tone.

"…My thoughts and desire are none of your concern" Midnight said to Nyx as he turned his head back toward the streets.

"Hmph…And here I thought we could talk about this topic since you and I were-" Nyx said to Midnight.

Nyx never got the chance to finish those words because he detected someone landing closely behind them, the Siren turned around and he saw the one he's been looking for ever since he observed the street. Ash lowered her scarf, revealing her mouth which seems to be plastered in permanent frown as she stared at Nyx. The male Siren glanced at Midnight who only stared at Enterprise for a bit before he returned to watch the streets, Nyx approached Ash who keeps looking at Midnight for some reason and Ember is nowhere to be seen so Nyx would assume that she still hasn't finished her current task. No matter, this entire preparation will take a long time anyway so Nyx won't bother her…unless he's looking to die by getting cut into bloody chunks.

"How did it go, Ash?" Nyx asked Ash.

"We have stationed a group of Brawlers on the subway tunnel, it should be able to cause unrest for the whole city for the next three months" Ash said to Nyx while she frowned.

"Excellent…Now, we play the waiting game" Nyx said to Ash while he nodded his head.

Nyx and Ash turned toward the other side of the building and both of them walked to the edge to survey the view, what they saw right now is the nighttime view of the city of New York. Tall buildings decorated the skyline, millions of people that inhabit this city going on their usual business at night, countless vehicles filled the roads and in the distance the sound of police sirens could be heard…Hmm, Nyx wondered on whether that's for catching your usual thugs or was it because the Brawlers Ash stationed on the underground already begun their slaughter. No matter, he will found out soon once the news has spread among the citizens. Nyx realized that this place will be a heavily contested area, Azur Lane has one of their Regional HQ on this city so they won't make any Siren appearance lightly…With that in mind Nyx turned his head toward The Statue of Liberty, that statue would be the witness of the incoming bloodbath that will come for New York…The Sirens are coming in full force and they will strive for total domination...

* * *

…**Last year, on 29th August 2019 I was in the middle of my university mandatory practical exam (or something close to that) and I alongside the other students were sent to a remote place, a village among the mountain range beside a huge lake where signals and by extension internet are hardly available. I am really hooked on Azur Lane by that time, but due to the situation I couldn't even log on properly and that caused me to miss forty days of login rewards for I had to stay there for forty days. So, I often goes out to take a walk which on that day at the end of August I choose to sat by the pier, watching the people working on fish traps or rowing their boats and that's when something struck me…I want to create an Azur Lane fanfic, the impulse just came like that and suddenly I am brainstorming beside the lake. There were several ideas inside my head, one of them even included an AU with what if Azur Lane took place in a medieval fantasy setting where ship girls are 'Saints' which possess magical power and served as a kingdom's ultimate weapon in their fight against the demon kin known as Sirens…But I decided to go with the modern setting for now, I thought up the general storyline, the characters and voila, the first chapter for Commander Blaze are ready to be published. Hard to believe it's been a year since then and this story have grown a lot, there are so many people that favorite it, followed it and reviewed it. I have learned a lot in the past year too, how to write properly, to use the proper grammar and I believe I still have many room for improvement…since I'm not a native English speaker and an amateur writer, hahaha.**

**I just want to say that I am grateful to all of your readers, without your support this story might have not last this long, without your reviews I might not improve myself and perhaps quit writing all together. I intend to finish this story, to the very end. Even though pretty soon I will be busy with my thesis for graduation roughly for around a year, I want to try and make sure this story keeps going. I am grateful for your support dear readers and welcome those who's along for the ride until the end…As usual, thank you for the favorite, follow and reviews for the past chapter, I realized this took longer than it supposed to and believe me, a lot of things came up which caused this to be late and the fact I got sidetracked few times too with real life things so do forgive me for those who wait for the update…The world is in the brink dear readers, Siren for the first time since their appearance on the world where William and the others live are about to commence their first full scale invasion. Azur Lane and Crimson Axis better be prepared, this will not be a breeze for them. Stay tuned for the next chapter dear readers!**

**See you next time!**

**\- Dasmara**


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